Recent Books
The Leopard
Jo Nesbo; translated from the English version to Korean by Roh Jin-sun; Viche: 800 pp., 18,500 won
This Norwegian crime thriller is joy ride: with some bumps along the way.
With a length that is the largest among the Harry Hole series, Nesbo puts in enough drive for readers to grab onto the book and follow the protagonist’s chase for a murdererer that spans Asia, Africa and Scandinavia.
A direct sequel to previous offering “Snowman,” Byronic hero Hole who isolated himself in an opium den in Hong Kong following some pain and suffering to his soul from past events must return to the world to do what he does best: solving crimes.
The bumps some readers may feel comes from parts of the book that deals with our hero’s own redemptions that Nesbo attempts to tangle with catching the mass killer. Catching the sadistic antagonist who is “silent as a Leopard” is linked to Hole facing unresolved personal trauma caused during the process of arresting another killer.
Though it definitely sheds light and adds color to a globally popular character and rarely impedes on the velocity of the novel, it will deter first-timers from justifying the added bulk from those to an already long novel. Read the whole series, the book seems to insinuate.
In a separate note, the Korean version of the book displays the lack of global talent in translators here. A book originally written in Norwegian is translated from the English version, making audiences here read a book that went through two interpretations, raising the question of how close it is to the original.
― Cho Mu-hyun
Numbers Rule: the Vexing Mathematics of Democracy, from Plato to the Present
George G. Szpiro; Translated from English to Korean by Cha Baek-man; Sallim books: 383 pp., 15,000 won
In recent years, the mathematical social sciences ― particularly voting and social choice theory ― has become a hot topic in both academia and popular culture. Mathematics courses in the liberal arts now include sections on fair division and voting theory. A large number of text books and monographs devote themselves entirely to these topics.
This book written by George G. Szpiro is a good introduction to an issue of fair proportional representation in democratic systems. For a better understanding of the book, the reader needs some knowledge of math to a certain level.
It explores the background and history behind how the United States apportions the House of Representatives in close conformity to the requirements of the Constitution, as well as the impossibility of removing all ambiguities and weaknesses. Each chapter focuses on the contributions of one person or a group of people to social choice theory.
― Rachel Lee
Nonetheless Love
Jeon Dae-sik; Gonggam; 240pp., 14,000 won
Jeon Dae-sik, a former photographer of PBC（Pyeonghwa Broadcasting Corp.）covered the late Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (1922-2009) for 20 years after he first met him on Christmas day in 1989. This book contains Cardinal Kim's essays and his acquaintances' memoirs about Kim with the author’s photos.
The author delivers the words of Cardinal Kim who was revered as the nation's spiritual leader. Cardinal Kim who agonized over whether he could live all his life as a good priest indeed says, "if someone asks me what is the best thing I've ever done in my life, I'd like to answer it is to have become a priest.”
In particular, Cardinal Kim said that the most beautiful closing of a man’s life is the wrapping-up process when he realizes there are not many days left.
― Baek Byung-yeul
Myeangsim Bogam (The Precious Mirror of Bright Mind)
Lee Hee-jae and Maria Lisak; Jimoondang: 128 pp., 12,000 won
“The Mirror of the Bright Mind” is the time-honored Chinese classic that offers a basic platform of ethical and moral codes. It was particularly taught to children to introduce them to the core tenets of the underlying Confucian influences on Korea culture during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910).
This time, it has been edited and translated by Lee Hee-jae, a professor at Gwangju University and Maria Lisak, a professor at Chosun University into English, Korean and Chinese.
In the 16th century, the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) suffered from invasions by its neighboring countries outwardly and political power struggles internally. The ruling class, thus, needed ideological platforms to control the state. This classic was one of the solutions to provide relief from this strife and share universal wisdom to bring a peaceful mind to people, offering Taoist and Buddhist ideas, Confucian manners and other morality codes.
The book could be a good way of teaching the youth about morality and ethics in modern society.
― Chung Ah-young