Missing out on something like Rapture

The two most moving scenes in Tom Perrotta’s sixth novel, “The Leftovers,” come late in the book. In the first, Kevin Garvey ― abandoned husband, distracted father, mayor of the affluent suburb of Mapleton ― tells a woman he’s been dating that he’s just heard from his college-age son for the first t

Sept. 16, 2011

New York City’s spots for book lovers

On the third floor of a big, gray building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, silver-haired docent Julie Chelminski recently stepped up to the middle of a hushed room and faced 15 spellbound tourists.“On the walls of this room there were 9,000 drawers,” Chelminski said. “And in those drawers were 10 m

Sept. 16, 2011

U.K. campaign seeks to save Roald Dahl writing hut

LONDON (AP) ― The family of Roald Dahl is trying to raise the funds to preserve a hut in which the late writer wrote tales of big friendly giants, fantastic foxes and magical chocolate factoriesThe family hopes to raise 500,000 pounds ($790,000) to stop the 50-year-old brick and polystyrene shed ― p

Sept. 14, 2011

New book shows another side to Jackie Kennedy

Book comes out as part of an ongoing celebration of the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s first year in officeNEW YORK (AP) ― It’s a side of Jacqueline Kennedy only friends and family knew. Funny and inquisitive, canny and cutting.In “Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life With Joh

Sept. 13, 2011

New Books

A savage critique of China’s ‘great rise’Why China Will Never Rule the WorldBy Troy Parfitt(Western Hemisphere Press)The title of “Why China Will Never Rule the World” points to a provocative argument, but few readers will be prepared for just how damning an assessment author Troy Parfitt makes of a

Sept. 9, 2011

Modern life in desolation

Tower of AntsBy Choi In-ho(Hollym)A young man who isn’t happy with his job as a copy writer for an advertising company, one day finds his flat suddenly infested with ants. He tries to get them out of his place, but their numbers only grow until they take over his personal space. This grotesque and r

Sept. 9, 2011

Colin Meloy tunes into book world with ‘Wildwood’

A baby is snatched by crows. His sister treks into the woods to find him and is followed by one Curtis Mehlberg, “son of Lydia and David, resident of Portland, Ore., comic-book fan boy, persecuted loner.”Wild adventures ensue.If the story sounds like modern-day folklore from the band the Decemberist

Sept. 9, 2011

Russian novelist talks about his Korean roots

Anatoly Kim shares how he inherited artistic spirit from famous ancestorsHis grandfather was a Korean farmer who wanted land of his own.After realizing he would never be able to own land in Korea, his home country, he decided to move to the Russian Far East in 1908, leaving everything behind includi

Sept. 9, 2011

English book on Korean Wave published

The Korean Culture and Information Service has published the English-language book “The Korean Wave” to introduce the country’s contemporary pop culture, which has gained attention overseas with the spread of K-pop and Korean dramas. The book is the first publication of the four-part “K-Culture Seri

Sept. 7, 2011

KBS radio to feature life of late Catholic priest in English

KBS CoolFM (89.1 Mhz) will feature the life of late Catholic missionary and physician Lee Tae-seok, who devoted his life to helping people in southern Sudan, for its special English program for children Sept. 12-13.Prepared exclusively for the upcoming Chuseok holidays, the show, titled “The Greates

Sept. 7, 2011

Yi’s novella featured in The New Yorker

U.S. magazine publishes Korean short fiction for the first timeThe English-language translation of author Yi Mun-yol’s 1982 novella, “An Anonymous Island” will be published on the New Yorker’s upcoming issue on Sept. 12, Yi’s local publisher Minumsa said.The American magazine ― established in 1925 ―

Sept. 5, 2011

Author Yi Mun-yol’s novella featured in The New Yorker

New York magazine publishes Korean short fiction for the first timeThe English-language translation of author Yi Mun-yol’s 1982 novella, “An Anonymous Island” will be published on the New Yorker’s upcoming issue on Sept. 12, Yi’s local publisher Minumsa said. Yi Mun-yolThe American magazine -- estab

Sept. 5, 2011

Pelecanos’ new crime novel

The CutBy George Pelecanos(Little, Brown and Co.)At Thrillerfest, a crime writers conference held in Manhattan this summer, dozens of literary agents spent half a day listening to would-be authors pitch their ideas for books about grizzled Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who return to the states t

Sept. 2, 2011

The Dangun legend for children

Dangun Wanggeom: Founder of the First Korean KingdomBy Chung Chul-heon(Seoul Selection)He is said to be the grandson of heaven, and his mother a bear who transformed into a human.The story of Dangun Wanggeom ― the semi-legendary founder of Gojoseon, Korea’s very first kingdom ― is an entertaining re

Sept. 2, 2011

‘Rosemary’s Baby’ with bedbugs

“Bedbugs,” a modern gruesome horror novel by Ben H. Winters. (MCT)After reading “Bedbugs” you might want to fumigate any apartment you rent. You also might want to call in an exorcist.Ben H. Winters, who authored the mash-ups “Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters” and “Android Karenina,” takes on

Sept. 2, 2011

It’s been a very goon year for Jennifer Egan

Jennifer Egan takes bold leaps all over the literary map. Her latest novel, “A Visit From the Goon Squad,” has been called wildly ambitious, bravura, a virtuoso performance. “Is there anything Egan can’t do?” crowed the New York Times Book Review.Heck, yes, she’d say if you asked her. At the moment,

Sept. 2, 2011

‘Having foreign readers gives me strength’

Author of ‘Please Look After Mom’ shares her experience of first world book tourWhen author Shin Kyung-sook took off to New York City in September of last year, she was just looking forward to relaxing in the foreign city. She absolutely had no idea she’d have to go through her first world book tour

Aug. 29, 2011

Lippman’s new stand-alone

The Most Dangerous Thing By Laura Lippman(William Morrow)In 1979, two girls and three boys on the brink of adolescence spent an idyllic summer exploring heavily wooded Leakin Park on the outskirts of Baltimore. But one day, something happened there that none of them wanted to talk about.The friends

Aug. 26, 2011

Love in the turbulent 80s

The Ancient Garden: A Love StoryBy Hwang Sok-yong(Picador Asia)While undergoing intense industrialization and economic development, Korea had a turbulent political landscape in the 1980s. Many civilians in Gwangju, in particular, stood up against former president Chun Doo-hwan’s military coup d’etat

Aug. 26, 2011