Family connections and small moments

“A poem is not so much read as navigated,” Nikki Giovanni writes in “Chasing Utopia.” “We go from point to point discovering a new horizon, a shift of light or laughter, an exhilaration of newness that we had missed before. Even familiar, or perhaps especially familiar, poems bring the excitement of first nighters, first encounters, first love ... when viewed and reviewed.”That’s a pretty good description of what Giovanni is up to in this book, marked by her signature blend of toughness and acce

Dec. 26, 2013

Choe’s essays released posthumously

The literary remains of the late novelist Choe In-ho (1945-2013) were published on Tuesday, three months after his death. Choe’s eight-year battle against salivary gland cancer, involving pain, tears, meditation and epiphany, is reflected in “Nunmul (Tears),” based on a batch of manuscripts found by Choe’s wife and others. The novelist, who was once called an “enfant terrible” for entering the literature scene at the tender age of 17, while he was still in high school, released some of the most

Dec. 25, 2013

Author Bae’s short story published on Amazon’s ‘Day One’ Journal

The English translation of Korean author Bae Su-ah’s short story “Highway with Green Apples” has been published in “Day One,” Amazon’s digital literary journal dedicated to short fiction and poetry from emerging writers, as well as translations of non-English literature.It is the first time that a Korean work of fiction has been published in the journal, according to the Literature Translation Institute of Korea.Born in Seoul in 1965, Bae is considered one of the most unconventional writers in K

Dec. 24, 2013

James McBride tells how he resurrected John Brown in ‘Good Lord Bird’

Conjure the image of John Brown in your head and you see the fearsome emancipator, a righteous prophet who gave his life to fight slavery with the Harpers Ferry raid of 1859. The Union turned his death into a rallying cry with the anthem “John Brown’s Body.” His soul is marching on.Brown’s story might have moved from history to legend, but it still contains some truth. It’s also ripe for mischievous revision, which is exactly what James McBride provides in his National Book Award-winning novel “

Dec. 19, 2013

A ‘downstairs’ history of England

Servants: A Downstairs History of Britain from the Nineteenth Century to Modern TimesBy Lucy Lethbridge(W.W. Norton & Company)Fictional Downton Abbey is supposed to be one of the grandest houses in England, inhabited by the distinguished Crawley family; but on this smash television hit, it’s the servants who steal the show. From Mr. Carson, the butler with the bushy eyebrows that practically dare you to defy him, to the earthy Mrs. Patmore, who rules over the kitchen with a stern hand, the staff

Dec. 19, 2013

There’s nothing cute about this ELF

Going DarkBy James W. Hall(Minotaur)Fatherhood has not come easily to Thorn, the taciturn hero making his 13th appearance in James W. Hall’s series.Still, it’s easy to cut the Key Largo loner a break. Thorn only recently discovered he even had a grown son and while he can never make up for lost time, he wants to at least hope for a future. But Hall isn’t after a touchy-feely father-and-son reunion between Thorn and Miami actor Flynn Moss, especially considering how their first meeting in 2011’s

Dec. 19, 2013

Korean-American writer talks about her debut novel

Korean-American writer Susan Ee worked as a lawyer before turning to fiction writing, but having been a life-long fan of science fiction, fantasy and horror literature, it wasn’t too hard for her to choose the subject for her first book: angels.“Biblical angels destroyed entire cities and turned people into pillars of salt,” Ee wrote in an email interview with The Korea Herald. “Yet, we tend to portray them as cute cherubs and sweet guardian angels. If they came down to Earth in force, I figured

Dec. 16, 2013

Book recounts Depression-era mystery

The Maid’s VersionBy Daniel Woodrell(Little, Brown and Company)In his first novel in seven years, Daniel Woodrell, author of the acclaimed “Winter’s Bone” (2006) and “The Outlaw Album (2011),” returns to his beloved Ozarks with a ghostly tale about a mysterious explosion at a rural Missouri dance hall in 1929 that left more than 40 people dead.It’s a departure for Woodrell, whose previous nine books have mostly focused on the hard-bitten lives of the rural poor. “The Maid’s Version,” based on a

