Read Around Asia Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Asia.
Best books from Asia (1978)
1581.
Country: Asia / 
South Korea
South Korea
Description:
Cursed Bunny is a genre-defying collection of short stories by Korean author Bora Chung. Blurring the lines between magical realism, horror, and science-fiction, Chung uses elements of the fantastic and surreal to address the very real horrors and cruelties of patriarchy and capitalism in modern society. Anton Hur’s translation skilfully captures the way Chung’s prose effortlessly glides from being terrifying to wryly humorous. Winner of a PEN/Heim Grant.
1582.
The Color of Earth by Dong Hwa Kim EN
Country: Asia / South Korea
South Korea
Description:
Contains graphic sexual topics.
1583.
Miss Kim Knows and Other Stories by Cho Nam-Joo EN
Country: Asia / South Korea
South Korea
Description:
FROM THE AUTHOR OF KIM JIYOUNG, BORN 1982 Eight women. Eight stories. One reality. A woman is born. A woman is filmed in public without consent. A woman suffers domestic violence. A woman is gaslit. A woman is discriminated against at work. A woman grows old. A woman becomes famous. A woman is hated, and loved, and then hated again. Written in Cho Nam-Joo's masterful, razor-sharp prose, Miss Kim Knows brings together the lives of eight Korean women, aged 10 to 80. Contained in each of these biographies is a microcosm of contemporary Korea, and the challenges and injustices that women face from... continue
1584.
Your Republic Is Calling You by Kim Young-ha EN
Country: Asia / South Korea
South Korea
Description:
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 mess... continue
1585.
Almond : A Novel by Won-Pyung Sohn EN
Country: Asia / South Korea
South Korea
Description:
WALL STREET JOURNAL STORIES THAT CAN TAKE YOU ANYWHERE PICK * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY'S STAY HOME AND READ PICK * SALON'S BEST AND BOLDEST * BUSTLE'S MOST ANTICIPATED The Emissary meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime in this poignant and triumphant story about how love, friendship, and persistence can change a life forever. This story is, in short, about a monster meeting another monster. One of the monsters is me. Yunjae was born with a brain condition called Alexithymia that makes it hard for him to feel emotions like fear or anger. He does not have friends--the two almond-sha... continue
1586.
Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee EN
Country: Asia / South Korea
South Korea
Description:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Pachinko, a "mesmerizing" novel about the Korean-American daughter of first-generation immigrants striving to join Manhattan's inner circle (USA Today). Casey Han is a strong-willed, Queens-bred daughter of Korean immigrants immersed in a glamorous Manhattan lifestyle she can't afford. When a chance encounter with an old friend lands her a new opportunity, she's determined to carve a space for herself in a glittering world of privilege, power, and wealth–but at what cost? Set in a city where millionaires scramble for free lunches that the poor are ... continue
1587.
Country: Asia / South Korea
South Korea
Description:
This “sweeping intergenerational saga" tells the story of a pampered and defiant South Korean matriarch thrust into the afterlife from which she seeks a second chance to make amends (Kirstin Chen)—and fights off a tragic curse that could devastate generations to come. In South Korea, a 105-year-old woman receives a letter. Ten days later, she has been thrust into the afterlife, fighting to head off a curse that will otherwise devastate generations to come. Hak Jeonga has always shouldered the burden of upholding the family name. When she sent her daughter-in-law to America to cover up an illeg... continue
1589.
Country: Asia / South Korea
South Korea
Description:
Yeonghye es una mujer aparentemente normal, joven, sin mayores virtudes o defectos. Una noche, sin ninguna actitud previa que hiciera suponer un cambio en su carácter, su marido la encuentra tirando a la basura toda la carne almacenada en el congelador. Cuando él la increpa por lo que está haciendo, ella le dice que ha tenido un sueño y que abandonará la ingesta de carnes. Su determinación es absolutamente radical e irrevocable, pero el marido y la familia no están preparados para esta decisión ni para la transformación que comienz... continue
1590.
Whale : SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE by Cheon Myeong-Kwan EN
Country: Asia / South Korea
South Korea
Description:
** SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE ** A sweeping, multi-generational tale blending fable, farce, and fantasy--a masterpiece of modern fiction perfect for fans of One Hundred Years of Solitude Whale is the English-language debut of a beloved and bestselling South Korean author, a born storyteller with a cinematic, darkly humorous, and thoroughly original perspective. A woman sells her daughter to a passing beekeeper for two jars of honey. A baby weighing fifteen pounds is born in the depths of winter but named “Girl of Spring.” A storm brings down the roof of a ramshackle restaur... continue