Reading Around

I’ve been all over the place with my reading lately. As I mentioned recently, I’ve whipped through two of Peter Benchley’s better novels, The Deep and Jaws, within the past week or two. But I’ve also been working on a Kindle book by Richard Rohr — Falling Upwards — that’s taking a bit of work. Especially since I’m not a fan of Rohr (I’m reading it for a friend) and I find myself slowed significantly by the poking of holes in his pretty consistent assumptions about certain brands of spirituality and theology. But still, there are interesting points in most things, and his writing is no exception.

I’m also really enjoying an audio version of Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring that I bought some time back. I needed something to occupy my thoughts for a while, but also something I knew well enough that I wouldn’t mind dozing off on occasion while listening, so this fit the bill quite well. And oh my, it’s wonderful writing. Probably the best ever penned (and not many would argue against that).

Ah, then there’s Jack Kerouac’s On the Road (that I mentioned a couple of days ago). Gotta get back to that when I have the time too.

But I’m actually reading a hardbound book too — an English translation of a book by a rather famous Korean author, Hwang Sun-won, titled Trees on a Slope. I found it when I was actually looking for another Korean author in the base library (another man named Hwang), and checked it out just to give it a try. And I must say, I’m liking it very much.

It’s an interesting story from the waning days of the Korean war and beyond. The first part is the story of three soldiers, one of whom is devoted to his girl back home, but who falls in love with a prostitute after she raped him at the request (and payment) of his two other friends. The story ends tragically, and it is so well written and translated that it held my attention quite thoroughly.

I hope to find more by this Hwang, but I’m still looking for the other too (Hwang Sok-yong). I think a good part rides on translation, but I also know there’s a great deal of talent over here that is often overlooked in favor (foreign-language wise) of European or Russian authors. I mean, name a good novel by an East-Asian author. Name a good East-Asian author for that matter. “Hwang” doesn’t quite roll of the tongue like “Tolstoy” or “Cervantes” or “Dostoyevsky.” Then again, the market for the Korean novel is relatively new, rising mainly in the 20th century from what I can see (I’ve certainly got a lot to learn here).

I like reading. I know a lot of people who do. I’m a bit excited then to find something new — and something that I can happily recommend to my reading friends. If you get a chance, check it out. Anyone named “Hwang” might be a good start…