Elegantly written and deceptively humorous, Dolki Min’s bombastic debut novel, Walking Practice, is a haunting examination of survival, gender, and the complexity of the human experience. A tremendous literary achievement.” — Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes
“Walking Practice is an unforgettable survival story of an alien trying to survive as a human on a hostile planet. This unique and imaginative, weird and delicate sci-fi is a considerate exploration of our social structures: the gender conventions, queerness, and discrimination against the weak. A radical, darkly funny, spine-tingling story, perfect for fans of Matt Haig’s The Humans and Michel Faber’s Under the Skin.” — J.M. Lee, bestselling author of Broken Summer
"Surreal, compelling, and utterly unique." — Buzzfeed
"Walking Practice explores the burden of gender expectations, the struggle of having a flesh prison body, having to feed yourself and wanting to be loved, and even the awkwardness of dealing with other people on the subway. But what really makes this story sing is the uniqueness of the narrator’s voice—both compelling and witty....It is moving and funny, critical and crass. This one is for anyone who is made to feel like an alien in their own body." — Tor.com
“Through this weird, funny, deeply earnest book about a killer alien who doesn’t fit in on Earth, Min has crafted a queer novel about feeling out of place in one’s body and its surroundings... The evident pleasure with which Min has drawn this character makes for a vibrant and memorable fictional encounter with an otherness that’s not, in the end, so different." — The New York Times Book Review
"An alien arrives on Earth, hungry for love. The narrator of Min’s dark satire is a shape-shifting alien who crash-landed here 15 years ago. In that time, it’s sampled all sorts of sustenance on our planet, but only human flesh truly satisfies. So it uses dating apps (username: Hunting4luv) to quell its cravings for sex and sustenance....Entertaining and surprising....A slim, sui generis allegory on romance and its discontents." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Who would come up with a story about a shapeshifting alien who crashlands on Earth, learns to walk by hunting humans and then is forced to confront their sins of survival while critiquing humankind’s marginalization of Others? Dolki Min, that’s who. And who would read such a story? You, if you know what’s good for you." — Ms. magazine
“There’s bleak comedy aplenty in Dolki Min’s Walking Practice—which makes sense, given that protagonist Mumu is a shapeshifting alien who chats with unwitting guys on the internet and then devours them. But this isn’t simply an exercise in the overlap of horror and humor; instead, Mumu’s observations on human gender roles and the fraught nature of nearly every interaction in the narrative give this book a substantial narrative weight, even as the text and translation also factor in some playfulness.” — Words Without Borders
"On the surface, this smart debut novel (translated from the Korean by Victoria Caudle) is a fun story about an alien who finds men on dating apps and eats them to stay alive. But underneath lies a potent critique of gender norms and an exploration of what it feels like to not fit in your body or your surroundings." — New York Times' Books We Recommend
★ 2023-01-12
An alien arrives on Earth, hungry for love.
The narrator of Min’s dark satire, first published in South Korea in 2017, is a shape-shifting alien who crash-landed here 15 years ago. In that time, it’s sampled all sorts of sustenance on our planet, but only human flesh truly satisfies. So it uses dating apps (username: Hunting4luv) to quell its cravings for sex and sustenance. It’s hard work, morphing into attractive male or female forms—Earth’s gravity keeps threatening to make its body “puff up like bread in an oven.” And sometimes its prey proves elusive, refusing to sit still to have their heads bitten off, their blood sucked completely. But it’s all worth it: “If you throw the heart, lungs, entrails, and other organs together and boil them in a pot, it’s a killer stew,” it winkingly notes. It’s easy to identify Min’s real-world targets: online dating, body image, gender identity, and the literal alienation of everyday life. But Min’s version of a fish out of water is still entertaining and surprising. That’s partly because the alien offers an extreme outsider take on courtship and gender rituals. (“To act the part of a woman, you’ve got to memorize a hefty script. Men should do the opposite. Just don’t act like a woman.”) Also, Min deploys a brand of sardonic humor—ably conveyed via Caudle’s translation—that would be a poor fit for a more realistic novel. (The book is also interspersed with abstract drawings by Min that seem to suggest the creature’s true, squishy form.) Despite its murderousness, the narrator is a remarkably sympathetic character. Its laments are ours, especially when we seek connection: “I am beholden to my body’s every demand. Dear reader, this is how I live.”
A slim, sui generis allegory on romance and its discontents.
First impressions aren't what they seem in this alluring performance by Nicky Endres. The listener is introduced to a nameless woman who is meeting a potential date--then, in a flash, the woman is revealed to be a shape-shifting alien who is on the hunt for human flesh. The short performance closely follows the alien as they develop greater understanding of humans and begin to question their purpose. The theme-morphing work explores norms of gender, sexuality, and conformity. Narrator Endres is the perfect casting choice. Their dark, sensual narration is hypnotizing--an excellent voice for the mysterious main character who seems to be exposing their deepest secrets. This performance is fresh, rich, and thrilling. G.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
First impressions aren't what they seem in this alluring performance by Nicky Endres. The listener is introduced to a nameless woman who is meeting a potential date--then, in a flash, the woman is revealed to be a shape-shifting alien who is on the hunt for human flesh. The short performance closely follows the alien as they develop greater understanding of humans and begin to question their purpose. The theme-morphing work explores norms of gender, sexuality, and conformity. Narrator Endres is the perfect casting choice. Their dark, sensual narration is hypnotizing--an excellent voice for the mysterious main character who seems to be exposing their deepest secrets. This performance is fresh, rich, and thrilling. G.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine