한국계 미국인 변호사에서 작가로 전향한 수전 이(Susan Ee)의 첫 판타지 소설 ‘엔젤폴’이 큰 인기를 끌었다. 오랜 판타지 소설 팬인 이씨에게 그리 어려운 시작은 아니었다.
어렸을 때 캘리포니아로 이민을 간 이씨는 지난달 ‘엔젠폴’ 한국어판 출간에 대해 “한국어로 번역됐다는 사실이 기쁩니다. 독자들이 제 유치원 동창일 수도 있고 내 사촌의 친구들일 수도 있어 한국과 다시 연결된다는 따뜻하고 신나는 기분을 느꼈습니다”라고 코리아헤럴드와의 이메일 인터뷰에서 밝혔다.
2011년 미국에서 처음 출간된 이 소설은 다음해 아마존 ‘10대 추천도서 (Most Wished For Teen Books)’에서 1위를 차지했고 2011년 굿리즈 초이스 어워드(Goodreads Choice Award)에서 성인 S.F. 소설 부문 후보로 호명됐다. 현재 20개국의 언어로 번역됐다.
이 소설은 ‘요한계시록의 천사들’이 현대 사회를 파괴한 지 6주 후의 캘리포니아를 배경으로 시작한다. 17살 주인공 펜린이 부상당한 날개 없는 천사 라페와 함께 군인 천사들에게 죽은 그녀의 여동생을 부활시키려는 줄거리이다.
이씨는 “대개 천사들을 귀여운 아기 천사나 수호천사 정도로 상상합니다. 하지만 그들이 지구로 내려온다면 성서에 나오는 천사들처럼 군인들일 겁니다.”
그녀는 “구시대의 천사들이 현대 사회의 최첨단 기술을 이끄는 실리콘밸리에 있다는 상반되는 설정을 했습니다”라고 말했다. 이야기의 자연스러운 흐름을 위해서 등장인물이나 이야기가 너무 계획대로 흘러가지 않도록 했다는 말도 덧붙였다.
‘엔젤폴’은 얼마전 할리우드의 ‘굿유니버스’와 영화 판권 계약을 맺었다. ‘이블 데드’와 ‘스파이더맨 3’의 샘 레이미 감독이 각색할 예정이다.
이씨는 평소 무라카미 하루키, 스티븐 킹, 조앤 K. 롤링의 작품을 즐겨 읽는다고 말했다.
<관련영문기사>
Korean-American writer talks about her debut novel
Korean-American writer Susan Ee worked as a lawyer before turning to fiction writing, but having been a life-long fan of science fiction, fantasy and horror literature, it wasn’t too hard for her to choose the subject for her first book: angels.
“Biblical angels destroyed entire cities and turned people into pillars of salt,” Ee wrote in an email interview with The Korea Herald.
“Yet, we tend to portray them as cute cherubs and sweet guardian angels. If they came down to Earth in force, I figured they would be warriors, and badass street soldiers. It fascinates me to think about what happened then. Would there still be room for humanity? For love? For adventure?”
Her self-published debut novel, titled “Angelfall,” is set in California, just six weeks after “angels of the apocalypse” have destroyed the modern world. Its 17-year-old protagonist Penryn teams up with an injured and wingless angel Raffe to somehow retrieve her little sister, who was taken away by the warrior angels.
“I liked the juxtaposition of old-world angels being in Silicon Valley, home of the modern world’s most cutting-edge technology,” Ee wrote.
Ee said she definitely felt “some magic” while writing the novel, which is a story about a “battle-hardened warrior” being partnered with an “extraordinary victim” of his apocalypse.
“The story took its own natural course,” Ee wrote to her readers in Korea. “I tried not to influence it because that was the best way I knew to make sure that the story had its own heart and soul. If the characters and story didn’t want to go toward a certain direction organically on their own, then I wouldn’t force it.”
Initially released in the U.S. in 2011, the original English-language novel ranked No. 1 on Amazon’s Most Wished For Teen Books the following year, and was nominated for the 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards for the year’s Best Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction. Its film adaptation is currently being created by “The Evil Dead” and “Spider-Man 3” director and producer Sam Raimi. The book’s Korean edition recently hit bookstores in Korea.
Ee was born in Korea and moved to California as a little girl. “I didn’t speak a word of English at the time but now, I don’t remember a word of Korean,” she wrote.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to communicate with non-English-speaking Koreans and I am excited that my book has been translated for you. You could be an old friend from kindergarten or friends of my cousins. It’s a warm and wonderful feeling to connect with you again.”
“Angelfall” has been translated into about 20 different languages. Ee, who loves the the fantasy and SF genre for its “freedom from reality and the fantastic stimulation of the imagination,” said she enjoys reading Haruki Murakami, Stephen King, George RR Martin, Suzanne Collins and J.K. Rowling. And she is certainly excited about the upcoming movie based on her novel.
“I hope the movie will be visually entertaining and emotionally engaging,” Ee wrote. “It would be great fun to see Penryn and Raffe on the big screen!”
By Claire Lee
(
dyc@heraldcorp.com)
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