In May 1980, the South Korean military fired upon students demonstrating against the closing of a university in Gwangju. The next two weeks saw militias and grieving mothers alike organizing to protest the brutality of the country's de facto president, Chun Doo-hwan. Human Acts, the third of Han Kang's novels to be translated into English, … Continue reading Human Acts: A Review
Recounting nearly 30 years of Egyptian history in three Cairo summers, Yasmine El Rashidi's Chronicle of a Last Summer: A Novel of Egypt drives readers through an evolving --- perhaps even crumbling --- country on the brink of revolution. At the heart of El Rashidi's story are the unnamed narrator and her ever-dwindling family. The … Continue reading Chronicle of a Last Summer: A Review
In 1951, one woman's unwilling contribution to medical science ushered in a new era of research and changed countless lives for the better. In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot uncovers the woman who made such an impact on medicine, but went unknown for decades. Until Skloot's book revealed her, many only knew … Continue reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: A Review
If you like stories with rough heroes, societal villains, and moral lessons on what to do after life throws you a curve ball, you can't go wrong choosing 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas. Marie-Helene Bertino weaves together three narratives and four protagonists in this tale of a fateful Christmas Eve Eve in Philadelphia. Lifehacker … Continue reading 2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas: A Review
In the early 2010s, Korean-American journalist Suki Kim taught English at North Korea's Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. In Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite, Kim recalls the events of those few months. The story is incredible. For more than 70 years, while its southern … Continue reading Without You, There Is No Us: A Review