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Diary of a Murderer: And Other Stories
Diary of a Murderer: And Other Stories | Young-ha Kim
14 posts | 11 read | 12 to read
Diary of a Murderer: And Other Stories is master short story writer Young-ha Kim's first collection ever to be published in English. His work has been compared to the novels of Haruki Murakami, Raymond Chandler, and Albert Camus, and he has earned a reputation as the most talented and prolific Korean writer of his generation.Diary of a Murderer is an electric collection that captivates and provokes in equal measure, exploring what it means to be on the edge--between life and death, good and evil. In the titular novella, a former serial killer suffering from memory loss sets his sights on a new, and final, target: a killer whose next victim is his daughter. In the following three stories we witness an affair between two childhood friends that questions the limits of loyalty and love; a family's disintegration after a baby son is kidnapped and recovered years later; and a wild, erotic ride about pursuing creativity at the expense of everything else. From "one of South Korea's best and most worldly writers" (NPR), and translated by award-winning author Krys Lee, Diary of a Murderer is chilling and high-powered all the way through.
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Bertha_Mason

“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.“
-“Diary of a Murderer“

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Bertha_Mason

“Words are slowly escaping me. My head is turning into a sea cucumber. A hole is opening up. It's slimy and everything escapes through it.“
-“Diary of a Murderer“

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TracyReadsBooks
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Pickpick

Loved all the stories in this collection—not a clunker in the bunch—but the first one, which gives the book its title, is masterful, a tour-de-force. It‘s an utterly compelling story of a former serial killer in the early stages of Alzheimer‘s. Convinced his daughter‘s boyfriend is a serial killer, he sets out to save her before he completely loses his memory. I understand why Kim has won all the awards & will definitely read more of his work.

20 likes1 stack add
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TracyReadsBooks
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Reading a short story collection by an author who has won every major literary award in Korea. The titular story is about a serial killer suffering from memory loss even as there is a mystery he wants to solve—I‘ve just started but it‘s very good so far.

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batsy
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Thank you so much for the birthday gift, Jessie! You're most kind and I'm so grateful for our Litsy friendship ❤️😘 I also love the Totally Jawsome stationery & how it pairs so well with the book 😆 @erzascarletbookgasm

Ruthiella Happy Birthday! 🥳🥳🥳 2y
batsy @Ruthiella Thank you! 🙂 2y
LeahBergen Oh no, I missed your birthday?? Well, I‘ll stick to sending you a wee something during the December holiday season. 😆 Have a wonderful, wonderful birthday, my friend! ❤️❤️ 2y
See All 21 Comments
erzascarletbookgasm You‘re most welcome! Hope you had a wonderful day! 😘 2y
Leftcoastzen Happy Birthday!🎂 2y
batsy @LeahBergen You're so sweet, Leah! 😘 No worries at all and thank you! ❤️ 2y
batsy @erzascarletbookgasm Thank you ❤️❤️ 2y
batsy @Leftcoastzen Thank you!! 2y
Cathythoughts Lovely gifts ♥️ I missed you birthday too Suba. But you are on my Christmas list 😘 Happy birthday 🥳 2y
sarahbarnes Happy Birthday! 🎉🎈 2y
batsy @Cathythoughts You're too good, Cathy! Thank you ❤️ 2y
batsy @sarahbarnes Thank you! 2y
vivastory Happy (belated) Birthday 🎉📚🎂I hope it was a good one! 2y
batsy @vivastory Thank you! It was lovely, with excellent cake and food 🙂 2y
MemoirsForMe Happiest Birthday wishes to you! Keep celebrating with great reads! 🥳🎁📚🎂 2y
Bookzombie Happy Belated Birthday!! 🧁🥳 2y
DivineDiana Wishing you a fantastic year (albeit a tad late)! 🎉📚🥳 2y
batsy @DivineDiana Thank you! 😊 2y
Suet624 I‘m late to the party! Happy birthday!! 2y
batsy @Suet624 Thank you, Sue! 2y
75 likes21 comments
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Gracelovesreading
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Past, present, future interlinked. 🕐⌚⏳

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Gracelovesreading
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Pickpick

Loved these gripping short stories by this South Korean author. Such a unique story-teller. Explosive plots and unnerving narrative style. Digging it.

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MidnightBookGirl
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Pickpick

A great collection of short stories, but the titled story, about a serial killer in the grips of dementia, is the best! I read this back in August, so I'm just trying to play catch up on reviews.

57 likes4 stack adds
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MidnightBookGirl
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"The way you feel about writing poems that no one reads and committing murders that no one knows about is not that different." #LittensDressedInBlood

42 likes3 stack adds
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charl08
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Pickpick

All editors pretend they believe what their writers say.

Enjoyed this collection of a novella and short stories. In this one, the writer should beware the new publisher.

One successful purchase from a Litsy meetup. @squirrelbrain @Oryx @TrishB

TrishB Cool 👍🏻 5y
charl08 @TrishB Just a few more to read! 5y
TrishB Always 😁 5y
squirrelbrain That didn‘t take you long to read! You should have bought more books! 5y
39 likes4 comments
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KarmonR
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Pickpick

Short stories from major South Korean author Kim Young-ha, with an amazing translation by Krys Lee. I thought the title story the strongest. An aging serial killer with Alzheimer‘s is convinced his daughter‘s boyfriend is also a killer. Tightly written with many surprises.

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atla
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Mehso-so

I waited ages for this one to come in from the library and read it right away. It was interesting, but not emotionally resonant. I enjoyed the unreliable narrator of the title story, but didn‘t actually like any of the characters. All in all, it was a bit of a let-down.

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Rhondareads
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Famous Korean author first book of short stories in translation looking forward to reading this introduction to this renowned Korean author,Thanks @hmhbooks for this wonderful book,