Description

Remembered as a 'classic' of Korean youth literature, Wizard Bakery was published after winning the 2nd Changbi Youth Literature Award and created a significant buzz in 2009. This novel tackles heavy themes that had not been well addressed in youth fiction, providing a fresh shock to critics and readers alike. It also expanded the themes of youth literature, which had been confined to school settings, laying the groundwork for a diverse range of youth novels that followed. Wizard Bakery, praised for 'transcending the limits of Korean youth novels,' has now established itself as a 'classic' of our youth literature after 13 years. Its impressive sentences and unique imagination offer a different flavor with each reading, remaining relevant to today's young readers. The revised edition of Wizard Bakery will continue to be loved over time and capture new young readers. The moment you take a bite, a magical story begins. What if there were a meringue cookie that rewinds time? A madeleine that helps you forget the pain of a breakup, or a muffin that ensures your business thrives? There is a place that makes 'magical bread' that grants wishes the moment you take a bite. A bakery where a wizard with a powdered-white face and a little tail waits for customers with the lights on 24 hours a day—this is the 'Wizard Bakery.' The sixteen-year-old boy 'I,' who stutters, runs away from his family and hides in the neighborhood bakery, Wizard Bakery. In a moment of desperation, he jumps into the oven of his favorite bakery and encounters an astonishing world of magic. What he thought was an ordinary bakery turns out to be a magical bakery that creates special bread that fulfills people's wishes. From the 'Making Peace Raisin Scone' that helps you reconcile with someone you want to apologize to, to the 'No Thank You Sablé Chocolat' that makes someone you don't want to date 'eat and fall away,' and the 'Doppelgänger Financier' that sends a doppelgänger to school or work in your place, the various breads crafted by the wizard baker are all unique and enchanting. Readers will find themselves magically drawn into the mysterious world of Wizard Bakery alongside the protagonist boy, encountering the wish-granting breads they may have once dreamed of. A bittersweet fantasy filled with gentle yet warm comfort. While the boy is helped to hide, the baker is neither kind nor gentle. He sometimes shows a sharp and irritable demeanor, throwing cold words at customers. The baker, who says, 'You must take responsibility for the consequences of your choices,' coldly refuses requests from customers to fix the problems they have caused. The fantasy conveyed by Wizard Bakery is not an escape from reality into a dream of one's own making. As the boy sees how heavy reality applies even in the magical world, he realizes that he too must return home, feeling a bittersweet sense of truth. Thus, the harsh realities are laid bare in Wizard Bakery, but the boy also finds a glimmer of comfort there. On the day the baker is attacked by a nightmare, the boy, seeing the baker in distress, tells the nightmare that he will take on the bad dreams for him, and after dreaming of his deceased mother, he cannot get out of bed for two days. When he wakes up, he sees the baker genuinely worried for him and sheds tears of comfort he has never felt even from his family. "...Get in where you can. Who told you to do such a thing?" "..." As the tension eased, unexpectedly, tears began to flow. What filled my heart when my homeroom teacher or Mr. Bae did the same thing to me were feelings of avoidance, anger, resentment, or cynicism. The emotions flooding in now were of a different kind, and the pain came from knowing that someone was genuinely worried about me. (p. 143) The boy leans his head on the baker's shoulder, which had seemed so finicky, soaking the white gown he wears. Wizard Bakery reveals harsh realities with a cynical tone while also telling a story of warm comfort, like freshly baked bread. In the scene where the boy, having run away from his family, receives the baker's calm yet warm embrace, readers will feel the warmth that helps them endure reality. The sweet fantasy shown in Wizard Bakery contains a bittersweet reality. Thanks to the appropriate mixing of fantasy and reality, the comfort this novel conveys is neither light nor fleeting. Wizard Bakery, which provides solid comfort rather than easy sympathy, will remain a warm ray of light for all who live in reality. ★★★ Special praise from readers with a special affection for Wizard Bakery ★★★ A story that reaches out a hand to help you stand firmly when you desperately need someone's warmth. -Lim*Ryeong When you open the door to Wizard Bakery, everyone completes their own bread. -Ji*Min My boyhood still lingers in Wizard Bakery. -Jeong*Woo There is a reason it has been loved until now. A book I want to pass on to my child. -Seol**Ra A calm yet warm book that seems to silently lead you here during those bleak and dark times when you need to run away but have nowhere to go and no one to help you. -Lee*Ui There is a reason it continues to be read for a long time. It is rare to find a story that moves your heart whether you read it as a child or as a grown adult. I want to read this narrative of growth that remains forever young while I age. -Kang*Hyun A story that makes you want to believe in beautiful magic while reassuring you that you can live in this world without magic. -Heo*Ji If you still have the misconception that 'youth novels are formulaic, and domestic novels are calm and uninteresting,' I hope you read Wizard Bakery. It will break your prejudice. -Kim*Ah A story that, once read, does not leave your mind, immersing you completely in that time. A true narrative of growth that moves from the gloomy atmosphere to a small light. -Yoon*In A story that you keep wanting to open again and again until the corners of the book are frayed. A novel that fills my hungry soul, reminding me of the smell of delicious bread from somewhere. -Lee*Ra