Petty Lies

" An appallingly propulsive, can’t-turn-away-from nightmare awaits."—Booklist

"Bak skillfully weaves the themes of guilt, family, and retribution to create a psychologically potent story that is at once compelling and profoundly disturbing. A provocative thriller that probes the dark side of the human heart."—Kirkus Reviews

"A spot-on portrait of psychopathy and manipulation. Just when you think you've figured Petty Lies out, it opens a new mouth and shows you a new set of fangs."—Brian Evenson, author Last Days

“I read Sulmi Bak's chilling exploration of cruelty and care like I was sitting in an operating theatre. Each of the narrators in Bak's arresting debut is eager to peel back their skin for each other, to reveal who they are and explain--in spare, scalpular prose--why they did what they did. Then again, maybe there's a reason they call it a theatre. Like Yoko Ogawa, Bak is a commanding and disturbing writer, fearless in her interrogation of hidden violences and masterful at ensuring the reader can't turn away from them.”—Eugenie Montague, author of Swallow the Ghost