Bae has departed from the tradition of mainstream literature and created her own literary world based on a unique style and knack for psychological description. Bae Suah and Deborah Smith on Tour! This book taught me more about classical music than I cared knowing. Large parts of the book came across as repetitive with the narrator seemingly namedropping authors and composers ad nauseam without making or providing any insight or proper connection with the narrative itself. Author: Bae Suah. 645 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington, District of Columbia 20003. But like the best such analytical works, it is also emotionally engrossing, in large part because of the beauty of its prose. The main character (and narrator) is so dismissive, judgemental and pretentious that is hard to find any common ground with which to relate to what she is going through. And then A Greater Music by Bae Suah, translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith:. Bae Suah’s young narrator describes her empty existence as she travels through life, barely moved by the disintegrated state of her family and her own poverty and loneliness. It is beautifully written. "A Greater Music is another addition to a growing body of literature that explores the idea that human sexuality is more pliable and fluid than the rigid labels we assign to it. We’d love your help. It is bizarre and will keep you wondering what is really going on. The stark contrast between the accounts of Joachim and M highlight the intensity of emotional and pragmatic connection between individuals, and the final third feels like a powerful breaking of a thematic dam. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. A hypnotic, disorienting story of parallel lives unfolding over a day and a night in the sweltering heat of Seoul's summer. A Greater Music is the first in a line of steady and much-anticipated releases by Bae Suah from key indie presses (this one published by Open Letter). This book is a swirling mass of consciousness, breathing and pulsing like a screensaver. Apparently, when one attempts to update a phone that hasn't been updated in years, a multitude of problems occur. Maybe I have failed it, instead of the other way round. Deborah Smith (Translator) Each story in this volume, brilliantly translated by Deborah Smith, is laden with her poetic images and philosophical meditations. Considering we are all in lock-down at the moment, I welcomed a new book to read. 128 pages. Bae Suah was born in Seoul in 1965. It reminded me of Wittgenstein's Mistress by David Markson. It is the story of a Korean "recitation actress", Kyung-hee, who has spent her life traveling, often on foot, around the world. I have a little under a week to put some thoughts onto paper for an essay contest, but I can say for now that this is probably up there now among my favorite books of all time. Grasshoppers spring up around her feet, transparent carapaces propelled into the air as she crosses the dirt yard and approaches the cement buildings, their desiccated structures hard and dry as stale bread, and riddled with holes. The book ends with the same Korean expat couple going to Seoul to learn more about Kyung-hee, and actually managing to find her. Enjoyable and meditative, though not quite as thematically cohesive as Bae’s other books I’ve read. The chill impression of those dearly missed rental houses, whose occupants were only ever passing through. She writes in a way that puts you into the mind-space of the narrator. She even goes on a multi-page rant on how pop culture revolts her : It felt a lot longer than it was. We assume she’s bisexual because first she had an affair with her female tutor, broke up with her, and is now involved with a young German man. I absolutely loved it. 17 quotes from Bae Suah: 'No matter how decadent and corrupt my body becomes, I will, like a desert orchid that blooms once every hundred years, come to you bearing this frigidness toward life. --Sophie Hughes, Music & Literature Near the beginning of A Greater Music, the narrator, a young Korean writer, falls into an icy river in the Berlin suburbs, where she's been housesitting for her on-off boyfriend Joachim. Sebaldian but unique. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Bae, Suah. On the one hand, the writing is rich and robust. Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah is published by Jonathan Cape at £12.99. The structure is more complicated, in that she tells stories of other peo. 2016. clock. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Bae Suah offers a complex psychological portrait in this highly intelligent, introspective novel. Suah is a master of prose. The novel follows a Korean woman to Germany where she tries to learn the language. On the one hand, the writing is rich and robust. 9781941920466 - Recitation by Bae, Suah - AbeBooks Skip to main content This book was quite different from any other book I've read. - Melissa Beck. Also, the whole relationship with Joachim seemed underdeveloped (why does she like him at all based on what we know of her other relationships? 320 pages. Since 1993 she has published more than a dozen novels and short story collections. Bae writes frequently and at length about music; some of the pieces I know and some of them are new to me. She peers through the window into the ground-floor flat, where a naked bulb casts a cold, "Kyung-hee said that in her hometown, she’d been a theatre actor specialising in recitation Several times already now, she’d had the idea of visiting the houses she’d left behind. Music can act in much the same way. "A Greater Music" was extremely relatable to me in various different ways, especially vis-a-vis the difficulties of having to maintain a relationship in a second language and having visa permit issues intrude upon a relationship. 