In the past week, two of my book reviews have appeared in the New York Journal of Books, both, coincidentally, translated from Korean.
First to appear was my review of Friend by North Korean writer Paek Nam-nyong, translated into English for the first time although it appeared in North Korea more than thirty years ago and in South Korea not long after that. In that review, I also discuss a South Korean novel that appeared at the same time, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo. Both books were published in April 2020 in the US.
See Review of Friend in the New York Journal of Books.
This week, my latest review appeared. This one is Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah, which is a surreal novel set in Seoul that blends waking and dreaming, real and unreal. While the North Korean novel was a curiosity, this one feels more significant as literature. Its official release date in the US is today.
See Review of Untold Night and Day in the New York Journal of Books.
Given my interest in both Korea and China, I would welcome the opportunity to review new and forthcoming translations of fiction from either country.
