Lori Ostlund

“Chaney Kwak’s The Passenger somehow, in one slim volume, manages to do it all: in this hybrid of investigative journalism and travel writing, personal and familial memoir, Kwak chronicles—with searing wit—his long hours aboard a sinking Viking cruise ship, veering from his family’s history in post-WWII Korea to the history of successful lifeboat deployments, all against the backdrop of his own failing relationship. Kwak observes human beings with a precise, compassionate eye, moving from poignancy as he contemplates his place in the universe to biting social commentary aimed at the Twitter-storm of armchair storm chasers hoping to capitalize on his doom. I loved this book. It left me longing, guiltily, for Kwak’s next misadventure.”

– Lori Ostlund, author of After the Parade and winner of the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction