The Rainy Spell and Other Korean Stories (UNESCO Collection of Representative Works: European) [Hardcover]

Suh Ji-Moon (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Park Wan-So's "A Pasque Flower on That Bleak Day," a charming and humorous tale of how a woman tricks a group of sex-starved soldiers, is the only bright spot in this collection of dark, depressing stories full of ugly images. Editor Ji-moon claims that these stories are full of "candor and intimacy" and that he has translated them "as faithfully as possible," but his literal renderings miss the mark. Confusing, incoherent, and often discordant, these stories are at best difficult to read: the process is tedious, and sections often must be read several times to get even the vaguest sense of what's happening. Not recommended.?Janis Williams, Shaker Heights P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Korean

Product Details

• Hardcover: 285 pages
• Publisher: M E Sharpe Inc; Revised edition (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765601389
• ISBN-13: 978-0765601384
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,375,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a great selection of korean modern novels, February 18, 2000

By 

"namsy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rainy Spell and Other Korean Stories (UNESCO Collection of Representative Works: European) (Hardcover)

this collection surely contains quintessential works in Korean modern literature, thanks to a very committed translator! especially the title work "the rainy spell" epitomizes a vivid reality of korean situation after the civil war. also, it would be interesting to read this work from the perspective of ideology allegorized in family relation, esp. mother/son relationship. in one of the two families, (s)mothering son seems to be responsible for the devastated and deviant youth who "wrongly" seeks his way in communism (to be exact, in playing partisan). this portrait replicates the distorted image of communism sustained by capitalist ideology, which is ironically approved by the ostensible reconciliation through the tradtional shamanism at the end (when the prodigal son returns home in the body of a snake). but remember, this is only one way to read it. by and large, the tragedy that swirls all over the korean peninsula is bittersweetly chrystalized in a small house which is temporarily crowded by two families and again finitely confined by the rainy season. this story of ominous density and suffocating humidity is told, but beautifully, from first person perspective of a boy who is awkwardly situated in the middle of feud.