Svetlana's Reads and Views

  Name of Book: Y/N Author: Esther Yi  ISBN: 978-1-6626-0153-8 Publisher: Astra House  Type of book: literary, obsession, love, South Korea, fandom, parasocial relationships, mental illness, stalking, dream, challenges  Year it was published: 2023  Summary: Y/N, a novel about a Korean American woman living in Berlin whose obsession with a K-pop idol sends her to Seoul on a journey of literary self-destruction. It’s as if her life only began once Moon appeared in it. The desultory copywriting work, the boyfriend, and the want of anything not-Moon quickly fall away when she beholds the idol in concert, where Moon dances as if his movements are creating their own gravitational field; on live streams, as fans from around the world comment in dozens of languages; even on skincare products endorsed by the wildly popular Korean boyband, of which Moon is the youngest, most luminous member. Seized by ineffable desire, our unnamed narrator begins writing Y/N fanfic—in whi...

  Name of Book: The All-American Author: Joe Milano Jr.  ISBN: 978-1-324-03565-7 Publisher: W.W. Norton  Type of book: South Korean, Asian DACA, army, Washington, 2000, football, secrets, absurdist events, Man's fiction, identity, teamwork, spying, doing the right thing  Year it was published: 2023  Summary: Introducing a character as viscerally believable and unforgettable as any in fiction, The All-American is a triumph―full of energy, dark humor, suspense, and hard-won wisdom. Seventeen-year-old Bucky Yi knows nothing about his birth country of South Korea or his bio-dad’s disappearance; he can’t even pronounce his Korean name correctly. Running through the woods of rural Washington State with a tire tied to his waist, his sights are set on one all-American goal: to become a college football player. So when a misadventure with his adoptive family leads the U.S. government to deport him to South Korea, he’s forced to navigate an entirely foreign version of his...

  Name of Book: I Went to see my Father (Korean:  아버지에게 갔었어) Aboji ege kasseoso Author: Kyung-sook Shin, Anton Hur (trans) ISBN: 9781662601378  Publisher: Astra House Type of book: South Korean history from 1940s-2010s, family, siblings, secrets, cult, affair, loyalty, farming, traditions, modernity, cycles, writing, books, life, countryside life vs city life  Year it was published: 2023 (original 2021) Summary: An instant bestseller in Korea and the follow up to the international bestseller, Please Look After Mom; centering on a woman's efforts to reconnect with her aging father, uncovering long-held family secrets. Two years after losing her daughter in a tragic accident, Hon finally returns to her home in the countryside to take care of her father. At first, her father only appears withdrawn and fragile, an aging man, awkward but kind around his own daughter. Then, after stumbling upon a chest of letters, Hon discovers the truth of her father's past and recon...

Name of Book: Offerings Author: Michael ByungJu Kim ISBN: 978-1-951934-26-2 Publisher: Arcade Publishing Type of book: South Korea, finances, growing up in America, 1970s-1990s, father/son relationship, rescuing Korean government, debt, identities, culture, heritage  Year it was published: 2020 Summary: For fans of Chang-Rae Lee, Min Jin Lee, and The Big Short, a moving novel about love, sacrifice, ambition, and greed—and a financial crisis With the rapidly cascading Asian Financial Crisis threatening to go global and Korea in imminent meltdown, investment banker Dae Joon finds himself back in his native Seoul as part of an international team brought in to rescue the country from sovereign default. For Dae Joon—also known by his American name of Shane, after the cowboy movie his father so loved—the stakes are personal. Raised in the US and Harvard Business School–educated, Dae Joon is a jangnam, a firstborn son, bound by tradition to follow in the footsteps of his for...

