"Dusapin writes a distinct type of novel-roughly 150 pages of sparse and haunted prose-that netted her comparisons to interdisciplinary titan Marguerite Duras, perennial Booker Prize competitors including Michael Ondaatje, Deborah Levy, Elena Ferrante, and a note from the publisher evoking Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux. International praise evokes all-timers the likes of Henry James, and Anton Chekov. Dusapin traverses the same banal dreamscapes made famous by filmmakers like David Lynch or Yorgos Lanthimos (in their less-hostile moments), where everything seems perceptibly wrong."
"Like the international cities she has called home, each of Dusapin's novels is distinct, but united by her astonishing, borderline-generational talent for mood and atmosphere. The range of emotion is extensive, from the thrumming disquiet of her breakout debut, Winter in Sokcho, to the minor-key sadness of The Pachinko Parlor, to the simmering tenderness of Vladivostok Circus. These three novels form a sort of unofficial trilogy, all appearing in excellent translations from the original French by Aneesa Abbas Higgins, and were published by Rochester-based press, Open Letter."
Elisa Shua Dusapin produces short, spare novels characterized by haunting prose and a strong emphasis on mood and atmosphere. Her work frequently invites comparisons to major literary figures and filmmakers due to its dreamy, disquieted settings. Dusapin was born in France, raised between Paris, Seoul, and Switzerland, and currently lives in Amman. Her books have been translated into 35 languages and received the 2021 National Book Award for translated literature. Winter in Sokcho, The Pachinko Parlor, and Vladivostok Circus form an unofficial trilogy in Aneesa Abbas Higgins's translations, and The Old Fire synthesizes those tonal elements.
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