The Plotters
Un-su Kim
Doubleday (February 12, 2019)
From Text Publishing:
“More than a crime novel, more than violence and mystery, The Plotters promises both temptation and beauty.” -- Eka Kurniawan
City of Ash and Red
Pyun Hye-young
Arcade Publishing (November 6, 2018)
From Amazon:
“For fans of J. G. Ballard and early Ian McEwan, a tense psychological thriller and Kafkaesque parable by the author of The Hole ― called ‘an airtight masterpiece’ by the Korean Economic Daily.”
The Hole
Pyun Hye-young
Arcade Publishing (August 1, 2017)
2017 Shirley Jackson Award Winner - Novel
Top 10 Thrillers to Read This Summer by Time Magazine
From Booklist Review:
“Kim-Russell, one of today’s top Korean-to-English translators, excels at replicating the stifling, unrelenting desperation that Pyun creates for her voiceless protagonist. Winner of many of Korea’s top literary prizes and accolades, Pyun proves to be an effectively chilling storyteller whose expert narrative manipulations should earn new followers.” -- Terry Hong
Wolves
Jeon Sungtae
White Pine Press (May 16, 2017)
From Korean Literature Now:
“Remarkable of Jeon Sungtae’s short story collection Wolves is that his stories do not revolve around Seoul; rather, they take the reader to places far from its sphere of influence. These places include the Tumen River, the border of China and North Korea, mountain villages in Jeolla Province, the rugged farming community of Desaengi Village on Cheongsan Island, and, most notably, Mongolia, where six of the stories take place. It is in these locales that Jeon weaves his sad, lonely tales inhabited by characters who are trying to escape their circumstances or rediscover themselves. With an attentive translation from Sora Kim-Russell, Jeon’s stories are tangible and his characters multi-dimensional, making Wolves an enjoyable and illuminating read.”
Familiar Things
Hwang Sok-yong
Scribe Publications (June 8, 2017)
From The Economist:
“In his novel Familiar Things, on a squalid landfill site outside Seoul amid ‘towering mounds’ of waste, 6,000 people sift and sell the rubbish ferried from the booming city in convoys of trucks. Their life is seen through the adventures of Bugeye, a boy who, with his resourceful mother, survives ‘every bad odour in the world’ to find solidarity among these human ‘discards and outcasts.’ In their reeking shantytown, ‘children were useless, worth less than scrap metal.’ Yet he thrives, and Mr Hwang sweetens his escapades with charm and compassion. Bugeye forgivably asks, ‘what was the straight and narrow when you lived in a garbage dump?’ Still, he transcends the trash to pursue decency and dignity, thanks to ghostly visitations from the farming families who once inhabited an idyllic village here, ‘thick with bamboo.’ Sora Kim-Russell’s translation moves gracefully between gritty, whiffy realism and folk-tale spookiness.”
Princess Bari
Hwang Sok-yong
Garnet Publishing UK (April 27, 2015)
Nowhere to Be Found
Bae Suah
Amazon Crossings (April 14, 2015)
Nominated for the PEN Translation Prize and the Best Translated Book Award
I'll Be Right There
Shin Kyung-sook
Other Press (2014)
Click here for excerpt on Words Without Borders
Our Happy Time
Gong Ji-young
Short Books (2014)
Click here for excerpt on Bookanista
Un-su Kim
Doubleday (February 12, 2019)
From Text Publishing:
“More than a crime novel, more than violence and mystery, The Plotters promises both temptation and beauty.” -- Eka Kurniawan
City of Ash and Red
Pyun Hye-young
Arcade Publishing (November 6, 2018)
From Amazon:
“For fans of J. G. Ballard and early Ian McEwan, a tense psychological thriller and Kafkaesque parable by the author of The Hole ― called ‘an airtight masterpiece’ by the Korean Economic Daily.”
The Hole
Pyun Hye-young
Arcade Publishing (August 1, 2017)
2017 Shirley Jackson Award Winner - Novel
Top 10 Thrillers to Read This Summer by Time Magazine
From Booklist Review:
“Kim-Russell, one of today’s top Korean-to-English translators, excels at replicating the stifling, unrelenting desperation that Pyun creates for her voiceless protagonist. Winner of many of Korea’s top literary prizes and accolades, Pyun proves to be an effectively chilling storyteller whose expert narrative manipulations should earn new followers.” -- Terry Hong
Wolves
Jeon Sungtae
White Pine Press (May 16, 2017)
From Korean Literature Now:
“Remarkable of Jeon Sungtae’s short story collection Wolves is that his stories do not revolve around Seoul; rather, they take the reader to places far from its sphere of influence. These places include the Tumen River, the border of China and North Korea, mountain villages in Jeolla Province, the rugged farming community of Desaengi Village on Cheongsan Island, and, most notably, Mongolia, where six of the stories take place. It is in these locales that Jeon weaves his sad, lonely tales inhabited by characters who are trying to escape their circumstances or rediscover themselves. With an attentive translation from Sora Kim-Russell, Jeon’s stories are tangible and his characters multi-dimensional, making Wolves an enjoyable and illuminating read.”
Familiar Things
Hwang Sok-yong
Scribe Publications (June 8, 2017)
From The Economist:
“In his novel Familiar Things, on a squalid landfill site outside Seoul amid ‘towering mounds’ of waste, 6,000 people sift and sell the rubbish ferried from the booming city in convoys of trucks. Their life is seen through the adventures of Bugeye, a boy who, with his resourceful mother, survives ‘every bad odour in the world’ to find solidarity among these human ‘discards and outcasts.’ In their reeking shantytown, ‘children were useless, worth less than scrap metal.’ Yet he thrives, and Mr Hwang sweetens his escapades with charm and compassion. Bugeye forgivably asks, ‘what was the straight and narrow when you lived in a garbage dump?’ Still, he transcends the trash to pursue decency and dignity, thanks to ghostly visitations from the farming families who once inhabited an idyllic village here, ‘thick with bamboo.’ Sora Kim-Russell’s translation moves gracefully between gritty, whiffy realism and folk-tale spookiness.”
Princess Bari
Hwang Sok-yong
Garnet Publishing UK (April 27, 2015)
Nowhere to Be Found
Bae Suah
Amazon Crossings (April 14, 2015)
Nominated for the PEN Translation Prize and the Best Translated Book Award
I'll Be Right There
Shin Kyung-sook
Other Press (2014)
Click here for excerpt on Words Without Borders
Our Happy Time
Gong Ji-young
Short Books (2014)
Click here for excerpt on Bookanista