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Berengaria's Reviews > Diary of a Murderer: And Other Stories
Diary of a Murderer: And Other Stories
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by
4.5 stars
short review for busy readers: A novella and 3 short stories from Korean star author Kim Young-ha. Off-beat tales, but with wonderful narrative voice and slight of hand. Excellent English translation.
in detail:
Diary of a Murderer, the title story, is superb, and although I know absolutely no Korean, it feels like a phenomenal translation. A former serial killer has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and is slowly forgetting just about everything about his recent life. He still remembers all of his victims and where he buried them, but the details get a bit fuzzy after that. The narrative voice is candid, direct and very enjoyable as is the slow reveal of just how much is real and how much falsely remembered. 5 stars!
Origin of Life: Man falls in love with an emotionally manipulative, chronic liar who he believes is a battered wife and wants to save. Somewhat confused in the telling with too many twists. Probably the weakest story of the bunch. 3.5 stars
Missing Child: hard-hitting story of parents whose 2-year old son is kidnapped from under their noses in a supermarket. They dedicate their lives to finding the boy, mangling their health, and in general ruining their lives in the process. The mother becomes severely mentally ill and the father can barely keep them housed and fed. Then, some 10 years later, the boy is found and the family is reunited…to disastrous results. 4 stars.
The Writer is a sex comedy look at novel writing, publishing and how men will fluff their feathers and peacock around to make themselves look more important and wealthy than they really are. A tad surreal, but with great, wonderfully rendered dialogue and outlandish, satirical moments. Very much a different tenor than the other stories in the collection. 5 stars
Thank you to my GR friend Alexander for putting this one on my radar. 👍
short review for busy readers: A novella and 3 short stories from Korean star author Kim Young-ha. Off-beat tales, but with wonderful narrative voice and slight of hand. Excellent English translation.
in detail:
Diary of a Murderer, the title story, is superb, and although I know absolutely no Korean, it feels like a phenomenal translation. A former serial killer has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and is slowly forgetting just about everything about his recent life. He still remembers all of his victims and where he buried them, but the details get a bit fuzzy after that. The narrative voice is candid, direct and very enjoyable as is the slow reveal of just how much is real and how much falsely remembered. 5 stars!
Origin of Life: Man falls in love with an emotionally manipulative, chronic liar who he believes is a battered wife and wants to save. Somewhat confused in the telling with too many twists. Probably the weakest story of the bunch. 3.5 stars
Missing Child: hard-hitting story of parents whose 2-year old son is kidnapped from under their noses in a supermarket. They dedicate their lives to finding the boy, mangling their health, and in general ruining their lives in the process. The mother becomes severely mentally ill and the father can barely keep them housed and fed. Then, some 10 years later, the boy is found and the family is reunited…to disastrous results. 4 stars.
The Writer is a sex comedy look at novel writing, publishing and how men will fluff their feathers and peacock around to make themselves look more important and wealthy than they really are. A tad surreal, but with great, wonderfully rendered dialogue and outlandish, satirical moments. Very much a different tenor than the other stories in the collection. 5 stars
Thank you to my GR friend Alexander for putting this one on my radar. 👍
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Reading Progress
June 8, 2024
– Shelved
June 17, 2024
–
Started Reading
June 17, 2024
–
47.12%
""I’ve got a neighbor who blacks out after a night out drinking. Maybe death is a stiff drink that helps you forget the boring night out that is your life.""
page
98
June 20, 2024
–
Finished Reading
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message 1:
by
Alexander
(new)
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rated it 4 stars
Jun 20, 2024 09:59PM
Tagebuch eines Mörders hat mich auch überzeugt, insbesondere die Allegorie auf die koreanische Geschichte, das Thema Gewalt, und die Zerrüttung, die daraus folgt. Schön, dass es dir gefallen hat!!
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Oh ist das Aufzeichnungen eines Serienmörders auf deutsch? In der deutschen Ausgabe gab es glaube ich keine Shortstories darüber hinaus. Frechheit!!!
I’ve been waiting to read your final thoughts about it as it was on my tbr for a while now. I’m definitely going to read this one sometimes soon. The first story sounds great. Fabulous review!
Sandra wrote: "Oh ist das Aufzeichnungen eines Serienmörders auf deutsch? In der deutschen Ausgabe gab es glaube ich keine Shortstories darüber hinaus. Frechheit!!!"Ja, das ist es! Stimmt. Viele Besprechungen -- auch für englischsprachige Ausgaben -- beziehen sich nur auf die Titelgeschichte. Es muss solchen und solchen Ausgaben geben. Aber die deutsche Ausgabe, ja, keine weitere Stories...was eine Frechheit ist!
Alexander wrote: "Tagebuch eines Mörders hat mich auch überzeugt, insbesondere die Allegorie auf die koreanische Geschichte, das Thema Gewalt, und die Zerrüttung, die daraus folgt. Schön, dass es dir gefallen hat!!"Hast du den letzten Satz in meiner Rezi gelesen? 😀 War deine Rezi, wodurch ich auf das Buch aufmerksam geworden bin.
Ich glaube, in der Ausgabe, die du gelesen hast, war nur eine Geschichte drin, oder? Die 3 weitere Geschichten hast du nicht gelesen.
Berengaria wrote: "Alexander wrote: "Tagebuch eines Mörders hat mich auch überzeugt, insbesondere die Allegorie auf die koreanische Geschichte, das Thema Gewalt, und die Zerrüttung, die daraus folgt. Schön, dass es d..."Ich lese deine Rezis immer komplett, freut mich, dass ich dich begeistern konnte! Ja, in meiner Ausgabe war nur die Geschichte vom Serienmörder, die anderen interessieren mich jetzt auch 😁
Sounds like a really unique story, the title story, and The Writer sounds like a lot of fun. Excellent review, Berengaria!
Debbie Y wrote: "I’ve been waiting to read your final thoughts about it as it was on my tbr for a while now. I’m definitely going to read this one sometimes soon. The first story sounds great. Fabulous review!"I think you'll probably also like the last one, "The Writer." It's pretty funny!
Jenna wrote: "Sounds like a really unique story, the title story, and The Writer sounds like a lot of fun. Excellent review, Berengaria!"They are. And the translation is great, which was a big surprise!
Great review, Berengaria. "Off-beat" always appeals to me!
"His work has been compared to the novels of Haruki Murakami" - This line in the blurb is more than enough to scare the sh*t out of me. I am not a fan of Murakami. :D But your rating for this is so very tempting, B!
Rosh (is rushing to catch up after the break!) wrote: ""His work has been compared to the novels of Haruki Murakami" - This line in the blurb is more than enough to scare the sh*t out of me. I am not a fan of Murakami. :D But your rating for this is so..."I don't like Murakami either! I think all the comparisons to famous East Asian writers are just because Kim is an East Asian writer, that's all! I see no connection in theme or style. (Haven't read his novels, just this story collection)
Berengaria wrote: "I don't like Murakami either! I think all the comparisons to famous East Asian writers are just because Kim is an East Asian writer, that's all! I see no connection in theme or style. (Haven't read his novels, just this story collection)"Oh, thank God! His fans here in India are so vocal at times that making a declaration of dislike is akin to social suicide. If you find no connection in style (which is mainly where Murakami doesn't work for me), then I can certainly try this out. Thanks, B!
