Written by Choi Sang Hee


Seven episodes are considered as SF novels or fantasy genres by describing unique characters with unfamiliar backgrounds.
However, what they symbolize are not new at all, because this book deals with frequent issues in our society such as discrimination, hatred, and anger. Even some episodes remind us of déjà vu that the events in the book are happening around us.
Datda can see what others can’t see, and the racoon, Vanilla Bean, can only seen by Datda. Their story is somewhat humorous and chilly. The story happening in the school is more like a summarized version of adult society. The illegal shooting happens and the victim and the perpetrator are changes into each other. The writer sharply captures the essence of the incident in the eye of Datda, and sometimes criticizes the situation through Vanilla Bean.
Furthermore, the writer contains the story of Joe (‘The Half of an Apple’), who is a mother or a father at the same time of Ian, a woman with femininity only in a society where it is ‘normal’ to have both femininity and masculinity. Joe wants to protect his or her daughter Ian from discrimination and hatred of the world. The main character doesn’t take any action and nothing is resolved in the end. However, Joe becomes determined to be stronger than before for Ian and herself instead of just making excuses toward the world. Isn’t this the advice on how to keep individual’s identity in this society which is struggling from continuous conflicts?
‘The Playball for Mars’ is about a baseball team chosen to leave for Mars for a game, but the team has not yet come back to the earth. In this future, more people are moving to Mars and successfully settle down. ‘Mars baseball’, started for better life for Mars citizens, is somewhat ridiculous compared to that of the earth, but finally, it becomes very popular in the earth. A decade has passed since both planets have had friendly games, and a female baseball team is chosen as an ambassador for the first time to visit Mars. However, the earth ambassador never comes back to the earth for some reasons. Nobody knows whether they are still alive or already dead. The writer, Choi Sang Hee, said that she wrote this novel when the anti-extradition bill protest in Hong Kong has surged.
Likewise, the setting of this book is fantastic with the background of future, but these seven stories in the book are realistic stories which someone is going through now, such as hatred, discrimination, stereotypes, and unfairness, etc.