Walking Practice by Dolki Min

After crashing their spacecraft in the middle of nowhere, a shapeshifting alien find themself stranded on an unfamiliar planet and disabled by Earth’s gravity. To survive, they will need to practice walking. And what better way than to hunt for food? As they discover, humans are delicious. Intelligent, clever, and adaptable, the alien shift their gender, appearance, and conduct to suit a prey’s sexual preference, then attack at the pivotal moment of their encounter. They use a variety of hunting tools, including a popular dating app, to target the juiciest prey and carry a backpack filled with torturous instruments and cleaning equipment. But the alien’s existence begins to unravel one night when they fail to kill their latest meal. Thrust into an ill-fated chase across the city, the alien is confronted with the psychological and physical tolls their experience on Earth has taken. Questioning what they must do to sustain their own survival, they begin to understand why humans also fight to live. But their hunger is insatiable, and the alien once again targets a new prey, not knowing what awaits. . . . Dolki Min’s haunting debut novel is part psychological thriller, part searing critique of the social structures that marginalize those who are different—the disabled, queer, and nonconformist. Walking Practice uncovers humanity in who we consider to be alien, and illuminates how alienation can shape the human experience. from Amazon

한국인 작가의 작품이다. 약 150 페이지 정도의 단편이고 문자 대화등 다양한 글의 양식이 등장한다. 문장이나 표현은 크게 어렵지는 않다. 다만 작가의 의도겠지만 읽기에 어려운 문자체나 편집방식은 읽는데 노력이 필요하다. 이 작품에 대해서 번역가는 다음과 같이 말하고 있다. "The physicality of the text and the way it embodies and weaponizes conventional understandings of sex and gender as a way to feed the violent hunger of Mumu's loneliness is what makes Walking Practice a profoundly queer work of literature. Faced with literal alienation from human society and the struggle to survive in an inhospital world, Mumu wrestles with their decision to use humans for pleasure and sustenance and their desire for acceptance, companionship, and love ..." 그리고 작품의 내용상 성인 대상의 작품이 아닌가 싶다.