The novel by the famous South Korean writer Oh Chun-hee takes place in the 60s of the 20th century. The book is written from the perspective of an eleven-year-old girl. The mother died, the father earns money by wandering around construction sites, the brother and sister spend the night with relatives, do not stay anywhere for long and feel useless to anyone. The girl is trying to create a “home-world” in the middle of a cold, cruel world, but the reality is so terrible that she unwittingly reproduces in her relationship with her weak-minded brother the monstrous model of the relationship that existed between their parents. The gentle world of childhood collapses, unable to withstand the blows of fate and the stupid indifference of others.

The design uses a book engraving “Bird on a willow branch,” 18th century, China