There hasn't been a book that has kept me up reading all night, but I spent some waking hours in finishing this one, leaving me so full of awe and hurt. Ahhh! Which all surprises me given this book was released in 2004 in Korea, which is momentous given how conservative it was then (and still is) during that time. A discussion with author Ahn Jung-hyoThe Korean Literature Night (KLN) is a monthly discussion group that explores various themes and topics relating to that month ... Chi-Young is a skilled translator who’s had a long career, so I was very happy that she was translating my novel. I trusted her completely and didn’t feel the need to share any particular thoughts. I don’t personally know her work since I don’t speak English, but my agent and others have all told me that it’s excellent—I’m thrilled and grateful. How does it feel to be shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023, and what would winning mean to you?

University of Glasgow and University of Manchester provide funding as members of The Conversation UK. It is the story of a mother and a daughter. The mother, Geumbok, is from a remote mountain village, and throughout the first part of the book her fortunes rise, then fall, and ultimately rise again, until eventually she builds her own movie theatre in the shape of

Become a Member

Readers will be seduced by the sensuality of this book, by its sincerity. It is a book about appetite – in the most common sense of the word, since the narrator is a passionate cook – but also about the appetite for another’s body, for life and for freedom. The Gospel According to the New World by Maryse Condé, translated by Richard Philcox (World Editions)

For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. Why didn’t the violence bother me as much? Was it my internalized sexism? Was it my affinity for romanticizing Korea’s history and culture? Was I truly comfortable with the way the women were written? By a man? Love was love only when it burned hot like fire, and hate was hate only when it was frostier than a sheet of ice.”The tale focuses on three women and how they navigate changing circumstances while one aspect remains the same: Sexism. Protagonist Geumbok flees her bleak live in a rural area and enters relationships with men who help her survive and then rise in the social ranks. The business-savvy, matter-of-fact woman adapts to the expanding capitalist system by starting several enterprises, the most ambitious one being the cinema in the form of the title-giving whale. Geumbok tortures and neglects the second protagonist, her mute daughter, who gets a storyline of her own. Then, we have a one-eyed woman who directs an army of bees, born into another female line of family trauma. These three narrative strands are intertwined with minor stories about other characters (the most important one being a gangster with a scar), and it's fascinating how the author maintains control of this sprawling concept. The wit and inventiveness of the writing, which never overwhelms the compassion the author has not only for his characters, but also for us, the readers. The novel has just two characters, the unnamed narrator and their time travelling friend Gustine. This sparsity reflects the aridity of a demented mind. Together, they create rooms for Alzheimer’s patients. Rooms in which a chunk of their familiar time and memory is preserved to provide them with shelter in a rapidly erasing memory world. did this book have a lot of objectionable stuff in it? yes. but did i lap up this book like it was freaking ice cream? also yes.