Debut novel questions whether soldiers ever truly come home

Late in ”A Hard and Heavy Thing,“ University of Wisconsin-Madison law student Matthew J. Hefti’s debut novel, Levi Hartwig is drinking with his dad in a bar, more than a year after returning from stints as a soldier in both Iraq and Afghanistan.　”We‘re all trying to boil down our meaningless experiences to fit this tiny little conventional, three-act, linear narrative,“ the disconsolate Levi says."A Hard and Heavy Thing" By Matthew J. Hefti (Tyrus Books)　Hefti -- who was raised in Wisconsin, ser

Jan. 21, 2016

‘Things to Do in a Retirement Home Trailer Park’ gives graphic form to dying

Aneurin Wright’s debut graphic novel, “Things to Do in a Retirement Home Trailer Park ... When You‘re 29 and Unemployed,” is a shape-shifting chimera stuffed between book covers; a comic that explains the nuances of emphysema and elder care, a meta-meditation on death, loss and coping mechanisms, a tale of father-and-son reconciliation in which the father is a curmudgeonly rhino and the son a headstrong -- and totally ripped -- spectacle-wearing Minotaur. It’s all at once heartbreakingly sad, vi

Jan. 21, 2016

Bryson tours Britain again in ‘The Road to Little Dribbling’

LONDON (AP) -- Bill Bryson loves Britain. Really.　The Iowan-born writer, who takes an affectionate if sometimes exasperated look at his adopted country in “The Road to Little Dribbling,” cherishes Britain's landscape, its history, its architectural heritage, its people. He’s not so keen on its reality: TV shows, its litter and -- this is a shock -- its beer.　With a touch of embarrassment, Bryson admits that he is no fan of real ale, the cask-conditioned beer that for many is iconically English.　

Jan. 21, 2016

Bohjalian explores light and dark side of upper-middle class

A well-heeled Wall Streeter, generally considered a good guy, agrees to throw a bachelor party at his suburban Westchester house for his slightly sleazy younger brother. With his wife and daughter in the city for the night, he allows -- despite his own uneasiness -- strippers at the bash.　This will not end well.　But we can‘t predict just what a disastrous turn the party will take. Within the first few pages of “The Guest Room,” the latest novel by prolific author Chris Bohjalian, the booze-fuele

Jan. 14, 2016

The saga of the resilient beaver

Reading natural history is fraught with a particular kind of peril. The typical progression from “here are amazing facts” to “there used to be [X] million of these majestic creatures, until humans wiped them out” is a disappointing road. "Once They Were Hats: In Search of the Mighty Beaver" by Frances Backhouse(ECW Press)　Frances Backhouse’s “Once They Were Hats: In Search of the Mighty Beaver” starts down that path, but the story ends in a slightly more upbeat place. The once ubiquitous beaver

Jan. 14, 2016

Kalman pays tribute to the dogs of life

Noted illustrator and author Maira Kalman‘s thesis statement couldn’t be clearer: “You, reading this book, most likely have, or had, a dog, You certainly know that your dog is, or was, the dearest, funniest, lovingest, loyalest friend you ever had.” "Beloved Dog" by Maira Kalman (Penguin)　Oddly enough, Kalman grew up in a family without dogs, in part because her family feared the way the animals were used against Jewish people in their ancestral Belarus, and in part because her mother, and her g

Jan. 14, 2016

Local publisher Hangilsa seeks to revive interest in novels through ‘My Struggle’

Confronting growing problems in the Korean literary landscape, such as a continuing decline in book reading, plagiarism and the unpopularity of novels, Hangilsa Publishing, a Korean publisher based in Paju, Gyeonngi Province, seeks to turn the tide with a new book from Norway.In celebration of its 40th anniversary this year, the company has published the first volume of the Korean translation of autobiographical novel “My Struggle,” by Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgard. Hangilsa is known for h

Jan. 13, 2016

Hotelier reveals his passion in photo essay book on Korea

　My Korea: Musings with a Camera and Pen　by Baek Seung-woo　(Canopus)Baek Seung-woo may have worked more than 30 years as finance director for Hyatt Hotels Corp., but his real passion is photography. His new book, “My Korea: Musings with a Camera and Pen,” an English photo essay book, features a variety of photographs introducing Korean sites foreign tourists would be interested in knowing more about.Baek’s photographs of the Deoksugung Palace, Sareung or the Royal Tomb of Queen Jeongsun and a jj

Dec. 17, 2015

Economist Jang tackles inequality in new ‘Capitalism in Korea’ series

Why We Should Be Angryby Jang Ha-sung(Heybooks)　Jang Ha-sung, who is widely known in the fields of corporate governance and shareholder activism, tackles one of the most urgent problems rising in Korea – inequality.The Korean economy, which rose from rags to riches at a remarkable pace, now faces the fallout from the quick rise where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer as the country’s fully adopts capitalism.The root of the problem is the widening income gap between empl

Dec. 10, 2015

A different look at Korea’s economic miracle

The Spirit of Korean Development by Sang-young Rhyu(Yonsei University Press)　There has been much debate surrounding the analysis of the economic success and political transformation of South Korea. However, the interest of this book does not lie in the tangible factors behind its development. What is puzzling to non-Koreans is the intangible factors that enabled tangible factors to work together and thereby enable development. In other words, this book offers an explanation for Korea’s miraculou

Dec. 3, 2015

OCA photo book receives printing award

Kim Min-jae is a veteran sports photographer who has covered many international sporting events, including the Asian Games and Olympic Games, for more than 30 years.  Photographer Kim Min-jae (Courtesy of Kim Min-jae)The experience has led him to settle in Kuwait at the invitation of Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia and the Association of National Olympic Committees. Kim, who started his career with the South Korean Ministry of Sports in the 1980s, now wor

Dec. 3, 2015

Korean politics through the eyes of British journalist

  “Democracy Delayed”By Daniel Tudor(Munhakdongne) 　For Daniel Tudor, a former Korea correspondent for the Economist, Korean politics seems a bit strange. 　With blurred ideological differences between the right-wing and left-wing parties, the left is mired in the past and lacks professionalism while the right has no concrete agenda other than a pro-conglomerate, me-first policy.　“Is Korean democracy in retreat?” Tudor, 33, asks in his latest book “Democracy Delayed,” which was recently published

July 2, 2015

U.S. influence on S. Korean politics examined

The Constitution of the U.S. and the Presidential GovernmentBy Lee Sang-donSojin Publishing Co.America’s constitutionalism and the principle of checks and balances have offered crucial guidance for many nascent democracies around the world, including South Korea decades ago.In his new book, “The Constitution of the U.S. and the Presidential Government,” Lee Sang-don, law professor at Chung-Ang University, delineates how the U.S. legal and political systems have taken root and evolved, and affect

Jan. 10, 2013

JK Rowling's novel for adults to be adapted for TV

The first book for "grown-ups" by Harry Potter author JK Rowling is to be adapted into a television series, the BBC announced Monday."The Casual Vacancy", Rowling's darkly comic novel set in a seemingly idyllic English village, was published in September and the TV version is set to air on the BBC's flagship BBC One channel in 2014.The 47-year-old's series about the young wizard was adapted into eight blockbuster movies, but Rowling insisted that television was the best medium for an adaptation

Dec. 4, 2012