Kim Young-ha et al / 김영하 / 2020 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 21st century

This psychological thriller of a North Korean spy living in Seoul is "perhaps the most intriguing and accomplished Korean fiction yet to appear in English" (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'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—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. "This intense novel's bristling plot—confined to the events of a single day—ironically echoes that of Joyce's masterpiece Ulysses."—Kirkus Source : https://lti.overdrive.com/media/EAA90224-36F8-4C3C-B1D1-E221C4D2C624

Kim Young-ha et al / 김영하 / 2012 / -

"'Can a nation disappear forever?' . . . [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." — Minneapolis Star Tribune 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 — thieves and royals, priests and soldiers, orphans and entire families — discover that they have been sold into indentured servitude. Aboard the ship, the orphan Ijeong fell in love with a nobleman's daughter; separated when the hacendados claim their laborers, he vows to find her. Then, 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, Black Flower is an epic story based on a little-known moment in history. "Kim is at the leading edge of a new breed of South Korean writers." — Philadelphia City Paper "Spare and beautiful." — Publishers Weekly, starred review "Readers who remember the historical fiction of Thomas B. Costain, Zoé Oldenbourg and Anya Seton will appreciate [Kim's] extensive research and empathic imagination." — Kirkus Reviews Source : https://lti.overdrive.com/media/9EE0E245-FAE8-4ED1-86AF-20A636BA8610

Kim Young-ha et al / 김영하 / 2007 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 20th century

In the fast-paced, high-urban landscape of Seoul, C and K are brothers who have fallen in love with the same woman—Se-yeon—who tears at both of them as they all try desperately to find real connection in an atomized world. A spectral, nameless narrator haunts the edges of their lives as he tells of his work helping the lost and hurting find escape through suicide. Dreamlike and beautiful, the South Korea brought forth in this novel is cinematic in its urgency and its reflection of contemporary life everywhere—far beyond the boundaries of the Korean peninsula. Recalling the emotional tension of Milan Kundera and the existential anguish of Bret Easton Ellis, I Have the Right to Destroy Myself achieves its author's greatest wish—to show Korean literature as part of an international tradition. Young-ha Kim is a young master, the leading literary voice of his generation. Source : https://lti.overdrive.com/media/78B4933A-C110-4D71-B5AD-58A095639AF4

Kim Young-ha / 김영하 / 2020 / -

Kim Byeongsu is losing his mind. Quite literally. He keeps forgetting the little things in life, like basic words, whether or not he has a dog, the last time he killed someone... In his prime, Byeongsu was one of the best murderers around, spending years obsessively trying to perfect his technique, only killing in the pursuit of artistry. And then he gave it all up to be a dedicated father to his adopted-daughter, Eunhui. Now though, suffering from the onset of dementia, he decides to come out of retirement one last time and for one final target: his daughter's boyfriend, who he believes is a serial killer just like him. After all, it takes a one to know one. In other dark and glittering tales, an affair between two childhood friends questions the limits of loyalty and love; a family disintegrates after a baby son is kidnapped and recovered years later; and a wild, erotic pursuit of creativity might just come at the expense of all sanity. 'Filled with the kind of sublime, galvanizing stories that strike like a lightning bolt, searing your nerves' Nylon

Kim Young-ha et al / 김영하 / 2017 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 21st century

From one of Korea's literary stars, a novel about two orphans from the streets of Seoul: one becomes the head of a powerful motorcycle gang, and the other follows him at all costs In South Korea, underground motorcycle gangs attract society's castoffs. They form groups of hundreds and speed wildly through cities at night. For Jae and Dongyu, two orphans, their motorcycles are a way of survival. Jae is born in a bathroom stall at the Seoul Express Bus Terminal. And Dongyu is born mute—unable to communicate with anyone except Jae. Both boys grow up on the streets of Seoul among runaway teenagers, con men, prostitutes, religious fanatics, and thieves. After years navigating the streets, Jae becomes an icon for uprooted teenagers, bringing an urgent message to them and making his way to the top of the gang. Under his leadership, the group grows more aggressive and violent—and soon becomes the police's central target. A novel of friendship—worship and betrayal, love and loathing—and a searing portrait of what it means to come of age with nothing to call your own, I Hear Your Voice resonates with mythic power. Here is acclaimed author Young-ha Kim's most daring novel to date. Source : https://lti.overdrive.com/media/0CE81954-BD6B-43B3-B704-2A72CC3DAF4C

Kim Young-Ha / 김영하 / 2019 / -

Hace veinticinco años que no mata a nadie. Hace tiempo que lo cambió todo por llevar una vida normal. Pero Unji, su hija, lleva días sin pasar por casa y los números del teléfono se desdibujan cuando intenta llamarla. ¿Cómo funcionaba esto exactamente? ¿Cuál era el número? De hecho... ¿a quién quería llamar? Para este asesino en serie retirado, la vejez no es el camino tranquilo que esperaba. Los primeros síntomas del alzhéimer se manifiestan al mismo tiempo que en su barrio comienzan a producirse una serie de crímenes. Alguien está secuestrando y matando a mujeres jóvenes, mujeres como su hija, ahora en paradero desconocido. Y, por si fuera poco, solo hace unos días que esta decidió presentarle a su prometido, un hombre con los ojos fríos como el hielo. En Quién sabe si mañana seguiremos aquí, Kim Young-Ha narra la lucha solitaria de un hombre contra el olvido, una batalla contrarreloj que le enfrenta a las brumas de su memoria para encontrar pistas sobre la desaparición de su hija. Un combate sin aliados en el que ni siquiera se puede fiar de sí mismo. «Nihilismo del bueno, del de toda la vida. Esto es noir coreano.» – Los Angeles Times Source : https://lti.overdrive.com/media/CD57FB0C-10FA-462D-886B-C45ED60E09C8

