Portuguese author's book sells out after Han So-hee's stamp of approval

Portuguese author Fernando Pessoa's (1888–1935) posthumously published book "The Book of Disquiet" entered Korea's major bestseller charts nine years after it was translated into Korean.

Actor Han So-hee smiles at the camera during a press event for the movie ″Dream″ at MegaBox theater in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, in April. [NEWS1]

Portuguese author Fernando Pessoa's (1888–1935) posthumously published book "The Book of Disquiet" is selling out at bookstores in Korea nine years after it was translated into Korean.

The sudden surge in popularity of the 1982 book, which made bookstores nationwide run out of its copies, comes after actor Han So-hee mentioned the book in an interview with Esquire.

In the interview, Han said, "Lately, I've been reading books like 'Mourning Diary' (2009) and 'The Book of Disquiet' after being engrossed in the question, 'What is emotion?'"

She added, "Through those books, I realized people should always doubt their feelings and emotions."

"[In 'The Book of Disquiet,'] there's an impressive line that says all people are experiencing unrelenting anxiety around the clock only except when they are asleep."

Kyobo Bookstore sells ″The Book of Disquiet″ only through reservation. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The book's publisher, Spring Days Book, said, "After the interview, the hundreds of copies piled up in our inventory sold out in a flash."

The publisher is printing additional copies of the book.

She made a reference to the book in the interview, saying, "Anxiety is like a very thin paper. People should diligently clear off today's anxiety on the day and tomorrow's anxiety tomorrow."

"The Book of Disquiet" is a collection of Pessoa's around 480 short-to medium-length essays on life and death, darkness, ambiguity, failure and silence.

The New Yorker has called it "a modern masterpiece" for its explorations of "the ultimate futility of all accomplished, the fascination of loneliness" and "the way sorrow colors our perception of the world."

BY HA SU-YOUNG, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]