Shin Ji-sue; Mimesis: 178 pp., 12, 800 won
Illustrator Shin Ji-sue felt something strange was going on in her body when she noticed her stomach was sticking out as if pregnant. Her sense of foreboding was not wrong as she got a health check and she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She was 27.
The book “3 grams” tracks her fight against cancer, from the moment she finds out and her initial treatments to surgery and recovery. Her story is not just tear-jerking but depicts life in a hospital in detail including even the mundane parts. She quarreled with another woman in the ward over the television and was surprised by an unexpected visitor to the hospital.
This graphic novel offers consolation, not pity, for those who are struggling against poor health and disease. The title refers to the average weight of an ovary, which is not even recognizable for most people, but weighed heavily on Shin’s life.
— KWON MEE-YOO