Name of Book: Forgotten Reflections Author: Young-Im Lee ISBN : 978--1-68411-382-8 Publisher: Self published Type of book: Korea, school, present day, 1948--1950, Korean war, society, hierarchy, espionage, saving, dreams, nature, determination, courage, relationships Year it was published: 2017 Summary: In the current international climate where North Korea takes center stage, “Forgotten Reflections” weaves an inspirational tale of family, lost memories, folklore and an unforgotten history, spanning three generations as South Korea rises from the ashes. DARE TO DREAM IN THE MIDST OF WAR. 1945. Rice fields seem endless in a quaint farming village of South Korea, yet Iseul the villagers have been starving for as long as they can remember. Their Japanese colonizers have taken every last grain with them as they are finally forced out of the Peninsula. In the newly independent Korea, Iseul and Jung-Soo dream of what their future might bring. Yet, war is on the horizon...

Name of Book: The Island of Sea Women Author: Lisa See ISBN: 978-1-5011-5485-0 Publisher: Scribner Type of book: Jeju South Korea, 1938-2008, friendship, sisterhood, women, deep diving, haenyo, Japanese occupation, World War 2, Korean War, surviving, selling, growing up and maturing Year it was published: 2019 Summary: A new novel from Lisa See, the New York Times bestselling author of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, about female friendship and family secrets on a small Korean island. Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends that come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility but also danger. Despite their love for each other, Mi-ja and Young-sook’s differences are impossib...

Name of Book: If You Leave Me Author: Crystal Hana Kim ISBN: 978-0-06-264517-3 Publisher: William and Morrow Type of book: South Korea, Korean War, 1951-1967, love triangle, marriage, motherhood, family, Park Chung-Hee, society, school, choices, veterans, voting, surviving, fun Year it was published: 2018 Summary: An emotionally riveting debut novel about war, family, and forbidden love—the unforgettable saga of two ill-fated lovers in Korea and the heartbreaking choices they’re forced to make in the years surrounding the civil war that continues to haunt us today When the communist-backed army from the North invades her home, sixteen-year-old Haemi Lee, along with her widowed mother and ailing brother, is forced to flee to a refugee camp along the coast. For a few hours each night, she escapes her family’s makeshift home and tragic circumstances with her childhood friend, Kyunghwan. Focused on finishing school, Kyunghwan doesn’t realize his older and wealthier ...

Name of Book: White Chrysanthemum Author: Mary Lynn Bracht ISBN:   B0722T7JXQ Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Year it was published: 2018 Summary: The Korean Nightingale, a sweeping historical debut for fans of Lilac Girls, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Kristin Hannah that brings to life the heartbreaking history of Korea through the deeply moving and redemptive story of two sisters separated by World War II. Korea, 1943. Hana has lived her entire life under Japanese occupation. Following her mother’s footsteps into the sea as a haenyeo, one of the famed female divers of beautiful Jeju Island, she enjoys an independence that few other Koreans can still claim. Until the day Hana witnesses a Japanese soldier threatening her beloved younger sister on shore. Desperate to save her, Hana is captured and transported to Manchuria where she is forced to become a comfort woman in a Japanese brothel. But haenyeo are women of power and strength and Hana holds close the lesson...

Name of Book: Pachinko Author: Min Jin Lee ISBN: 978-1-4555-6393-7 Publisher: Grand Central Type of book: 1910-1989, Japan, Korea, Koreans living in Japan, faith, religion, marriage, relationships, women, suffering, multi generational, Pachinko, survival, rules, Japanese, WWII, yakuza, negative stereotypes Year it was published: 2017 Summary: Pachinko follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all. Deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved when a young tubercular minister offers to marry and bring her to Japan. So begins a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history. Through desperate struggles and hard-won triumphs, its members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, family, and identity. Characters: Oh boy, there ...

General Information: Name of Book: Human Acts (Soneun i eundae) ISBN: 978-1-101-90672-9 Publisher: Hogarth Publisher Year it was published: 2016 (original 2014) Summary: From the internationally bestselling author of The Vegetarian, a rare and astonishing (The Observer) portrait of political unrest and the universal struggle for justice. In the midst of a violent student uprising in South Korea, a young boy named Dong-ho is shockingly killed. The story of this tragic episode unfolds in a sequence of interconnected chapters as the victims and the bereaved encounter suppression, denial, and the echoing agony of the massacre. From Dong-ho's best friend who meets his own fateful end; to an editor struggling against censorship; to a prisoner and a factory worker, each suffering from traumatic memories; and to Dong-ho's own grief-stricken mother; and through their collective heartbreak and acts of hope is the tale of a brutalized people in search of a voice. An ...

