A Complicated Surgery Will Take Place On The Beach Tonight
The author of an incomplete novel suffers burnout during an overseas work assignment. Back at home some weeks later, sitting at a desk by a window in Newcastle (Australia) and reflecting on walks and metaphors from the past, the author considers how his pending fatherhood, his navigating a world of rising violence, and his position within the echo of so many teenage dreams may lead to a sense of completeness that both his life and novel never anticipated.
Drawing on the heritage of Sebald, Bernhard and Murnane, this philosophical novel of walking and memory is a love letter to the author's wife and to the analogies we live by.
Novel artwork by Kim Jung Gi, 2018 (click to enlarge)
You can watch a time-lapse of Master Kim illustrating the artwork:
I thought it would be interesting to recite some passages from the book around the locations they were based in Newcastle, Australia. These are a few scenes from Chapter 1.
Katita and Leif, by Kate Nastas