Young-ha Kim

I only really liked The Writer & The Origin of life as they seemed to be the only ones where I didn’t lose interest due to the slow pacing. Except for Diary of a Murderer, the slow paced parts could’ve of been easily sped up. That said, all the story besides Missing Child had intriguing concepts that were the main reason I even continued reading. Otherwise I probably would’ve DNF-ed it.

Definitely is one of those where it’s not that that it’s poorly written, it’s just not my cup of tea.… (mehr)

This is a book of Korean short stories. Maybe you could call them crime stories, but I think they are a great deal more than that, and certainly transcend the crime fiction genre.

My favorite is the title story, in which we are in the mind of an elderly serial killer who is now suffering from dementia. He tells us that he last murdered someone 25 years ago, and that "I killed people for 30 years straight. I was very diligent back then. Now that the statute of limitations has passed, I could even go blab about what I'd done. If this were America, I could probably publish a memoir." Now he has trouble remembering things, and trouble processing the meaning of situations in which he finds himself, but he thinks that his beloved daughter is missing and in danger, and he suspects that a man who keeps coming around and says he is a police officer may have something to do with this. The ultimate unreliable narrator.
I also liked most of the other stories. In "The Origin of Life" two childhood friends reconnect and become lovers. When the man learns that the woman's husband is abusing her, he believes that the husband must be disposed of. In "Missing Child", a three year old is kidnapped, and his parents lives go off the rails. The mother becomes schizophrenic, the father keeps losing his job. Then, eleven years later, the child is recovered, a sullen teenager who only wants to stay where he was, with his kidnapper, who he believed was his mother. The only story I didn't care for was "The Writer" in which aman with writer's block goes to New York City to finish his book.
The book is written largely in a literary and somewhat experimental style, and the author has won crime awards. Many of the stories involve elements of mental illness, and are often dream-like and surreal. Even so, I liked them.

3 1/2 stars… (mehr)

This novella came to my attention on a random list that I found on the net somewhere. I'm not sure if I still have the list and I can't recall what website I found it on. Anyway, I decided to read it next as I fancied something a little off the wall and it also means I get to tick another country off the list. This book was a gift from someone and I sometimes wonder what they think about my mental state when I read books like this.

It's a bit tricky to review the book as the story is pretty strange and in places nasty. Sometimes the nastiness in a book really feels like it is there for effect only but I thought it worked well here. It's not over done but it does catch the attention and I found myself re-reading a few bits to make sure I read what I thought I had.

I also really liked the concept of a person who moves from place to place finding and helping people who wish to commit suicide. It's a delightfully dark idea and something which really appeals to my mind. Personally, I would have preferred a bit more plot but that probably would have spoiled the book.

A warped but interesting book.

Ohh, and the cover is gorgeous, it would be an incredible tattoo but would require one hell of an artist to make it work.… (mehr)