Locator Map of South Korea (Courtesy: Seb az86556, using CC-BY-3.0, via Wikipedia)
Two of the Man Asian Literary Prize team have cheated! They read and reviewed Please Look After Mother by Kyung-Sook Shin before our team was formed, and are showing me up big-time. I bear no grudge though and happily point you to their reviews. We are, as they say, on our way!
Shin Kyung-sook was born in South Korea in 1963. She has written several novels though few have been translated into English – and has won major literary awards in her country.
It’s exciting, in fact, that our first reviews represent a country – South Korea – that many of us (speaking for myself at least) are not well read in. This diversity – with books from such places as Iran, South Korea, and Bangladesh as well as from the bigger countries like China, India and Japan – has to be one of the best things about the Man Asian Literary Prize.
PS Apologies for the unusual rapid fire of posts this week. I promise I won’t keep filling up your inboxes/readers/feeds like this – I couldn’t keep it up anyhow!
Whispering Gums 
In my defence, it was accidental cheating…
Sure, Matt … !!
Not at all familiar with South Korean lit and enjoyed Matt’s review. Sounds like one I would like to read. How wonderful to sell a million copies! I am wondering what sort of writing style was involved.
Me neither, as you know, Catherine. I guess we’ll have to find time to read it to find out! Now, where’s some time!!?
The book sounds wonderful. I don’t think I have ever read a book by a Korean author. I used to have a pen pal who lived in South Korea though when I was a kid, does that count?
I reckon it does, and Geraldine Brooks might too … Have you ever read her Foreign Correspondent? A bit of a play on the fact that while she was working as a foreign correspondent she decided to track down her childhood pen pals. If you had pen friends and you haven’t read it, you might enjoy it.
Gosh my penpals were all over the shop – no wonder I started out the nomadic life so early.. Have to snap this one up too. Just ordered Carpentaria!
Oh, good for you re Carpentaria Catherine. I look forward to hearing what you think.
And LOL re penfriends. I just had two, one in Japan and one in France, but they both lasted several years. I still have their letters.
I haven’t read Foreign Correspondent yet, but I do have a copy I picked up at a secondhand bookshop over the summer. I am looking forward to reading it.
Oh good. I’m sure it’s the sort of book you’d enjoy.
I am keen to read this one too….I’ve ordered it, but it hasn’t arrived yet.
I’m so tempted by this one too … but haven’t ordered it yet. I can feel it coming on though.
hope you read it I thinkm it is a great insight into south korea and how it has changed so much ,look forward to your reviews for shadow man asian ,all the best stu
Thanks Stu … I have recommended it for one of my online reading groups. I hope it will get selected there which will make it easier for me to slot it in! My fingers are crossed. Otherwise, I’ll do my best to read it anyhow.