Dec. 12, 2013

An improbable woman of mystery

Stella BainBy Anita Shreve (Little, Brown)There’s no doubt that public education has neglected World War I, with history teachers squeezing in a few lectures before launching into succeeding conflicts. Literature has been kinder to the Great War, offering many opportunities to remedy that oversight. Shell shock alone has been the subject of scores of novels (most notably Pat Barker’s “Regeneration” trilogy) that remind us how WWI inextricably altered the trajectory ― and the mythology ― of the h

Dec. 12, 2013

Suggestions for the readers on your gift list

Look for a present for the hard-to-buy for-reader? Here is an exotic assortment of worthy books for the holiday season and beyond.For readers who like photography and nature, introduce them to “North America: A World in One Continent” (Running Press) by Huw Cordey. A coffee-table book, it’s the companion to the Discovery Channel series “North America.” The photographs were shot over three years as that the television crew filmed the continent. It’s riddled with personal stories and factual nugge

Dec. 12, 2013

The Lincoln Lawyer rides again

“The gods of guilt” is more than a phrase that attorney Mickey Haller ― best known as the Lincoln Lawyer ― likes to use when referring to a jury’s verdict. It refers to the judgments that people make about others on a daily basis, questioning their motives and dissecting their actions. But Mickey also grapples with his personal gods of guilt, knowing that sometimes being a good attorney has a price.Michael Connelly delivers a compelling, suspense-laden plot that accelerates at high speed from th

Dec. 12, 2013

Book reconnects Buenos Aires slum residents to their city

ShantytownBy Cesar Aira (New Directions)The Argentine writer Cesar Aira is a master of dark and forgotten places. Like his late countryman Jorge Luis Borges, he writes narratives that feel like fables. He is the author of 80 books, most of them novellas, only a handful of which have been translated into English.At a slim 128 pages, “Shantytown” recounts a story set in a slum, or “villa miseria,” as they’re known in Buenos Aires. I lived within earshot of such a Buenos Aires shantytown not long a

Dec. 5, 2013

Academia blends with police work in ‘Crooked Numbers’

Crooked NumbersBy Tim O’Mara (Minotaur)Tim O’Mara gives the academic mystery ― too long mired in the machinations of university politics ― a fresh view by imbuing it with elements of the police procedural. Instead of the usual disagreements and one-upmanship among professors and deans, O’Mara’s intricate plot delivers an exciting look at the inner workings of the education system and the economic boundaries that separate people.The difference is O’Mara’s unusual hero ― Raymond Donne, a former NY

Dec. 5, 2013

Lewis writes a graphic memoir of civil rights

John Lewis does not usually smile for the camera. Paradoxically enough, he laughs when this is pointed to him during a telephone interview. “A lot of people tell me that,” he says.On the flyleaf to “March: Book One,” the graphic memoir authored by Lewis, Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell, there is a photo typical of Lewis, a civil rights icon and Georgia congressman. The Capitol dome at his back, he faces the camera with a dogged expression as if the photo session were just one more thing he h

Dec. 5, 2013

Murder, jealousy and lust

There isn’t much depiction of filial love and Confucian integrity. Instead, expect to read about murder, tragic love stories, and wars. In celebration of its 60th anniversary, The Korea Herald, in partnership with Literature Translation Institute of Korea, has published a five-volume series consisting of classic Korean literature. The series, titled "Korean Classic Stories," was organized to introduce works of classic literature that are relatively unknown to readers at home and abroad. The titl

Dec. 2, 2013

‘Understanding of classic literature required to understand contemporary literature’

Last month, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea published a five-volume series of English translations of classic Korean literature in collaboration with The Korea Herald, an effort that took nearly one year to bear fruit.“Whenever I went overseas, I met a lot of people who said they wanted to read more works of Korea’s classic literature,” Kim Seong-kon, the director of LTI Korea, said during an interview with The Korea Herald. “And in order to understand contemporary literature (of a

Dec. 2, 2013

Meet the translators

Three translators worked on the Korean Classic Stories, a five-volume series consisting of Korean classic literature and folktales.The first two volumes, “Avengers & Artists” and “Confucians in Love,” were translated by Kevin O’Rourke, professor emeritus of English at Kyung Hee University in Seoul. Formerly a Catholic priest from Ireland, O’Rourke has been living in Korea since 1964. He is believed to be the first foreigner to receive a Ph.D. in Korean literature. He earned the degree from Yonse

Dec. 2, 2013