list_Books from Korea / -

Creating a Place for Myself Author's Profile By Yu miri on Oct 30 2014 17:57:25 Vol.25 Autumn 2014 It has been 28 years since I chose to write as my occupation. My parents divorced while I was in elementary school. During junior high I lost my mental balance and was no longer able to go to school; at 15 I was expelled from high school. Ever since I was young I’ve liked reading books and writing, so I decided to make writing my work. At 18, I made my debut as a playwright with “To My Friend in the Water,” and after composing 10 plays, began to write novels. In 1997, when I was 28, I received the Akutagawa Prize for my novel Family Cinema. The Akutagawa Prize is Japan’s most famous literary award.

list_Books from Korea / -

Exploring “Family” in Yu Miri’s Works   By Jo Kyung-ran on Oct 30 2014 17:49:38 Vol.25 Autumn 2014 Nineteen years ago, just when I was starting my career as a fiction writer, one of the hottest topics in the Korean literary world was undoubtedly the translated works by the Japan-born author Yu Miri. Before her novel Family Cinema had won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 1997, translations of her previous novellas Full House and Bean Sprout, as well as other earlier works including essays and plays, seemed to be pouring into Korea. I had spent those years of my life reading the works of Yu—like myself, a 20-something writer—but at the time Yu was already referred to as a member of the young writers of “pure” literature at the helm of the Japanese literary world. And that is why even now when I come across her name, I immediately think of her as a “writer of our time.” The reasons Yu Miri had gained so much attention at the same time in both countries was because she was a Zainichi Korean, an ethnic Korean residing in Japan, who wrote fiction in Japanese, and perhaps also, and more importantly, because of how she portrayed the theme of family found in many of her stories. Although I have yet to meet her, Yu’s portrayal of family may also be the reason why it feels as though I have personally known her all these years as a fellow writer. I especially cannot forget the refreshing jolt I had when I first read Full House, the story about a father who goes beyond his means to build a single ramshackle home to reunite his scattered family. The characters of this story reappear in Family Cinema.

The National / July 04, 2023

Korean author Yu Miri will be reading her novel The End of August.

The Skinny / December 04, 2023

Lee Woo-Cheol is a running prodigy, but in Japanese-occupied Korea the Second World War is fast approaching. In the present day, his Japanese-born granddaughter trains for a marathon in Korea. This stunning new translation of Yu Miri’s epic, semi-autobiographical novel, weaves together the past and present in a complex, beautiful and brutal family history. 

THE STRAITSTIMES / January 06, 2023

Spanning Korea’s tumultuous 20th century and told in at least four languages through the perspectives of more than 30 characters, Yu Miri’s The End Of August is pure literary ambition. This behemoth of a book by the Japanese-language writer of Korean descent is no light read and will reward only the scrupulously patient reader. It demands a tolerance for shifting viewpoints, unconventional punctuation and a generous appetite for acclimating – even surrendering – to the denseness of a multicultural colonial world.