Yeonnam-Dong's Smiley Laundromat

Yeonnam-Dong's Smiley Laundromat by Kim Jiyun, 320 pages

The Yeonnam-Dong neighborhood of Seoul is quickly being gentrified, and the neighborly feel of the area is evaporating. But with its signature scent, 24-hour warmth, and a mysterious community diary, the Smiley Laundromat has become a place for people to connect with strangers and create new friendships with their neighbors. Told in a series of loosely related vignettes, this book is a cozy, feel-good story of intergenerational neighborhood friends. It was lovely.

8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster

 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee, 304 pages.

An old woman at the end of her life tells her life story to an obituary writer in a South Korean nursing home; a story so astonishing that the writer has a hard time knowing what about it is true. The woman, who has had many names, was born in a small town in North Korea near the demilitarized zone, in a time before that zone existed. She lived through an extremely tumultuous century of Korean history and experienced much of it directly, living as a war refuge, a slave to the Japanese military, a North Korean spy, and many more identities besides. 

This book, in addition to being extremely informative, is very well written from a literary standpoint. We follow our protagonist through many tragedies, but the book doesn't seem to delight or wallow in them. We also follow her through many joys and triumphs, and that balance makes it much easier to keep reading this excellent story. I was very impressed overall, and would definitely read another book by the author if she published one. I would recommend this in particular for people with an interest in Korean history, fans of historical fiction in general, and people who appreciate a powerful and resilient female protagonist.

The Silence of Bones

 

The Silence of Bones by June Hur, 336 pages

This young adult historical mystery takes place in 1800 Joseon (Korea). Seol is an orphaned teenager, indentured to the capital's police bureau. As men are forbidden from touching women they are not related to, damos like Seol are used to investigate crimes against women. She gets involved in the murder investigation of a noblewoman found with her throat slit, and forms a friendship with the lead investigator, Inspector Han. But the murder of the woman is only the first, and both Seol and the inspector have secrets in their backgrounds that may or may not have bearing on the case.

June Hur's prose is beautiful, and I loved all of the period detail she put into this novel. I had no idea that Korea had such advanced techniques for solving crime in 1800, and about how the introduction of Catholicism from China influenced many of the events during this time period. It really shone a light on a place that we do not study here in the West, and I always appreciate broadening my historical knowledge. I really liked that Seol is the narrator of this story, and we can hear her thoughts and observations of the world around her. I actually cried at the end (and not just because the book was over). I have two more of June Hur's books at home to read, and am really looking forward to being immersed in Joseon-era Korea again!

Folklorn

 Folklorn by Angela Mi Young Hur, 416 pages.

Elsa Park has gone all the way to Antarctica to get as far as possible from her family and their stories (and also to pursue her doctoral physics research). Her mother used to tell her that all of the women in their family were reincarnations of the girls from her Korean folk tales, but her mother has been in a coma for decades, so now it's just her brother and father she's avoiding. But once her mother dies she is once again haunted in Sweden by her childhood imaginary friend, who drives her to look for her long lost sister and get to the heart of the stories her mother left her.

I thought all of that sounded very exciting, but that isn't a word I'd use to describe this book. I think it's probably very good, but it wasn't quite what I had expected, and I think I would have enjoyed it more if I was forty. It's complex, but also sort of slow and ambiguous. I didn't really enjoy reading it very much, but I'm sure some others would.

If I had your face

If I had your face / Frances Cha, 274 pgs.

Set in Korea, the four main characters each have very different lives and interests but all live in the same apartment building.  This "slice of life" novel gives a little back story on each character but is mostly a contemporary setting where they interact with each other and beyond.  They are trying to figure things out, live their lives, make progress.  I feel like there were interesting cultural differences but also reinforced how much people deal with the same issues.  There were great lines and situations. Cha has a gift to make the ordinary seem extraordinary.

