I’m a huge fan of short fiction, and really appreciate the satisfaction a good story can give in just one sitting (we don’t always have time to sit and read for hours!).
Recently, Krys Lee’s Drifting House came to my attention. Lee is a Seoul-based author whose stories are set in Korea and the US; her work “explores love, identity, war, and the homes we make for ourselves.” Here’s the publishers synopsis of Drifting House:
Lee portrays nuanced, haunting characters struggling with war, religion, and the secrets and complexities of damaged families. She illuminates the difficulties of living an unmoored existence in America and she traverses the collective sorrow brought on by a legacy of political strife. Weaving intricate tales of family and love, abandonment and loss, in Korea and the US, Lee’s deeply moving stories are about people whose lives are threatened by civil war, military dictatorships, and the psychological fallout that tore Korea apart for decades.
In the title story, “Drifting House,” children escaping famine in North Korea are forced to make unthinkable sacrifices to survive. In “The Salaryman” a middle class, middle-aged man toils in the wake of South Korea’s financial crisis, and in “The Goose Father” a man deserted by his family stumbles upon love unexpectedly. “A Small Sorrow” tells of the confidence and inspiration to control her life that a painter gains after striking up a friendship with one of her husband’s many lovers.
In America, the stories are set against the backdrop of the cramped, shared apartments and vacant strip malls of Koreatowns, where makeshift families are cobbled together from fragmented pasts to forge new identities.
In turns tragic, powerful, and hopeful, Drifting House is a collection that will linger with you long after you have finished reading it.
Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? The settings, the struggles … the favorable comparisons to Chang-rae Lee’s Native Speaker and Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies …
The publisher, Viking/Penguin, has generously offered one giveaway copy to a lucky reader of She Is Too Fond of Books. To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment below; this post will be open for entries until midnight ET on Thursday, February 9, at which time a winner will be drawn at random. Open to US/Canada mailing addresses only.
[...] publisher is offering a giveaway of Drifting House; to enter, click over here to this post on my Giveaways [...]
I happen to be on a short fiction reading kick and let me tell you how much I enjoy military stories…war stories and the like…these sound intriguing, especially with the North Korea angle which I’ve not read a lot about. I’d love to win this one.
You’ve hooked me! And there’s a giveaway to boot? Thanks, Dawn!
Short stories are not my usual choice, but sometimes I want something to dip into before tackling a big historical saga. And, thanks for providing a link. Since I read your blog on Google Reader, it makes it so simple to make a response when the link is right there. Thanks for the giveaway.
This book would be fascinating and memorable. Many thanks.
Sound interesting…and I love short fiction!
I would love to read this book.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
I would love to read these stories.
I would love to read these stories.I am interesten in new writers.
I would love to read this book. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com
I would love a copy!
I would love to read this one, as I have read a couple of reviews that intrigued me. Thanks for the giveaway, and for giving us all the chance to win!
Love short stories…would love to win a copy of this!
I’m not usually a fan of short fiction, but I like the themes in this book. Perhaps this is the book to “turn me on” to short fiction?!
Oh no! I don’t qualify for this as I live in Europe but I’ll buy the book anyway. It sounds intriguing and I want to try out short fiction as I’m definitely a fat-book kinda gal
I enjoy short stories, and this sounds really good. I would love to read it.
I love short fiction. And when it’s written well, oh my! does it ever float my boat! This sounds like an excellent collection of short fiction focused on the characters – and that, to me, makes for the best kind of reading. Would love to win this giveaway and have no doubt that if I do…I will thoroughly enjoy entering the world of each of these characters – whether it’s a world of intense sacrifice, generosity, or community.
I love reading short stories. Looks like an interesting read.
A wonderful writer, also committed to the Korean people. She walks her talk.
would love to read, in particular as short stories are such a nice hybrid between the larger forms and the two minutes reads.
I keep seeing this everywhere. I’m dying to read it!