(Norton, 2005) A real page-turner of a history book. I was so gripped that I read it like a novel, and now need to go back and read it as a history book. Gives a very useful overview of pre-20th century history, but focuses on the more recent history, which it reassesses from a perspective … [Read More]
Books and literature (page 47)
Justin Bowyer (ed): The cinema of Japan and Korea
(Wallflower, 2004) A collection of articles from a wide variety of perspectives, some more approachable than others, but all of which encourage you to think beyond what’s on the screen. Links: Buy The Cinema of Japan and Korea at Amazon [Read More]
Anthony Leong: Korean Cinema – the new Hong Kong
(Trafford, 2002) A lively book containing reviews of the most readily accessible recent films. Links: Buy Korean Cinema: The New Hong Kong at Amazon [Read More]
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]
New book on Kim Ki-duk
For all you fans of this inventive director, there’s a new book out. I’ll post some comments once I’ve read it, but that won’t be for a while as I’ve got quite a backlog to get through. That plus the fact that the English version won’t be available until November 2006, according to Amazon. Update: … [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]