"Flashlight":
Exploring Questions of Language, Identity, and Family
"Flashlight," a novel by Korean-American author Susan Choi, has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, one of the world's most prestigious literary awards based in the United Kingdom.
Susan Choi, a Korean-American writer, shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize. Photo by Booker Prize Foundation
According to the Korean Cultural Center in the UK on September 26, "Flashlight" is among the six works shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize. The Booker Prize, which originated in the United Kingdom, is regarded as one of the most prestigious awards for English-language novels in the English-speaking world. It is awarded to novels published in English in the United Kingdom or Ireland.
For works translated into English, the "International Booker Prize" is jointly awarded to both the author and the translator. Previously, Han Kang received this award for "The Vegetarian."
"Flashlight" explores questions of memory, language, identity, and family through the story of 10-year-old Louisa and her family, consisting of her father, a Korean-Japanese, and her American mother. The family moves between the postwar Korean-Japanese community and American suburbs, becoming entangled in the turbulent history of the 20th century.
The Booker Prize judging panel commented, "In this ambitious work that skillfully traverses continents and centuries, Susan Choi balances historical tension and intimate drama with remarkable elegance."
Susan Choi, a second-generation Korean-American, was born in Indiana to a Korean professor, Choi Chang, and a Jewish mother, and grew up in Texas. She graduated from Yale University in 1990 and studied creative writing at Cornell University in 1995. She serves as a director of PEN America and teaches creative writing at Johns Hopkins University.
Her debut novel, "The Foreign Student," modeled after her father, received the Asian American Literary Award. "American Woman" was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize in 2004. "My Education" won the Lambda Literary Award in 2014, and "Trust Exercise" received the National Book Award in 2019.
In addition to Susan Choi's work, the final shortlist includes "The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny" by Kiran Desai (India), "Audition" by Katie Kitamura (USA), "The Rest of Our Lives" by Benjamin Markovits (USA), "The Land in Winter" by Andrew Miller (UK), and "Flesh" by David Szalay (UK).
The winner will be announced on November 10, with a prize of 50,000 pounds (approximately 94 million won).
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