2016. The narrator is an unnamed Korean, describing 2 periods of her life spent in Germany, 3 years apart. Bae Suah is one of the most highly acclaimed contemporary Korean authors, with over ten short story collections and five novels to her name. She succeeds. “The Schubert devotee continued with her address. "Bae Suah offers the chance to un-know--to see the every-day afresh and be defamiliarized with what we believe we know--which is no small offering." "It is a challenging yet cognitively engaging and rewarding read. She is concerned with providing a good one. The next to last Korean novel for the group I am in on Goodreads (moving to Arabic writings in March), this is the best work I've read by Bae Suah. It definitively makes me think this is a biographical passage and I feel so sorry for Bae Suah.. After this V. Though very well written this is a book extremely difficult to read. For two years, twenty-eight-year-old Kim Ayami has worked at Seoul's only audio theatre for the blind. I would recommend to read it as different stories. A long, complicated, and often incoherent stream of consciousness from an amorphous narrator. A Korean woman, the narrator, returns to Berlin where she studied German as a student after several years away. By Chad Post | September 13th, 2016 | Articles | 0 Comment This fall, two Open Letter authors will be on tour: Josefine Klougart (whose tour we announced a few weeks ago) will be going cross-country starting next week to promote One of Us Is Sleeping. Bae Suah is one of the most highly acclaimed contemporary Korean authors; both an award-winning writer and translator. To order your copy for £10.99, call 0844 8711514 or visit the Telegraph Bookshop Related Topics I finished this on my flight to Raleigh. Really interesting writing, but I fundamentally disagree with Bae on the nature of mind. Her novels (Recitation, A Greater Music, Nowhere To Be Found) and stories (North Station, Highway with Green Apples, From Noin Ula) are influenced by the German authors she translates – including Kafka, W G Sebald and Jenny Erpenbeck, but also by the authors Clarice Lispecter and Borges, et al. Untold Night and Day was first published in Korea in 2013 and is the fourth of Bae Suah’s novels – which number more than a dozen – to be translated into English by Deborah Smith. Chairs. It's a hard read, but I did enjoy, especially as the meaning slowly came through at the end. Memories, blurry timelines, uncertainty of what's now and what's passed. She stays at a former boyfriend’s apartment, attends a claustrophobic New Year’s Eve Party, and enacts a solitary routine of undisclosed length, visiting cafes in the snow and mulling about her writing career. “Untold Night and Day” is a novel that will make your day. In reality, though, she never once went back to any of the places she’d left behind, and there was something peculiar about the way she only drew them again and again in her imagination, like a hometown whose precise location has grown uncertain over time. 배수아 (Bae Suah)'s 2003 novel 에세이스트의 책상 (literally: Essayist's Desk) has been translated by the MBI winning Deborah Smith as A Greater Music. I'm dropping this from 4 to 3.5 stars because there are just so many elements that weren't working. Looking for books by Bae Suah? “Untold Night and Day” is a novel that will make your day. An independent, community-minded and women-owned bookstore serving the greater Capitol Hill community. Bae Suah is a South Korean author and translator. by Deep Vellum Publishing. ), potentially even superfluous. Add to this th. The narrator lacks any sort of self-awareness and her immaturity makes it difficult to enjoy any aspect of the plot as it is. Building off of the interest of 2016 Best Translated Book Award longlist nominee Nowhere to Be Found, Bae Suah … The Los Angeles Review of Books is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Rochester, New York. Hosted by East City Bookshop. Show Map. I’m glad I read it, to break out of my normal genres and to introduce myself to one of South Korea’s highly acclaimed authors. With low prices and huge savings, shop at wordery.com today. By (author) Bae Suah , Translated by Deborah Smith. Fast and free shipping free returns cash on delivery available on eligible purchase. As such, I feel like I'm only reviewing the parts rather than the whole. This book reads like a dream. Bae Suah, one of the most highly acclaimed contemporary Korean authors, has published more than a dozen short story collections and novels, and has won a number of prestigious awards. As Recitation was the first book of hers I read, I love the parallelism here regarding the spoken word, but this time focusing mainly on music. It discusses the way language sets up barriers, but also tears them down. I received Bae Suah’s novel as an Easter present. FICTION. Bae Suah likes to challenge readers used to more conventional plot lines and character development. Her first book to appear in English, Nowhere to be Found, was longlisted for a PEN Translation Prize and the Best Translated Book Award. ", I enjoyed this book. Bae Suah and I have parted ways for the time being. Bae Suah, born in Seoul in 1965, is one of the most highly acclaimed contemporary Korean authors, with over ten short story collections and five novels to her name. The book ends (almost) with the piece, and it is clear that it describes Kyung-hee’s life in mythic form, she being the shaman’s wife and her lost German teacher being the shaman (or at least one of his incarnations): “He was my eternal husband, my ancestor, my shaman” (p. 272). 