Kyung Ran Jo: Tongue
Tr Chi-young Kim
Korean version 2007
English version Bloomsbury 2009
A lightweight and enjoyable book set among the foodies and fashionistas of Kangnam. A talented young cook is ditched by her trendy architect boyfriend, and spends much of the book getting over it, in a way that is a pleasure to read. In fact, so pleasurable is the read that we are totally unprepared for the gruesome revenge that she takes on the glamorous ex-model who stole her man. This book has been a best-seller in Korea, and is a refreshing change from much of the heavy and depressing Korean literature that is translated into English. One hates to say it, but there’s a slightly Japanese feel to the book: a bit off-beat, entertaining and with a measure of obligatory gore.
Worth a read if you can track it down, for a quick holiday read.
Links:
- Buy Tongue at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com