Worm Story was originally published in 1985, and was adapted for the screen in 2007 by Lee Chang-dong as Secret Sunshine starring Jeon Do-yeon and Song Kang-ho. “Abject” is a compelling first-person narrative about two brothers—one a doctor, the other a painter—marred by trauma. The older brother, haunted by a war trauma that resurfaces when one of his patients unexpectedly dies during a routine operation, starts writing a novel set during the Korean War.