2017. Her translations from the German include works by W. G. Sebald, Franz Kafka, and Jenny Erpenbeck. Punk rock legend, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, award-winning writer, photographer, activist, and all-around Renaissance woman Patti Smith is... To see what your friends thought of this book. She peers through the window into the ground-floor flat, where a naked bulb casts a cold, orange light. Still, interesting enough to where I might be interested in reading another of her works at some point. In “Untold Night and Day” identities are blurred, chronology is warped, time and space are stretched and exist in parallel to others. She received the Hanguk Ilbo literary prize in 2003, and the Tongseo literary prize in 2004. To see what your friends thought of this book, 배수아 (Bae Suah)'s 2011 novel 서울의 낮은 언덕들 (The Low Hills of Seoul) has been translated into English as Recitation by the MBI award-winning translator of, Absolutely spellbound. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Glad I read it fairly slowly too, as it has lots to savor. Be the first to ask a question about Recitation. It repeats words like they are pressure points in this swelling mass of meaning. Books Advanced Search Amazon Charts Best Sellers & more Top New Releases Deals in Books School Books Advanced Search Amazon Charts Best Sellers & more Top New Releases Deals Korean author Bae Suah’s latest writing, although a collection of short stories, is equally as experimental, cutting-edge, and captivating as her novels. But considering this was her first book (I think) I have no complaints about what is truly an introspective and provocative masterpiece. Open Letter. “왜냐하면 걸어간다는 것은 일종의 비언어적 정당성을 획득하는 유일한 방법이고, 지금 이시대에 행할 수 있는 가장 나 자체인 것이며, 마음과 육체를 모두 포괄하는 전체적인 묘사라고 생각되었으니까요” 22p, I was recc'd this because I loved Young-moon Jung's, i love bae suah's evocative, meandering sentences but this hinged too much on woo-woo shamanistic plot turns for my liking; think she does something here that's similar to david mitchell's approach to reincarnation / incorporeal travelling souls in. And she was both, existing at the same time. When I press my ear to your chest, I hear only wind and emptiness. Joachim and his uninteresting family -- frankly, they didn't seem to even like each other very much, but that wasn't really a surprise given the failed relationships in the two other books I've read by Bae. The longest book I've read so far by Bae Suah; the structure seemed as though she wasn't quite adept yet at arranging a longer story. Online shopping from a great selection at Books Store. She studied chemistry at university and wrote her first short story as a way of practising her typing. The Los Angeles Review of Books is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Sometimes the way forward is cl. It's a hard read, but I did enjoy, especially as the meaning slowly came through at the end. As Recitation was the first book of hers I read, I love the parallelism here regarding the spoken word, but this time focusing mainly on music. It is the story of a Korean "recitation actress", Kyung-hee, who has spent her life traveling, often on foot, around the world. I really loved the feel of it. As such, I feel l. I enjoyed this book. Good enough not to ruin MJ's sister's Christmas. Start by marking “Recitation” as Want to Read: Error rating book. She stays at a former boyfriend’s apartment, attends a claustrophobic New Year’s Eve Party, and enacts a solitary routine of undisclosed length, visiting cafes in the snow and mulling about her writing career. She has also translated several books from the German, including works by W. G. Sebald, Franz Kafka, and Jenny Erpenbeck. Her first book to appear in English, Nowhere to be Found, was longlisted for a PEN Translation Prize and the Best Translated Book Aw. More than simply an unreliable narrator, there is a sense of the absence of progression or chronology. I didn’t enjoy its reading but have to say that right in the middle of the book , the description about Kyung-hee’s parents, how she was brought up, the terrible way how they treated her, the relationship with her sister, her fears and loneliness, touched me incredibly. The characters are limited and unlikeable. About halfway through "Recitation" I found I simply didn't care anymore, wasn't curious enough to see where Bae Suah was headed. It discusses the way language sets up barriers, but also tears them down. Reading this book was a surreal experience unlike any other book I've read (in a good way), which I think is a testament to Suah's writing and Smith's translation. She received the Hanguk Ilbo literary prize in 2003, and the Tongseo literary prize in 2004. Sometimes the way forward is clearer the second time around. I wish I had time to read this book again, I would probably be able to give this book better rating, since this book needs a careful reading of the meaning, which only appears clearly in the last sections. It felt a lot longer than it was. I could read books like this forever, The next to last Korean novel for the group I am in on Goodreads (moving to Arabic writings in March), this is the best work I've read by Bae Suah. English. As in all her stories, there is a deliberate confusion of time, based on her theory that past and future are imaginary and only exist in the present as wish and memory. We feel the cut of the cold rain slicing in through the open car window in the first scene of the book, and we deeply understand how the cold affects M, the protagonist's obsession. 5 quotes from Untold Night and Day: ‘Ayami was her future self or her past self. 3.6 (479 ratings by Goodreads) Hardback. The narrator, name unknown (I think) is an odd woman, apparently affected somehow from falling into an icy river in Berlin, and the book shuffles between realities - the present and the past. So "Recitation" goes back on my books-to-be-read list and one day I'll take another stab at it. The timeline of events described are hazy at best and the whole book has a very grim vibe. A few examples would be when a character inexplicably changes the pronoun they refer to themselves during a stream-of-con. : 1941920462 ISBN 13: 9781941920466 1941920462 ISBN 13: 9781941920466 like the best such analytical works, it remarkable... In an original series about new wave feminist writers in Korea. some. 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