Sublimation

Sublimation opens with Soyoung’s question about reintegration: “Do you think it’s emotionally equivalent to murder?” Now that you’ve read the novel, what’s your answer to that?

How does the experience of Soyoung and Rose compare to the experience of Yujin and YJ? How do they manage jealousy and power struggles?

In what ways do Rose and YJ give voice to the realities of the immigration experience? How are they affected by the knowledge that a version of themselves continues to exist in Korea? What are the strongest influences in shaping their identities? What would you have done if you were in Rose or YJ’s position at the climax of the novel? Ultimately, how do they define home and homecoming throughout their odysseys?

What are the legacies of Rose’s grandfather and his wartime survival? Besides his house, what inheritances does he leave, tangible or intangible?

As the legend surrounding Arirang slowly unfolds, how does it reflect the love stories in Sublimation? Does love entice the characters to do righteous or foolish things?

In Parts IV and V, we see dual scenes presented side by side. Thinking about the chapters of your own personal history that you have left behind, or the possibilities that you never acted on, what would the lives of your alternate selves look like? If you had an instance, what would you want to say to them?

As you watched Mergebreak and Mitosis monetize the capacity for human existence, how did Megan’s motivations compare to Drew’s? How would the financial models be different if the world had no geographical borders?

How was your reading enhanced by the author’s use of second-person narration (“you”) and internal dialogue that lets you know a character’s true thoughts, especially when it contradicts what they say out loud? Whose point of view did you enjoy the most?

Running parallel to Soyoung’s dilemma is the story of Adam and Eve and their desire for the forbidden fruit. Would you have been satisfied with Soyoung’s life, or would you have shared her desire for major revisions?

Discuss the closing scene. What do you predict for the future, both in the novel and in real life? Will there be more or fewer guardrails? Does the world change for the better?