English Translation by Chun Kyung-ja: ME Sharpe, 1993. Originally published as 태평천하 in 1938 An entertaining comedy chronicling a day or so in the life of a lecherous, foul-mouthed nouveau riche landlord. It captures a snapshot of Seoul under Japanese colonial occupation, but the Japanese impinge very little on the narrative. The book has larger … [Read More]
Category: Fiction (page 29)
Harold Hakwon Sunoo: Life and Poems of Three Koreans
This is a print-to-order book, rather than one sponsored by a major publishing house. I would have thought that would make it cheaper, but at £14 for a 104 page paperback it’s on the pricey side. And Sunoo is a man seriously in need of a proof-reader and editor. Even a standard version of Word … [Read More]
Nora Okja Keller: Comfort woman / Fox Girl
(Penguin, 1997/Virago 2000) (Penguin 2002/Marion Boyars 2002) Novels told from the perspective of a female underclass — prostitutes in Seoul or Shamans in the Korean community in Hawaii. Well worth a read. Links: Buy Fox Girl | Comfort Woman at Amazon.co.uk [Read More]
Martin Limón: Jade Lady Burning / Slicky Boys / Buddha’s Money
(Soho 1992 / Serpents Tail 1998) (Bantam 1997 / Serpents Tail 1999) (Bantam 1998 / Serpents Tail 2000) Fun detective thrillers set in 1970s Seoul, with two maverick US military policeman on the trail of some pretty gruesome criminals, hanging out in the bars of Itaewon, trawling the murky depths of the Korean underworld and … [Read More]
Chang-rae Lee: A Gesture Life / Native Speaker
(Granta, 2000) / (Granta, 1995) / A Gesture Life is a beautiful slow-burn novel which examines the relations between Koreans (both victim and collaborator) and Japanese in the wartime comfort stations. Native Speaker is a detective story which also explores the experiences of Korean immigrants in the US. Read A Gesture Life in preference to … [Read More]
Richard Hooker: M*A*S*H
Fun, easy-to-read stories about the army surgical hospitals in the Korean War. Each of the chapters feels as if it’s tailor-made for an episode of a TV series (funny, that). As a Brit, I sometimes find I need a dictionary to translate some of the Americanisms (and I start skim-reading when they’re talking in any … [Read More]
Elizabeth Kim: Ten Thousand Sorrows
This one’s really depressing, and it’s amazing how the author (this is autobiographical) seems to have ended up reasonably unscathed — outwardly at least. If ever you think you’ve had a tough time, read this book and you’ll feel better: someone’s had it worse. This is the story of the mixed-race daughter of a GI … [Read More]
Mira Stout: One Thousand Chestnut Trees
(Flamingo, 1997) Absorbing and very moving book in which the narrator pursues her family history through turbulent twentieth-century Korea. Quite a good introduction to modern Korean history if you’ve never read a history book, but this novel’s much more than that. Links: Buy at Amazon.co.uk [Read More]
Brief book review: Suki Kim — The Interpreter
A detective story centring on a young Korean girl in New York who earns a living interpreting for the court system. By chance she comes across information which leads her to question the circumstances of her parents’ death. The novel is an interesting glimpse into the Korean underclass in New York. I was so taken … [Read More]
Margaret Drabble: The Red Queen
(Penguin, 2005) Inspired by the Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong. The first half is a re-telling of the original story with the benefit of an additional 200 years’ hindsight; the second half is set in modern times, in a story which echoes some of the themes of the original. The only part which stretches the credulity … [Read More]
Hwang Sok-yong: The Guest
(Seven Stories, 2005) Translated by Chun Kyung-ja and Maya West Originally published as 손님, Seoul 2001 The Guest of the title is an unwelcome foreigner: originally applied to smallpox, it is used by extension to cover the cultural imports of communism and Christianity. The theme of the book is that until the ghosts of the … [Read More]
Yom Sang-seop: Three Generations
(Archipelago, 2005) Translated by Yu Young-nan. First published in Korean in 1931 as 삼 대 and revised in 1948. Chronicles the lives of an extended wealthy family in Japanese-occupied Seoul. The old order gradually fades, the vultures descend for the pickings, while an underground of nationalists and socialists struggle to make a difference. Recommended. Available … [Read More]
Lee Seung-u: The Reverse Side of Life
Peter Owen, 2005, 208pp Translated by Kong Yoo-jung Originally published as 생의 이면, Seoul, 1992 A partly autobiographical novel exploring the life story of a prominent Korean writer growing up in the second half of the twentieth century. [Read More]
Yi Chong-jun: Your paradise
A puzzling story about the struggles of successive managers of a leper colony to improve the lot of the lepers. I think the Complete Review shares my puzzlement. One of the best-selling novels of 20th Century Korean literature, originally published in 1976. Yi Chong-jun: Your paradise. (Green Integer, 2004) Translated by Jennifer Lee, Timothy R. … [Read More]
Yi Mun-yol: the Poet
A novel based on the life of a 19th century poet, Kim Sakkat, exploring his development as an artist against the backdrop of the insurrection by Hong Kyong-rae in the north-west. I was reminded of this book when watching the Im Kwon-taek film Chihwaseon because of its storyline of a wandering artist. See also review … [Read More]
Hwang Sok-yong reads from his novel ‘The Guest’
Hwang Sok-yong reads from his novel ‘The Guest’ 14 December 2005, 5pm – 7pm SOAS Kalili Lecture Theatre To celebrate the publication of his novel The Guest by Seven Stories Press, Hwang Sok-yong will be reading from the novel and answering questions at SOAS. [Read More]