Kim Young-ha et al / 김영하 / 2019 / -

"Filled with the kind of sublime, galvanizing stories that strike like a lightning bolt, searing your nerves . . . It's easy enough to see why Kim . . . is acclaimed as the best writer of his generation; pick up this book and find out for yourself." — Nylon It's been twenty-five years since I last murdered someone, or has it been twenty-six? 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 chilling and high-powered all the way through. "Kim is expert at finding the humanity inside the other, the comedy inside the tragedy, and the twisted within the seemingly normal." — CrimeReads Source : https://lti.overdrive.com/media/71B038A1-0BFD-4C35-A95A-C507560FF1F1

Kim Young-Ha / 김영하 / 2014 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 20th century

Num tempo em que a eutanásia e a morte assistida estão na ordem do dia, o narrador anónimo deste romance ajuda pessoas a morrer. Mas não porque se encontrem doentes, simplesmente porque se sentem fartas da vida. Bastam-lhe dois ou três clientes por ano para sobreviver; mas nem sempre se torna fácil encontrá-los e, por isso, é preciso ler muito, viajar, saber de pintura, fazer pesquisa, seguir alguma pista. («As conversas fluirão mais facilmente se eu souber quais as bandas, pintores e escritores que preferem.») Foi assim, de resto, que descobriu a bela e tentadora Se-yeon, que partiu o coração aos dois irmãos que se apaixonaram por ela; e também Mimi, a artista que nunca permitia que a filmassem porque tinha medo de se ver a si mesma. E quem sabe se se tornará sua cliente a rapariga de Hong Kong que conheceu num museu, em Viena, e parecia fugir de um passado terrível? Tomando a paisagem urbana e o ritmo louco de Seul como espelho da vida contemporânea em todo o mundo – e combinando a tensão emocional de Kundera com a angústia existencial de Bret Easton Ellis – Tenho o Direito de Me Destruir, traduzido em mais de dez línguas, inscreve a moderna literatura sul-coreana na tradição internacional e institui Kim Young-ha como a voz mais importante da sua geração.Kim Young-ha nasceu em 1968 em Hwacheon, na Coreia do Sul. Licenciou-se em Gestão na Universidade de Yonsei, Seul, mas acabou por se dedicar à escrita dois anos depois de terminar o curso. Foi professor na Escola de Teatro da Universidade Nacional das Artes da Coreia e teve um programa de rádio sobre livros. Foi professor visitante da Universidade de Columbia, em Nova Iorque, onde residiu. Actualmente, é cronista do International New York Times. Alguns dos seus romances foram adaptados ao cinema. Tenho o Direito de Me Destruir, a sua obra de estreia, venceu o cobiçado Prémio Munhak-dongne na Coreia do Sul. Source : https://lti.overdrive.com/media/25A6ECAB-3250-4428-A9C2-A3131D06A2E4

Kim Young-ha / 김영하 / 2021 / -

At the dawn of the 20th century, the world was changed. While in Korea the Japanese invasion began, in Mexico the enequenera industry saw its best time at the expense of the exploitation of the Mayas and Yaquis. In the port of Chemulpo, today Incheon, just over a thousand people embarked for America in search of a better future. They had been promised a job in a distant place called YucatÁn. Once there, in the middle of the Mexican green gold plantations, the dust, the heat and the exhausting days would end up taking away their hopes. En los albores del siglo XX, el mundo estaba cambiado. Mientras que, en Corea la invasiÓn japonesa comenzaba, en MÉxico la industria henequenera veÍa su mejor Época a costa de la explotaciÓn de mayas y yaquis. En el puerto de Chemulpo, hoy Incheon, poco mÁs de mil personas se embarcaron con rumbo a AmÉrica en busca de un futuro mejor. Se les habÍa prometido un trabajo en un lugar lejano llamado YucatÁn. Una vez ahÍ, en medio de las plantaciones del oro verde mexicano, el polvo, el calor y las extenuantes jornadas terminarÍan por arrebatarles las esperanzas. Source : https://lti.overdrive.com/media/6885810?cid=37224

Kim Young-ha et al / 김영하 / 2017 / -

In 1904, a group of Koreans seeks a new life in Mexico, in this "powerful, sweeping" 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 — thieves and royals, priests and soldiers, orphans and entire families — discover that they have been sold into indentured servitude. Aboard the ship, the orphan Ijeong had fallen in love with a nobleman's daughter, and after 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—from an author who is "at the leading edge of a new breed of South Korean writers" (Philadelphia City Paper)—Black Flower is an epic story based on a little-known moment in history. "Can a nation disappear forever?' . . . [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." — Minneapolis Star Tribune "Spare and beautiful." —Publishers Weekly, starred review "Readers who remember the historical fiction of Thomas B. Costain, Zoé Oldenbourg and Anya Seton will appreciate [Kim's] extensive research and empathic imagination." —Kirkus Reviews Source : https://lti.overdrive.com/media/3640230?cid=37224