The Plotters

by Un-Su Kim

A thriller like you’ve never read one before, from the hottest new voice in Korean fiction

‘Kill Bill meets Murakami’ D. B. John, author of Star of the North

‘A work of literary genius’ Karen Dionne, internationally bestselling author of Home

‘I loved it!’ M. W. Craven, author of The Puppet Show

‘You’ll be laughing out loud every five minutes’ You-jeong Jeong, author of The Good Son

‘A mash-up of Tarantino and Camus set in contemporary Seoul’ Louisa Luna, author of Two Girls Down

‘An incredible cast of characters’ Le monde

‘Smart but lightning fast’ Brian Evenson, author of Last Days

Plotters are just pawns like us. A request comes in and they draw up the plans. There’s someone above them who tells them what to do. And above that person is another plotter telling them what to do. You think that if you go up there with a knife and stab the person at the very top, that’ll fix everything. But no-one’s there. It’s just an empty chair.

Reseng was raised by cantankerous Old Raccoon in the Library of Dogs. To anyone asking, it’s just an ordinary library. To anyone in the know, it’s a hub for Seoul’s organised crime, and a place where contract killings are plotted and planned. So it’s no surprise that Reseng has grown up to become one of the best hitmen in Seoul. He takes orders from the plotters, carries out his grim duties, and comforts himself afterwards with copious quantities of beer and his two cats, Desk and Lampshade.

But after he takes pity on a target and lets her die how she chooses, he finds his every move is being watched. Is he finally about to fall victim to his own game? And why does that new female librarian at the library act so strangely? Is he looking for his enemies in all the wrong places? Could he be at the centre of a plot bigger than anything he’s ever known?

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Asia, Audiobook

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully translated addition to the emergent genre of Korean Noir, it is offbeat, full of wit, irony and black humour, gritty and brutal but never less than engaging and gripping, set in Seoul. In this story of a quagmire of plotters, we have our anti-hero an assassin, Reseng, inescapably destined to become an exceptional hitman after being raised by Old Raccoon. You cannot help but be drawn into his life and character despite the brutality of his occupation. Contract killings are managed, planned and plotted at The Library of Dogs, in the business of assassinations. It is utilised by the criminal community and has close political connections with a corrupt government that cannot quite deal with being truly democratic and has found alternative ways of dealing with 'problems' through the route of outsourcing. The police seek the person who pulled the trigger rather than investigating below the surface, content with the obvious.

Reseng, a lover of literature, lives with his cats, dealing with his violent occupation by finding solace in drinking beer. Then he goes off script on a killing assignment, veering off the straight and narrow path of following orders and his life begins to move into unexpected directions with the strange and bizarre happenings, such as explosives in his toilet, labyrinthian plots galore and rivalries. There is a pet cemetery owner, Bear, who Reseng utilises, a 'barber', Hanja, who is more than what he seems and what exactly happens to old assassins? This is a richly detailed intelligent satire with quirky beats, and full of atmosphere. The characterisation is simply fabulous, none more so than our central protagonist and the shadowy underworld is portrayed with panache. I look forward to reading more from this author! I recommend this to those looking for something different in the crime fiction genre. Many thanks to HarperCollins 4th Estate for an ARC.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Plotters is the first book I read in 2019 and one of my top ten books of the year.

It takes place in an alternative contemporary Seoul – one in which an elite cabal of politicians and corporate executives arrange for and order hits. Their selected targets might be their enemies or the simply and suddenly inconvenient. Our main character, 32-year old Reseng, is a well-read hit man. He never had much of a chance for another career path. He was discarded in a garbage can outside of a convent, raised by the nuns until he was 4, then adopted by his mentor and fellow assassin, Old Raccoon, and raised in an immense library that doubles as a front for the real business of assassinations for cash. “A request comes in and they draw up the plans. There’s someone above them who tells them what to do. And above that person is another plotter telling them what to do.” One day, Reseng is going about his business, with only the police to fear. The next, he realizes that the various assassins in and around Seoul have been engaged to start picking one another off and, as The Plotters progresses, Reseng becomes an active target and we’re in a race to the finish. Along the way, he interacts with one vivid character after another – the most memorable of which is the Barber.

The challenge in recommending The Plotters is that it doesn’t fit neatly into any sort of category. There’s no group of readers one can identify and say with any confidence, “you’ll love this.” It’s absent inspiration or triumph of the human spirit. It isn’t genre fiction; however, fans of gritty, crime novels like Fuminori Nakamura’s The Thief are likely to enjoy it. It’s literary fiction, but the LitFic reader seeking experimental fiction or magical realism or a political statement won’t find it here. If you’re willing to dwell in a nihilistic world for the hours it takes to read The Plotters and can enjoy novels that are driven by more than finding out what happens next – notwithstanding the ominous sense of suspense – you may love it as much as I did. The Plotters is highly visual. And each reader must understand and accept – as Reseng does – that there’s no escape for him, no rescue, no happy ending available, and yet be determined to take the ride with him, visually through this alternative South Korea, viscerally, from beginning to end – whether in a barber shop, or on a street, or endeavoring to sleep. Knowing that his destiny is that everyone really is out to get him. I couldn’t recommend it more…. if you’re that reader.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher, Doubleday, for offering an ecopy.