General Information: Name of Book: When Adam Opens His Eyes (Adam i nun ttul ttae) ISBN: 978 1 56478 914 3 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Year it was published: 2013 (original 1990) Summary: 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 aplomb, bound for destruction, or maturity--whichever comes first. Author: Jang Jung-Il (Translated by Hwang Sun-Ae, Horace Jeffery Hodges) About the Author: (From the book) Jang Jung-Il was born in 1962. Once he began his career as an author, the self-educated Jang's wide-ranging tastes led him to try his hand at various genres. Jang Jung-il is infamous-and has even been jailed-for his erotic and vio...

Name of Book: Rina (Rina) Author: Kang Young-Sook, Kim Boram (Translator) ISBN: 978 1 62897 115 6 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press Type of book: North Korea, China, concrete, prostitution, sex, friendship, loyalty, sacrificing life, murder, modern times, chemicals, progress Year it was published: 2015 (originally in 2011) Summary: Rina is a defector from a country that might be North Korea, traversing an "empty and futile" landscape. Along the way, she is forced to work at a chemical plant, murders a few people, becomes a prostitute, runs a lucrative bar, and finds a solace in a motley family of wanderers all as disenfranchised as she. Brutal and unflinching, with elements of the mythic and grotesque interspersed with hard-edged realism, Rina is a pioneering work of Korean postmodernism. Characters: Main characters include Rina, a young woman who is sixteen in beginning and is from the country of M (maybe North Korea?) who is traveling to the country ...

Name of Book: Son of Man (Original title Saramui adeul) Author: Yi Mun-Yol translated by Brother Anthony ISBN: 978 1 62897 119 4 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Type of book: religion, faith, place of G-d in life, murder, mystery, killer, friendship, wandering, theologies, philosophies, magic, discovery, ancient times of Augustus, curses, different gods and goddesses Year it was published: 2015 (original 1979) Summary: One of the greatest living Korean writers here details the quest of a young seminary student seeking transcendence, running through many Western and East Asian theologies in the process. Deciding that Jesus was not truly "the son of man," the student sets out to create his own alternative to Christ, and winds up dead. Soon, the detective called in to solve the killing winds up with more than a simple murder on his hands, as this metaphysical mystery advances to its unforgettable climax. Characters: The main characters include Sergeant Nam who i...

General Information: Name of Book: The Vegetarian ISBN: 978-1-101-90611-8 Publisher: Hogarth Books Year it was published: 2016 (Original 2007) Summary: Before the nightmare, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary life. But when splintering, blood-soaked images start haunting her thoughts, Yeong-hye decides to purge her mind and renounce eating meat. In a country where societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye's decision to embrace a more “plant-like” existence is a shocking act of subversion. And as her passive rebellion manifests in ever more extreme and frightening forms, scandal, abuse, and estrangement begin to send Yeong-hye spiraling deep into the spaces of her fantasy. In a complete metamorphosis of both mind and body, her now dangerous endeavor will take Yeong-hye—impossibly, ecstatically, tragically—far from her once-known self altogether. A disturbing, yet beautifully composed narrative told in three parts, The Vegetarian is an allegorical no...

