Literature

Review: Mirrorlands: Russia, China, and Journeys In Between by Ed Pulford

By | May 12, 2022

Across the length and breadth of the Sino-Russian border, Ed Pulford discusses continuity and change in this oft-overlooked corner of the world, providing insight on the state of relations between these two countries in years -past and decades to come.

Review: The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War by Monica Kim

By | May 05, 2022

Interrogation documents, Cold War loyalties, and Japanese Americans vs. North Koreans — moments from Monica Kim’s book and insights into her expansive vision of the Korean War.

Imagining a Sino-US Conflict: Review of Kim Jin-myung’s Novel “US-China War”

By | March 05, 2018

South Korean novelist Kim Jin-myung released the behemoth “US-China War” in December last year. Kim controversially alleges that Washington’s strategic goal may not “merely” be the demolition of the DPRK, but crossing the Yalu to destroy the rising China, too. Robert Lauler reviews this pertinent and testy work of political fiction.

The Rise of the Anonymous Writer: A Review of Kim Yu-kyung’s “Place of Human Desecration”

By | October 09, 2017

Where Deborah Smith’s translation of “The Accusation” opened up Bandi’s short stories for the English-speaking world, there are several novels by defector writers that are only in Korean. “Place of Human Desecration” is one. Robert Lauler reviews it.