The Wizard's Bakery

A fantastical coming-of-age story for fans of whimsical translated fiction | The genre-defining Korean bestseller

'Don't we all need a little magic in our lives sometimes?'

Open twenty-four hours a day, at first glance The Wizard's Bakery seems like any ordinary bakery where you can buy bread, cakes, and cookies, with a somewhat grumpy man behind the counter.

At first glance, that is. Because when the young boy who is our protagonist chooses it as a refuge to escape a difficult family situation, the reality he finds is quite different. Baked with the help of a mysterious blue-haired shop assistant, are sweets and pastries with immense powers, capable of changing lives: diabolical cinnamon cookies to give to those you can't stand, madeleines to fix broken hearts, almond bars to remember the past.

But each of these items comes with a warning, regardless of the positive or negative effect: the power contained in the treats inevitably alters the order of the world and sometimes produces dramatic consequences for those who consume them, consequences that need to be weighed carefully.

Follow along with our protagonist as he learns about the responsibility that comes with working at this bakery . . . and most of all, how much people need a little bit magic in their lives.

Gu Byeong-mo was born in 1976 in Seoul. She studied Korean language and literature at Kyung Hee University, and worked as an editor. She made her literary debut with the novel Wizard Bakery (2009), which won the Changbi Prize for Young Adult Fiction. It became bestseller in Korea and was translated into many different languages. Her short story collection Hoping That It Wasn't Only Me (2015) received Writer of the Year Award and Hwang Sun-won Literary Award for New Writers.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.