Writing from Within

Lee Seung-u, acclaimed author of The Private Lives of Plants, is one of the most esteemed Korean authors in France. This seminal French-language collection introduces Lee's prolific oeuvre, celebrated in Korea and France alike. Jean-Claude de Crescenzo, Lee's French translator, offers an intimate exploration of a universally resonant body of work, deeply imbued with a symbolism drawn from European culture and mythology. Crescenzo delves into Lee's recurring motifs of desire, guilt, paternal absence, and the quest for alternate realities, interpreting them through a lens that is as much allegorical as it is perceptive.