Customer Reviews

Of Tales and Enigmas

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Minsoo Kang's stories are wonderful, contemplative and alluring tales and I highly recommend this book -- which looks on the surface to be in the fantasy/science fiction category -- to anybody who likes intelligent fiction. Kang has a raconteur's gusto for telling a good tale and is also a historian, disciplined and dedicated to ferreting meaning out of past events. As a result his is a book of stories about stories about unreal places and events -- a smorgasbord for the imagination but one that lucidly guides the reader through its metafictional space. You'll see what I mean. Along the way you'll encounter situations and characters that have, like "real" myths, the power to bore into your subconscious and linger there -- like the king who makes love to a statue until his "seed" brings it to life and an unexpectedly poignant, forgive me, climax. The book jacket mentions Italo Calvino and Borges as pretty obvious comparisons, but I was reminded more of Oscar Wilde while reading the book. You will want to discuss/share these stories with a friend -- they are truly thought provoking.

Minsoo Kang is part philosopher part troubadour - telling tales of "history, controversy and geomancy" that take the reader to worlds that feel at once mythical and familiar. His characters are caught in elusive parables with plots that flicker between the heroic and the ironic - a monk who renounces a beautiful girl only to be seduced by his own vanity, a golden emperor trapped in a fantastic world of the utterly mundane, seekers on a journey to the nonexistent center of the universe . . . Kang's stories disturb the mind and enchant the emotions with their poetic scholarship and soulful metaphysics. I would especially recommend this book for literature study at the high-school or college level - Kang's multi-disciplinary style of narrative has many layers to explore. Or better yet - give it as a gift to a good friend. It's a totally original travel destination for the brain they will deeply appreciate.