The Plotters

The Plotters by Un-Su Kim, 291 pages

Reseng has been killing people for money for 15 years — a long time in the cutthroat assassination world of Seoul, Korea. But his history in that world goes back to his childhood, when he was adopted by Old Raccoon, the cantankerous old man running "the library," one of several criminal headquarters in Seoul. But after 15 years of carrying out hits for the unknown "plotters" and watching his acquaintances die after making a mistake, Reseng is starting to re-examine his life. While one might expect a book about a hitman to be action packed and bloody — and to be sure, those elements certainly do pepper the plot throughout — the best parts of this novel are the characters and the tense relationships between them. Reseng's ruminations are, in turn, funny, philosophical, and calculated. I very much enjoyed this one.

The Kimchi Chronicles

The Kimchi Chronicles: Korean Cooking for American Kitchens by Marja Vangerichten  248 pp.

I don't normally read cookbooks cover to cover but this was an exception. My interest in Korean food is recent and due to getting to know one of my son's housemates who, like the author, is the child of an American serviceman and Korean mother. Granted, I don't know that I will ever fix any of these recipes but even with my limited experience with Korean food, many sound very tasty. This is the companion book to The Kimchi Chronicles television series which I watched a few years ago. The author and her husband, three star Michelin chef Jean-Georges Vangerichten make these recipes occasionally with their neighbors, the actors Hugh Jackman and his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness. That series is available through Hoopla. Even if you don't read the whole thing, it's worth a browse.

Pachinko

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee  490 pp.

This novel was a finalist for the National Book Award. It is the saga of four generations of Koreans, most of whom never lived in Korea. Beginning during the occupation/colonization of Korea by Japan the story runs through World War II to the 1970s. The family faces illness, imprisonment, the horrors of war, poverty, and starvation while holding onto the importance of family, and their hard work ethic. Sunja, the daughter of a crippled fisherman and a boardinghouse owner, gets pregnant by a charming businessman who turns out to have a wife and children in Japan. A tubercular missionary at the boarding house marries her and takes her to Japan where he has a job in a church. Because Koreans are looked down upon by the Japanese they live in the Korean ghetto with his brother and sister-in-law. Life gets harder and harder but Sunja's former lover steps in to help, secretly at first. The story continues as her children grow, become adults, and have their own challenges to face living as a minority in a country that does not want them there. There aren't that many books in English that portray the struggle of Koreans in Japanese society and this one covers a many of the challenges Koreans faced there. And, like the game of Pachinko, success / winning is controlled in part by the machine settings but partly by chance.

Pachinko

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, 490 pages.
Following members of the family from the early 1900s through 1989, Pachinko follows the descendants of  an aging fisherman and his wife. They are able to arrange a marriage for their only surviving son, Hoonie, born with a cleft palate and a twisted foot, to the youngest daughter of poor farmer. Yangjin, the bride, and her daughter, Sunja, form the center of the sweeping epic.

Deftly written with characters you really care about, Pachinko tells the story of Koreans living under Japanese rule through the war, and then under the revised rules after the second World War and the Korean War.

Seoul man

Seoul Man: a memoir of cars, culture, crisis, and unexpected hilarity inside a Korean corporate titan / Frank Ahrens 336 pgs.

Frank Ahrens was a happy journalist bachelor when love struck.  In the span of a few months, he got married, changed jobs and moved across the world to Seoul, Korea.  That is a LOT of change.  This memoir talks a lot about his new job in the P.R. department of Hyundai motors and the differences in culture between Korea and the United States.  Frank had always been a journalist so P.R., the auto industry and corporate life were new to him as was Korea.  Some of the insights into the Korean rise to a formidable economic power are excellent.  Stories about the auto industry and Hyundai's goals to move up to a more respected position in the industry were also interesting.  Korea is a country that has undergone a lot of change in a generation.  Frank's personal stories of his life in Korea and the shelter given to the normal ex-pat struggles by living on a U. S. military base are insightful.  At some point, however, this book seems to veer off into the personal story about how fatherhood makes you grow up (even at 49) and begins to focus on the importance of Christian belief in the author's life.  That is all fine but is not mentioned in any of the marketing of this book.  I think the book suffered from a lack of focus or maybe I'm just not amazed to hear that having a child changes your life when I thought I was reading about cars and culture.

