Esther
2025년 10월 9일
세종북클럽의 11월 선정 도서는 Claire Kilroy의 <Soldier Sailor>입니다.
If there’s one area of human experience I’ve barely grazed in fiction, it’s parenting. Not having given birth or raised a child myself, I often feel awkward around babies. And being acutely aware of that uncharted territory, the one that shrinks a little more each year with the ticking of biology, doesn’t exactly deepen my sense of imaginary motherhood. Still, over time, I’ve come to suspect that "daughterhood" might be a kind of motherhood too, sometimes even the more visceral kind.
This book offers a window into that world - the raw, intimate, psychological terrain of early motherhood. Its author, Claire Kilroy, is a contemporary Irish writer whose work has been gaining attention alongside writers like Claire Keegan and Sally Rooney. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m intrigued by what seems to be an unflinching portrayal of new motherhood - its exhaustion, its awe, its unspoken corners.
I’m curious not only about the story itself but also about how it resonates with those who have walked this path. Will they find it truthful, fair, familiar? For the rest of us - the outsiders, bystanders, or simply the curious - it’s a chance to listen in, to imagine. So here it is, our book of November. I can’t wait to hear what you think when we meet again.
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Soldier Sailor takes readers deep inside the early days of motherhood. Exploring the clash of fierce love with a seismic shift in identity, Claire Kilroy conjures the raw, tumultuous emotions of a new mother, as her marriage strains and she struggles with questions of equality, autonomy, and creativity. It's a tale of boundless love and relentless battle, a bedtime story to a son, Sailor, recounting their early years together. Spending her days in baby groups, playgrounds, and supermarkets, Soldier doesn’t know who she is anymore. She hardly sees her husband, who has taken to working late most nights. A chance encounter with a former colleague feels like a lifeline to the person she used to be but can hardly remember.
갓 엄마가 된 어떤 이의 모성의 세계로 초대하는 책으로, 작가 클레어 킬로이는 한 개인에서 ‘엄마’로 정체성에 거대한 변화가 일어나는 순간을 깊이 들여다보게 한다. 결혼 생활의 긴장 속에 평등, 자율성, 창의성에 대한 질문과 씨름하는 초보 엄마의 나날을, 익히지 않은 날 것으로 보여준다. 아기들 모임, 놀이터, 마트 등에서 하루를 보내는 그녀는 더 이상 자신이 누구인지 모르는 듯, 대부분 밤 늦게까지 일하는 남편을 거의 만나지 못한 채 살아간다. 그러다 우연히 만난 옛 동료와의 만남이 이제 기억조차 잘 나지 않는 예전의 자신에게 닿을 수 있는 생명줄처럼 느껴진다.
We will meet on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, at 5pm
Join us for an evening of camaraderie and intellectual stimulation. Admission is free, but attendance is restricted to individuals of college age and above. You can sign up for the meeting via Karrot (당근 모임) or secure your spot through Kakao (에스더어학원).
세종에 거주하고 있는 외국인을 포함해 교사, 강사, 회사원, 공무원 및 가사일을 하시는 분들에게도 원서독서를 장려하고 자유롭게 토론할 수 있는 문학적/문화적 소통과 교류의 공간이 되고자 합니다. 해당 책을 읽고, 영어로 소통이 가능한 대학생 이상의 성인에 한해 누구나 무료로 참석할 수 있습니다. 2025년 11월 모임의 책으로는 Claire Kilroy의 <Soldier Sailor>를 읽습니다.