Hello Baby

‘Illuminating … beautifully’ LYDIA KIESLING ‘I loved it’ ANNA HOGELAND ‘Intimate, searing’ RAMONA AUSUBEL A cult feminist hit in South Korea, Hello Baby is a gripping and intimate portrait of motherhood, fertility and womanhood for fans of Butter and Breasts and Eggs . Outside the chat, they had different jobs, personalities, financial backgrounds, but inside, they were all mothers-to-be anxiously awaiting their babies. In a group chat called ‘Hello Baby’, six women share the anxieties and absurdities of undergoing IVF. They first met at Baby Angel Hospital, an elite fertility clinic in Seoul. Outside the chat, each woman is different – a journalist, a police officer, a vet, a lawyer and two housewives – but inside it, they’ve come to confide in one another. They know it is unlikely they will all get their happy ending, but while messaging, anything seems possible. So, when 46-year-old Jeong-hyo suddenly announces she has stopped treatment and goes silent, it rocks them all. One year later, on Lunar New Year, Jeong-hyo sends a message announcing the birth of her daughter. As the stunned women count down to their visit to meet her and the new baby, they each reckon with their own journeys. Might this news hold fresh promise for each of them? To know that they will need to understand just how this unexpected miracle came to pass. A cult feminist hit in South Korea, in this wry, courageous and disarmingly honest novel, Kim Eui-kyung, translated by Sora Kim-Russell, offers a unique and daring exploration of womanhood and motherhood today.

‘Illuminating … beautifully’ LYDIA KIESLING ‘I loved it’ ANNA HOGELAND ‘Intimate, searing’ RAMONA AUSUBEL A cult feminist hit in South Korea, Hello Baby is a gripping and intimate portrait of motherhood, fertility and womanhood for fans of Butter and Breasts and Eggs . Outside the chat, they had different jobs, personalities, financial backgrounds, but inside, they were all mothers-to-be anxiously awaiting their babies. In a group chat called ‘Hello Baby’, six women share the anxieties and absurdities of undergoing IVF. They first met at Baby Angel Hospital, an elite fertility clinic in Seoul. Outside the chat, each woman is different – a journalist, a police officer, a vet, a lawyer and two housewives – but inside it, they’ve come to confide in one another. They know it is unlikely they will all get their happy ending, but while messaging, anything seems possible. So, when 46-year-old Jeong-hyo suddenly announces she has stopped treatment and goes silent, it rocks them all. One year later, on Lunar New Year, Jeong-hyo sends a message announcing the birth of her daughter. As the stunned women count down to their visit to meet her and the new baby, they each reckon with their own journeys. Might this news hold fresh promise for each of them? To know that they will need to understand just how this unexpected miracle came to pass. A cult feminist hit in South Korea, in this wry, courageous and disarmingly honest novel, Kim Eui-kyung, translated by Sora Kim-Russell, offers a unique and daring exploration of womanhood and motherhood today.

The bonds between six women undergoing IVF are tested when one announces an unexpected birth in this absorbing, candid novel about what women endure to become mothers "Already a feminist sensation in South Korea, it's candid, sharp and quietly devastating. And at just over 200 pages, you'll finish it in a sitting and think about it for weeks."--Dua Lipa's Service95 Outside the chat, they had different jobs, personalities, financial backgrounds, but inside, they were all mothers-to-be anxiously awaiting their babies. At a fertility clinic in Seoul, six women in their thirties and forties become friends. To comfort one another while undergoing IVF, they create the group chat "Hello Baby." Over the course of two years, they share personal stories on their way to motherhood, until one, forty-six-year-old Jung-hyo, suddenly announces she has stopped treatment and disappears from the friend group. But after a year of silence, on Lunar New Year, she drops a text in the chat with the news that she recently gave birth to a baby girl. She invites the group over to celebrate her daughter's birth. With a mix of envy and admiration, the women gather, but their doubts and suspicions threaten a friendship already stressed by uncertainty. Switching between the six characters--a journalist, a police officer, a vet, a lawyer, and two housewives--this thought-provoking novel explores the social pressure and emotional strain on women struggling to conceive. Written with insight, humor, and great empathy, Hello Baby is a moving portrait of what it means to be a woman today and the lengths some will go to seek motherhood.

The bonds between six women undergoing IVF are tested when one announces an unexpected birth in this absorbing, candid novel about what women endure to become mothers Outside the chat, they had different jobs, personalities, financial backgrounds, but inside, they were all mothers-to-be anxiously awaiting their babies. At a fertility clinic in Seoul, six women in their thirties and forties become friends. To comfort one another while undergoing IVF, they create the group chat "Hello Baby." Over the course of two years, they share personal stories on their way to motherhood, until one, forty-six-year-old Jung-hyo, suddenly announces she has stopped treatment and disappears from the friend group. But after a year of silence, on Lunar New Year, she drops a text in the chat with the news that she recently gave birth to a baby girl. She invites the group over to celebrate her daughter's birth. With a mix of envy and admiration, the women gather, but their doubts and suspicions threaten a friendship already stressed by uncertainty. Switching between the six characters--a journalist, a police officer, a vet, a lawyer, and two housewives--this thought-provoking novel explores the social pressure and emotional strain on women struggling to conceive. Written with insight, humor, and great empathy, Hello Baby is a moving portrait of what it means to be a woman today and the lengths some will go to seek motherhood.