Employee No. 9

Employee No. 9, a middle-aged middle manager, is in trouble. His son’s college tuition payment is due, his wife just doubled her cashier shifts to help make ends meet, and now the company where he’s worked for three decades wants to force him into retirement. After taking a stand, he’s demoted and practically exiled, selling internet services door-to-door in the remote countryside. Now it’s a battle of wills as the corporation doles out a series of mounting challenges and humiliations. When the order comes to violate a wildlife reserve and build a high-voltage tower there, the dogged Employee faces a critical choice.

With her latest novel, award-winning Korean author Kim Hye-jin considers whether a broken system can be escaped, or even dismantled. In a rigged game, what's the alternative to playing out your hand?