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I’m hoping that, as in previous years, by posting my own list of upcoming literature and fiction titles – pulled together by some targeted searching on Amazon and a trawl through Barbara J Zitwer’s website – I might persuade others to supplement it from their own specialist knowledge. Whatever happens, books inevitably fall through the … [Read More]
Category: Non-fiction (page 2)
What have we been reading in 2019? Here are the highs and lows of our reading diary
I alternate my reading, on no systematic basis, between fiction and non-fiction, trying to maintain a balance between keeping up to date with the most important new publications and working through the guilt pile of past publications that I failed to read when they came out. I don’t have time to read much apart from … [Read More]
Review: 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism
Ha-Joon Chang: 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism Penguin, 2011, 304pp As a Cambridge University professor, Ha Joon Chang is of course highly specialized in his field of economics. However, this book is written for the lay reader. The book is written in a very interesting format. It comes as a series of … [Read More]
Brief review: Samuel Hawley — The Imjin War
Samuel Hawley: The Imjin War – Japan’s Sixteenth-Century Invasion of Korea and Attempt to Conquer China 2nd Edition, Conquistador Press 2014 Originally published by Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch, Seoul, 2005 How is it that a 664 page book only merits a brief review? Well, because as an historical book a proper review should only … [Read More]
Book review: Min Kym — Gone
Min Jin Kym: Gone — A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung Viking, 2017, 256pp When Min Jin Kym’s Gone came out, I mentally heaved a sigh of relief. Here’s one Korea-related book, I thought, among the dozens that will be published this year, that I don’t need to read. The story of how her … [Read More]
New and upcoming non-fiction titles for 2019
Unlike my list that attempts to compile upcoming literature and fiction titles, here I’ve had to be selective in what to include, otherwise the length of this post would be unmanageable. Nevertheless I’ve almost certainly missed out some titles that I’d want to have on my bookshelf. I’ve divided the list into seven sections: Literature … [Read More]
A look back at the 2018 literary year
A look back at the books and literary events of the year – and a summary of my reading diary. Literature in translation In translated fiction, my reading this year has not managed anywhere near to keep pace with the amount of translations being published. I know I said the same in respect of 2017 … [Read More]
Book review: Blaine Harden – King of Spies
Blaine Harden: King of Spies – The dark reign of America’s spymaster in Korea Mantle, 2018, 272 pp The character of the maverick cop, or even maverick spy, delivering outstanding results through unorthodox means and despite a disregard for hierarchy, is a familiar one in crime and spy fiction. Blaine Harden, who worked with Shin … [Read More]
Talking to North Korea: Ending the Nuclear Standoff
News of a book launch and talk at Bookmarks: Talking to North Korea: Ending the Nuclear Standoff Thursday 08 November 6.30 With Glyn Ford Bookmarks | 1 Bloomsbury Street | London WC1B 3QE | bookmarksbookshop.co.uk Admission £2.00 Payable on door Reserve your place here or call 020 7637 1848 North Korea’s regime is often called … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Nick Bonner’s Made in North Korea
When one thinks of North Korean graphic art, images of strident anti-American propaganda posters spring to mind. Fortunately, and in the current climate of reduced tension on the peninsula, the posters that greeted you in the first room of Nick Bonner’s exhibition at the House of Illustration focused less on stirring up national hatred against … [Read More]
New books for the summer
A couple of new books to take with you on your summer break – or, more likely in respect of the first on the list, to adorn your coffee table when you return. First, fulsomely reviewed by Andrew Salmon in Asia Times, comes Inside North Korea by The Guardian‘s architecture and design critic Oliver Wainwright … [Read More]
Book review: Lee Yil – Dynamics of Expansion and Reduction
Lee Yil: Dynamics of Expansion and Reduction Selected Writings on Korean Contemporary Art, 1970 – 1996 Initial draft translations: Chung Yeon-shim, Park Eun-ah, Park Sung-ji Final translations: Paul O’Kane, Song Bada Published by AICA (International Association of Art Critics) / Les Presses du Réel, Dijon, France, 2018, 212pp How often do you read the learned … [Read More]
Wookwan’s Korean Temple Food – Book Talk and Tasting Event
What a shame this clashes with the opening night of 4482 – Butterfly Effect at the Bargehouse. Nevertheless, this temple food event is sure to be extremely popular, so make sure you get your application in. Yes, note the unusual registration process, which suggests that the attendee list may be prioritised in the event of … [Read More]
Lee Yil: seminar and book launch of selected writings on Contemporary Korean Art
Artist Bada Song and critic / lecturer Paul O’Kane spent a large part of last year helping to translate and edit an important new collection of mid-to-late 20th century writings of renowned Korean art critic Lee Yil (1932-1997), “the main observer of “Dansaekhwa”, or Korean monochrome”. That work has now come to fruition, with the … [Read More]
New and upcoming non-fiction titles for 2018
Too many books, not enough time to read them, or space to store them. Encouragingly, in a skim of the upcoming publication lists I had no problems finding plenty of books on a wide range of interesting topics. No longer it seems is the reading public (or the publishers’ perception thereof) solely interested in that … [Read More]
New and upcoming literature and fiction titles for 2018
From classic Joseon dynasty ghost stories, via historical fiction set in the reign of Queen Min, to the latest in translated literature, we take a look at some of the books to look forward to in 2018. Our look at non-fiction titles can be found here. Contemporary Korean literature in translation Hwang Sok-yong’s novel At … [Read More]