Name of Book:    No One Writes Back (Original title: Amudop'yonji haji ant'a) Author: Jang Eun-Jin, translated by Jung Yewon ISBN: 978-1-56478-960-0 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Type of book: South Korea, travels, vagabond existence, communication, family issues, blind dog, friendships, relationships, letter writing, old fashioned phone calling, unresolved issues, 2009, quirky characters, fascinating hotels. Year it was published: 2009 (translated in 2013) Summary: Communication–or the lack thereof–is the subject of this sly update of the picaresque. No One Writes Back is the story of a young man who leaves home with only his blind dog, an MP3 player, and a book, traveling aimlessly for three years, from motel to motel, meeting people on the road. Rather than learn the names of his fellow travelers–or invent nicknames for them–he assigns them numbers. There’s 239, for example, who once dreamed of being a poet, but who now only reads her poems to a friend in a c...

Name of Book: Juguen Wangnyeoreul Wihan Pavane /  Pavane for a Dead Princess Author: Park Min-Gyu (Translated by Amber Hyun Jung Kim) ISBN: 978 1 62897 066 1 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Type of book: South Korea, 1985-1986, relationship, beauty, aestheticism, low wage jobs, wealth, poverty, love, modern music, art, work, philosophy of life without answers Year it was published: 2014 (originally 2009) Summary: Following the relationship between a man with matinee-idol good looks and “the ugliest woman of the century,” Pavane for a Dead Princess examines how contemporary Korea’s obsession with beauty is its popular culture’s newest canker. Both celebrated and condemned for his attacks upon what he perceives as the humorlessness of contemporary Korean literature, author Park Min-gyu uses a myriad of references to Western music and art, and the addition of a ‘writer’s cut,’ to suggest various ways of looking at his country’s extreme aesthetic fetishization. Chara...

General Information: Name of Book: Chakhan Gajok/A Good Family ISBN: 978 1 62897 118 7 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Year it was published: 2008 (translated in 2015) Summary: This collection of eight stories cynical and sympathetic by turns represents the author's attempt to document and understand the conflicts, resentments, hatreds, and anxieties of contemporary family life. The title story depicts a mother's busy day playing numerous roles ashamed, fearless, or humble depending on which member of her family she's tending to. In "The Privacy of My Father," a daughter tracks her father to Hong Kong in order to spy on what she thinks is an illicit affair. All in all, says Seo Hajin, family means deception--but these masks aren't so easily removed." Author: Seo Hajin (Translated by Amy C Smith and Ally H Hwang) About the Author: Seo Hajin She was born in 1961 in Youngcheon, North Kyungsang Province. She studied Korean literature at Kyun...

General Information: Name of Book: My Son's Girlfriend/ Nae adul ui yonin ISBN: 978 1 56478 910 5 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Year it was published: 2013 (Original year 2008) Summary: At once an ironic portrayal of contemporary Korea and an intimate exploration of heartache, alienation, and nostalgia, this collection of seven short stories has earned the author widespread critical acclaim. With empathy and an overarching melancholy that is at times tinged with sarcasm, but always deeply meaningful, Jung explores the ambition and chaos of urban life, the lives of hte lost and damaged souls it creates, and the subtle shades of love found among them. Author: Jung Mi-Kyung (Translated by Yu Young-Nan) About the Author: Yu Young-Nan She lives in Seoul. She has translated numerous Korean novels into English, including Park Wan-suh's Who Ate Up all the Shinga? and Yom Sang-Seop's Three Generations. Jung Mi-Kyung She is one of the most distinguished writers...

Name of Book: Hongo/ Stingray Author: Kim Joo Young (Inrae You Vinciguerra and Louis Vincinguerra are translators) ISBN: 978 1 56478 959 4 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Type of book: 1950s, small farming village, missing father, South Korea, travel, abandonment, survival, rumors, seasons, memories, creations, secrets, growing up, coming of age, moving on Year it was published: 2013 (original 1998) Summary: Hailed by critics, "Stingray" has been described by its author as "a critical biography of my loving mother." With his father having abandoned his family for another woman, Se-young and his mother are forced to subsist on their own in the harsh environment of a small Korean farming village in the 1950s. Determined to wait for her husband's return, Se-young's mother hangs a dried stingray on the kitchen doorjamb; to her, it's a reminder of the fact that she still has a husband, and that she must behave as a married woman would, despite...