The Red Queen / Margaret Drabble, 334 pp.

I've enjoyed other Margaret Drabble novels recently, such as The Millstone and The Witch of Exmoor. The Red Queen is unusual, based on the real-life memoir of an eighteenth-century Korean princess. Drabble writes her own version of the memoir, then puts it in the hands of a contemporary English academic. Barbara, whose life bears some resemblance to the tragic story of the princess, travels to Seoul for a conference, where she becomes obsessed with the memoir. She forms a connection with two very different men while in Korea, and explores the old haunts of the princess. In the final portion, Barbara is back in England, where her personal story loops in more closely with that of the princess through her connection to a baby Chinese girl waiting for adoption.

I enjoyed the story of the Princess but found most of Barbara's tale slow and flat. The two women are meant to serve as counterpoints but somehow I couldn't find resonance in their mutual stories. The brief conclusion, on the other hand, was lovely. I don't want to give too much away, but as Barbara meets the orphan baby Chen Jianyi I felt that I was finally reading the author I had begun to like in her earlier novels. Very psychologically acute - almost enough for tears.

The Color of Heaven

The Color of Heaven by Kim Dong Hwa  320 pp.

This is book three in Kim's Color Trilogy. Ehwa is now 17 and lovesick over her young man, Duksam's departure at the end of the second book. Ehwa and her mother are spending their days waiting for the men in their lives to return. In the mean time, Ehwa's precocious best friend, Bongsoon, introduces her innocent friend to the facts of life. The arrival of both the traveling painter, and a young man carrying a message from Duksam lightens the women's moods. Eventually the first snow brings the arrival of Duksam who asks for Ehwa's hand in marriage. The hold a traditional Korean wedding with explanations of some of the more unusual traditions. Ehwa and Duksam leave to travel to their new home on his parent's farm. Ehwa's mother is left to ponder her new life as a woman alone when the painter returns and decides to give up his travels to stay with her. The arrival of the young lovers sparks a humorously renewed interest in romance between Duksam's parents as the young lovers are finally able to consummate their love.

The Color of Water

The Color of Water by Kim Dong Hwa  318 pp.

This is the second book in Kim's "color trilogy." In the first book we are introduced to Ehwa and her beautiful and wise mother. In this volume Ehwa is growing into a young woman. She has moved beyond her girlhood crushes on a young Buddhist monk and the orchard owner's son. A humorous, chance meeting with Duksam, a new young man in the area starts Ehwa on first experience with true love. While this is going on, her mother continues her relationship with the traveling painter and counsels her daughter on the ways of life and love. The young lovers experience heartbreak when Duksam's elderly master connives to buy Ehwa to be his own wife. The young lovers part in the end leaving the story open for the third book.

The Color of Earth

The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa  319 pp.

I decided to read this book after reading this article from the CBLDF (Comic Book Legal Defense Fund). I wanted to find out what the fuss was about. I'm glad I did. This is a beautifully crafted graphic novel by a Korean author. It is the story of a girl's maturing and sexual awakening and her relationship with her widowed mother who finds love again in a traveling artist whose infrequent visits change their lives. Love is symbolized by different flowers that are featured in the story: gourd flowers for the mother's love of the artist, tiger lilies and hollyhocks for the girl's love for a young monk and the orchard owner's son. The topic of the girl's sexual maturation is handled with surprising gentleness, sensitivity, and honesty by the male author. The story is continued in two more books in the series.

Midnight and the Meaning of Love By Sister Souljah p. 613

This sequel was even better than the first book. It took many years for her to write because although this is a work of fiction, she actually travelled to the places that the main character visits and she learned the culture. Midnight is on a quest to find his wife (kidnapped and taken back to Japan by her father) and bring her back to the United States where he currently resides. He is tested both mentally and physically his entire stay in Japan as well as when he goes to Korea.
This book is more than your average. It is from the point of view of a Sudanese teenager who places his religion and family first. This book was very good and I will probably read it again (when I forget most of what happened).