<div>This collection from the acclaimed South Korean author is “filled with the kind of sublime, galvanizing stories that strike like a lightning bolt” (Nylon).   Diary of a Murderer captivates and provokes in equal measure, exploring what it means to be on the edge—between life and death, good and evil. In the titular novella, a former serial killer suffering from memory loss sets his sights on one final target: his daughter’s boyfriend, who he suspects is also a serial killer. In other stories we witness an affair between two childhood friends that questions the limits of loyalty and love; a family’s disintegration after a baby son is kidnapped and recovered years later; and a wild, erotic ride about pursuing creativity at the expense of everything else. From “one of South Korea’s best and most worldly writers” (NPR), Diary of a Murderer is a chillingly entertaining ride.   “Kim is expert at finding the humanity inside the other, the comedy inside the tragedy, and the twisted within the seemingly normal.” —CrimeReads</div>

Diary of a Murderer

<div>A &ldquo;mesmerizing&rdquo; novel of a love triangle and a mysterious disappearance in South Korea (Booklist). In the fast-paced, high-urban landscape of Seoul, C and K are brothers who have fallen in love with the same beguiling drifter, Se-yeon, who gives herself freely to both of them. Then, just as they are trying desperately to forge a connection in an alienated world, Se-yeon suddenly disappears. All the while, a spectral, calculating narrator haunts the edges of their lives, working to help the lost and hurting find escape through suicide. When Se-yeon reemerges, it is as the narrator&rsquo;s new client. Recalling the emotional tension of Milan Kundera and the existential anguish of Bret Easton Ellis, I Have the Right to Destroy Myself is a dreamlike &ldquo;literary exploration of truth, death, desire and identity&rdquo; (Publishers Weekly). Cinematic in its urgency, the novel offers &ldquo;an atmosphere of menacing ennui [set] to a soundtrack of Leonard Cohen tunes&rdquo; (Newark Star-Ledger). &ldquo;Kim&rsquo;s novel is art built upon art. His style is reminiscent of Kafka&rsquo;s and also relies on images of paintings (Jacques-Louis David&rsquo;s &lsquo;The Death of Marat,&rsquo; Gustav Klimt&rsquo;s &lsquo;Judith&rsquo;) and film (Jim Jarmusch&rsquo;s &lsquo;Stranger Than Paradise&rsquo;). The philosophy&mdash;life is worthless and small&mdash;reminds us of Camus and Sartre, risky territory for a young writer. . . . But Kim has the advantage of the urban South Korean landscape. Fast cars, sex with lollipops and weather fronts from Siberia lend a unique flavor to good old-fashioned nihilism. Think of it as Korean noir.&rdquo; &mdash;Los Angeles Times &ldquo;Like Georges Simenon, [Kim&rsquo;s] keen engagement with human perversity yields an abundance of thrills as well as chills (and, for good measure, a couple of memorable laughs). This is a real find.&rdquo; &mdash;Han Ong, author of Fixer Chao</div>

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I Have the Right to Destroy Myself

<div>In 1904, a group of Koreans seeks a new life in Mexico, in this &ldquo;powerful, sweeping&rdquo; novel based on a little-known chapter in history (List Magazine). In 1904, facing war and the loss of their nation, more than a thousand Koreans leave their homes for the promise of land in unknown Mexico. After a long sea voyage, these emigrants&mdash;thieves and royals, priests and soldiers, orphans and families&mdash;discover that they have been sold into indentured servitude. Aboard the ship, the orphan Ijeong falls in love with a nobleman&rsquo;s daughter. When the hacendados claim their laborers and the two are separated, he vows to find her. But after years of working in the punishing heat of the henequen fields, the Koreans are caught in the midst of a Mexican revolution . . . A tale of star-crossed love, political turmoil, and the dangers of seeking freedom in a new world&mdash;from an author who is &ldquo;at the leading edge of a new breed of South Korean writers&rdquo;&mdash;Black Flower is an epic story based on a little-known moment in history (Philadelphia City Paper). &ldquo;&lsquo;Can a nation disappear forever?&rsquo; . . . [In] a tale of collective loss, political revolution and the individual quest for self-determination . . . Kim brings us the souls caught up on the ground of this larger drama.&rdquo; &mdash;Minneapolis Star-Tribune &ldquo;Spare and beautiful.&rdquo; &mdash;Publishers Weekly, starred review &ldquo;Readers who remember the historical fiction of Thomas B. Costain, Zoe Oldenbourg [sic] and Anya Seton will appreciate [Kim&rsquo;s] extensive research and empathic imagination.&rdquo; &mdash;Kirkus Reviews</div>

Black Flower

<div>This psychological thriller of a North Korean spy living in Seoul is &ldquo;perhaps the most intriguing and accomplished Korean fiction yet to appear in English&rdquo; (Kirkus). Foreign film importer Kim Ki-Yong is a family man with a wife and daughter. Living a prosperous life in Seoul, South Korea, he&rsquo;s an aficionado of Heineken, soccer, and sushi. But he is also a North Korean spy who has been living among his enemies for twenty-one years. Then, after more than a decade of silence from the home office, he receives a mysterious email stating that he has one day to return to headquarters. But is the message really from Pyongyang&mdash;or has he been discovered? And if the message is real, is he being called home to receive new orders or to be executed for a lack of diligence? Spanning the course of a single day, Your Republic Is Calling You delves deep into a gripping family secret to ask whether we ever truly know the people we love. Mining the political and cultural transformations of South Korea since the 1980s, author Young-ha Kim confronts moral questions on small and large scales. &ldquo;This intense novel&rsquo;s bristling plot&mdash;confined to the events of a single day&mdash;ironically echoes that of Joyce&rsquo;s masterpiece Ulysses.&rdquo;&mdash;Kirkus</div>

Young-ha Kim
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Books By Young-ha Kim (4 Books)

Diary of a Murderer

I Have the Right to Destroy Myself

Black Flower

Your Republic Is Calling You

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Young-ha KimFollow this author

Books By Young-ha Kim (4 Books)

Diary of a Murderer

I Have the Right to Destroy Myself

Black Flower

Your Republic Is Calling You

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More from

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© 2024 OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED MEDIA

Young-ha Kim
Follow this author