Damn. He’s never done this before. This is Martin Limón’s 7th novel in his exciting, action-packed series featuring George Sueño and Ernie Bascom, investigators in the military police attached to the US 8th Army in 1970s Seoul Although the novels have been written over the course of some 20 years (the first novel, Jade Lady … [Read More]
Category: Fiction in English (page 3)
Am I alone among Korea-followers in being a huge fan of Martin Limón?
Having read all seven of his previous novels, I’m delighted to have discovered that the 8th was published a few weeks ago. He might have thrown historical credibility to the winds this time round, but who cares? It sounds an absolute blast: Seoul, early 1970s: US Army Sergeant George Sueño is on a mission of … [Read More]
The Orphan Master’s Son: best left in the orphanage
Adam Johnson: The Orphan Master’s Son Doubleday, 2012 The publication of The Orphan Master’s Son, the second novel by Adam Johnson, had lucky timing, surfing the wave of interest in the North caused by the death of Kim Jong-il. The newspapers duly lined up to review it to general acclaim, but an early battleground formed: … [Read More]
FT interviews with author Krys Lee
Small talk: interview with Korean American writer Krys Lee in the FT http://t.co/VN4wRXzT (via @rjkoehler). Her first book, Drifting House, a collection of short stories set in North Korea, South Korea and the US, is now available on Amazon. [Read More]
Book review: Richard E Kim — The Martyred
Richard E. Kim: The Martyred First published by George Braziller, 1964 Published in Penguin Classics 2011, with introduction by Heinz Insu Fenzl and Preface by Susan Choi. 199 pp Fourteen North Korean priests are rounded up by the communists just before North Korea invades the South in June 1950. Twelve of the priests are shot, … [Read More]
Book Review: Martin Limón — G.I. Bones
Martin Limón: G.I. Bones Soho Crime 2009 G.I. Bones is the sixth in Martin Limón’s excellent series featuring George Sueño and Ernie Bascom, detectives from the US military based in 1970s Seoul. The first in the series, Jade Lady Burning, was published nearly 20 years ago in 1992, but our investigators are still in their … [Read More]
Sergeants Sueño & Bascom return with Mr Kill
Sergeants Sueño & Bascom return in December with Mr. Kill – the 7th in Martin Limón’s excellent detective series set in 70s Seoul. So far, on Kindle only. http://t.co/WvNAx8eT It’s reviewed by LKL here. [Read More]
So far from the Bamboo Grove discussed by Governor Romney
WikiLeaks: Massachusetts governor Romney discussed So Far From the Bamboo Grove with acting foreign minister Cho Jung-pyo in 2006. The book, on state school reading lists, contributes to a negative perception of Koreans. [Read More]
Debut novel from Samuel Park
Korean American author Samuel Park debuts with This Burns My Heart – a love story set in post-war Korea. Out now. #. There’s a nice interview feature with him in Good Reads. [Read More]
Is this the only modern Korea-related novel published by Penguin Classics?
The number of Korea-related publications in the Penguin Classics list can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand, and most are by ancient Confucian sages. The publisher’s blurb below says that if you like Lee Changrae’s The Surrendered you’ll like this: Richard E Kim’s The Martyred. Lee didn’t do a good sales job … [Read More]
DPRK-related books reviewed in Economist
Three DPRK-related books get a brief review in the Economist. Guy Delisle’s Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea, the latest James Church, and the thriller Maximum Target by Martin Gower: http://econ.st/mqErGC # Links: LKL reviews Guy Delisle: Pyongyang – A Journey in North Korea [Read More]
Book Review: Lark and Termite. (Densely poetic and powerful, apparently)
Jayne Anne Phillips: Lark and Termite Vintage Books, 2009 Surely the most carefully crafted sentence in a novel is the opening one. So when a reader is faced with an opening sentence that would not only have the Microsoft grammar checker going crazy with those irritating green wiggly lines but which would fox a literate … [Read More]
Two recent low-lights in Korea-related publishing
Two recent books to avoid: Kimchi-flavored erotica? “In Deep Kimchi” on Amazon: http://amzn.to/fB5KfN. Looks totally dreadful, particularly as it seems to be about sex with a J-pop band #. Via KTLit.com. Charles Montgomery says a new book on Dokdo Thirty Three Shouts is “A Complete Waste of Time http://bit.ly/i6RIUT # [Read More]
Book review: Pearl Buck’s Living Reed
Pearl S Buck: Living Reed – A Novel of Korea Moyer Bell, 1990 Originally published by Methuen, 1963 Pearl Buck spent most of her childhood and early adulthood in China in an American missionary family and, mixing with local children, grew up with an unrivaled understanding of the country. Her experiences were distilled into an … [Read More]
Book review: Eugenia Kim — The Calligrapher’s Daughter
Eugenia Kim: The Calligrapher’s Daughter Bloomsbury, 2010 Eugenia Sun-hee Kim’s first novel is based in part on the life of her mother, who was born in Japanese-occupied Korea and later emigrated to America after having lived to see liberation. The key characters in the novel are Najin – born on the day that Japan formally … [Read More]
Book Review: Yin Yang Tattoo
Ron McMillan: Yin Yang Tattoo Sandstone Press, 2010 “If you’ll excuse us, we have stereotypes to explore,” says our hero, Alec Brodie, to a visiting investment banker as he heads off to a private room arm-in-arm with a Korean girl. Yes, there’s irony in the quip, but the stereotypes don’t stop with the expense-account prostitute. … [Read More]