Considered an eccentric in the traditional Korean literary world, Jung Young-moon s short stories have nonetheless won numerous readers both in Korea and abroad, most often drawing comparisons to Kafka. Adopting strange, warped, unstable characters and drawing heavily on the literature of the absurd, Jung s stories nonetheless do not wallow in darkness, despair, or … [Read More]
Archives: Books (page 143)
Arriving in a Thick Fog
The four novellas in Arriving in a Thick Fog typify renowned Korean cult writer Jung Young Moon’s emphasis not on events, but on the meticulous and convoluted paths the narrator’s minds take as they navigate through life. Through a deep, filterless gaze into the narrator’s heads, Jung shares thorough musings that manage to be both spontaneous and … [Read More]
A Contrived World
Set in San Francisco, “A Most Contrived World” recounts the author s visit to the mythic Californian city. While the novel is based in this real experience, the narrator s imaginative reflections cause the narrative to balloon outward into the realms of fiction and fantasy. Each chance encounter provides an opportunity to unfurl a fictional … [Read More]
A Chain of Dark Tales
A Chain of Dark Tales contains forty-five short stories. The phrase that most accurately describes this book would be The Great Quilt, a panoramic quilt with all possible, even impossible, thoughts and images and situations. Its as if he has laid out forty-five patches of unique materials, patterns, and colors in a public square and … [Read More]
Seeds of Control: Japan’s Empire of Forestry in Colonial Korea
Japanese colonial rule in Korea (1905-1945) ushered in natural resource management programs that profoundly altered access to and ownership of the peninsula’s extensive mountains and forests. Under the banner of “forest love,” the colonial government set out to restructure the rhythms and routines of agrarian life, targeting everything from home heating to food preparation. Timber … [Read More]
One Spoon on This Earth
An autobiographical novel that takes a life to pieces, “One Spoon on this Earth” stands a sort of digest of contemporary Korean history as it might be seen through the lens of one man’s life and opinions. [Read More]
Tongue
An erotically charged, elegantly written novel that marks the first publication in English of author Kyung-Ran Jo, a literary star in Korea who has earned comparisons to Haruki Murakami. Emotionally raw and emphatically sensual, Tongue is the story of the demise of an obsessive romance and a woman’s culinary journey toward self-restoration and revenge. When … [Read More]
When Adam Opens His Eyes
First published in 1990, this is a sensational and highly controversial novel by one of Korea’s most electrifying contemporary authors. A preposterous coming-of-age story, melding sex, death, and high school in a manner reminiscent of some perverse collision between Georges Bataille and Beverly Cleary, the narrator of this book plows through contemporaneous Korean mores with … [Read More]
Miracle on Cherry Hill
This is the story of a man named Kang Dae-su. His whole life is a miracle, rising from poverty to running a successful construction company. In his twilight years, Kang is diagnosed with a brain tumour. He returns to his childhood home of Cherry Hill. He acquires a crumbling old house in which to retreat … [Read More]
The Dog Who Dared to Dream
This is the story of a dog named Scraggly. Born an outsider because of her distinctive appearance, she spends most of her days in the sun-filled yard of her owner’s house. Scraggly has dreams and aspirations just like the rest of us. But each winter, dark clouds descend and Scraggly is faced with challenges that … [Read More]
The Hen who Dreamed she could Fly
This is the story of a hen named Sprout. No longer content to lay eggs on command only to have them carted off to the market, she glimpses her future every morning through the barn doors, where the other animals roam free, and comes up with a plan to escape into the wild―and to hatch … [Read More]
Wolves
“Written in a beautifully rendered, nuanced language, Wolves is a window into a little-known world.” —Krys Lee – Author of How I Became a North Korean Jeon Sungtae’s short stories build a unique world through their consummate construction and firm roots in reality. With Mongolia as the physical background and through the perspectives of outsiders, … [Read More]
Sweet Potato: Collected Short Stories
Kim Tongin (1900-1951) is one of Korea’s earliest and most respected modern writers whose naturalist fiction brilliantly depicts Korean life during a period of profound social change. Namesake of the prestigious Dong-in Literary Award, Kim Tongin’s succinct writing style can still inspire readers and provide insight into early 20th century Korea over 60 years after … [Read More]
One Hundred Shadows
An oblique, hard-edged novel tinged with offbeat fantasy, One Hundred Shadows is set in a slum electronics market in central Seoul an area earmarked for demolition in a city better known for its shiny skyscrapers and slick pop videos. Here, the awkward, tentative relationship between Eun-gyo and Mujae, who both dropped out of formal education … [Read More]
I’ll Go On
‘That’s how it generally is with Aeja’s stories. They’re as potent as a putrid peach. Listening to her words your head starts to droop with their sticky juice trickling down your ears, until all you can do is succumb to the saccharine flow.’ From one of South Korea’s most acclaimed young authors comes the story … [Read More]
The Impossible Fairy Tale
A chilling, wildly original novel from a major new voice from South Korea The Impossible Fairy Tale is the story of two unexceptional grade-school girls. Mia is “lucky”―she is spoiled by her mother and, as she explains, her two fathers. She gloats over her exotic imported color pencils and won’t be denied a coveted sweater. … [Read More]