[Andrew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reseng was delivered early into the killing game. Having been abandoned as a baby, he was adopted from an orphanage by Old Raccoon, a contractor for those who are prepared to pay for a life to be taken. Old Raccoon runs his business out of a library, known locally as the Doghouse, in Seoul, and in time, Reseng grows naturally into his role as a hired assassin. The people who seek out his services are known as Plotters and are perhaps mainly shady government types – though in truth, Reseng really doesn’t know who they are or why they want their targets eliminated.

When we first meet Reseng, through whose eyes we’ll watch events unfold, he’s looking at an old general through his rifle scope. Should he shoot him now or wait a while? Decisions, decisions. Well, as things turn out, he ends up sharing a meal and quite a lot of whiskey with the old man. But that doesn’t stop him from pulling the trigger a little while later. This provides an early insight into Reseng’s mindset: he’s inquisitive and thoughtful but ultimately cold, very cold.

Another thing we learn is that the job of an assassin has some of the same risks as any other form of employment, including competition from other suppliers and, ultimately, unemployment. Who knew! Yes, another contractor is trying to step on Old Raccoons' toes by stealing his business. A turf war is about to kick off; this isn’t going to end well. As for Reseng, well he’s given an out by Old Raccoon. He can escape and start a new life. But is that what he really wants?

I found one of the most interesting characters here to be Bear, who runs the local pet crematorium and as a sideline disposes of bodies for the assassins. But then there’s an ex-soldier who cuts hair for a living and kills for money on the side and a fair number of other quirky people knocking around. It’s a strange world we’re delivered into, populated by somewhat weird people living unconventional lives.

This is the second Korean crime fiction novel I’ve read recently, following the excellent The Good Son. Both seem to offer up a very different world that I’m used to – a culture that’s hard to pin down, seemingly futuristic but also locked into the past. It’s exciting and slightly disturbing. I’d certainly recommend lovers of this genre to try out one of these books (or both). I know I’ll be going back for more.

My sincere thanks to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Meike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how Un-su Kim takes the tropes of the hardboiled crime novel, plays around with them, has some professional killers question them within the text and tops it all of with a critique of South Korean society - it's clever, inventive and entertaining. Our protagonist Reseng has been left in a garbage bin as a baby and then brought up by a librarian who runs a professional assassination business (Ryū Murakami will probably love this novel). We meet 32-year-old Reseng, now a successful assassin himself, at the crossroads of his life: Not only does his job take a toll on him, the political and business landscapes have shifted and his former ally has become his biggest - and very deadly - competition.

Un-su Kim talks about the assassination business as just another highly specialized industry in capitalist society, and Reseng has no illusions: He grew up in this trade, he knows he is disposable, a puppet instrumentalized to eliminate targets, paid and sent out by "plotters" who come up with schemes in order to control politics and business - but does that mean he isn't morally responsible? Does his backstory explain or even excuse his actions or the actions of others? These questions are at the core of the novel: This assassin wants to know in how far he is obliged to resist the dynamics he is caught up in, even if it will cost him his life.

Obviously, this is a deeply political question, and I love how this author wraps it up in a thriller: "This world isn't a mess because people are evil. It's because everyone has their own stories and excuses for doing bad things." Those who execute the violent deeds are actually "cowardly, weakest-of-the-weak people who say ´We had no choice because that's how the world is and because life is hard and because we have no power.`" And even the plotters themselves are not people, but commodities in a self-sustaining system of supply and demand: "You know what's there if you keep going all the way up to the top? Nothing. Just an empty chair." Yes, you can read this for the story and the characters and it will be rewarding, but the philosophical musings of the assassins are the real highlights of the text: As in every good crime novel, the criminals mirror society and ask some uncomfortable questions.

A really absorbing, smart read.

[Pakinam Mahmoud · Rating 3 out of 5]

"علينا جميعًا أن نخوض معاركنا الخاصة من أجل السعادة.."

المتآمرون رواية للكاتب الكوري كيم أون سو وقد رشحت الرواية عام ٢٠١٦ لِنَيلِ واحدة من أكبر الجوائز الفرنسية الكبرى التي تُمنح لأفضل رواية بوليسية عالمية مترجمة إلى الفرنسية.

تدور أحداث الرواية حول مجموعة من القتلة المأجورين الذين ينفذون عمليات قتل ضد بعض الرموز السياسية حيث كانت الاغتيالات عمليات خفية تُنفذ سِرًّا من قِبَل قَتَلَة مُدربين..
ريسلنج بطل الرواية الذي عثر عليه و هو رضيع في حاوية قمامة ترعرع بين جدران مكتبة محاطًا بالقناصة المأجورين و كان قَدَرُه أن يكون قاتلًا...

الرواية مصنفة علي إنها رواية جريمة و تشويق و هي تلقي الضوء علي العالم السُّفلي الفاسد لسيول وكيف ازدهرت صناعة الاغتيالات بعد الإرساء السريع للديمقراطية و الإطاحة بثلاثة عقود من الديكتاتورية العسكرية..
السرد سلس والرواية مكتوبة حلو وحتي مشاهد العنف والقتل فيها تحبس الانفاس و كإنك شايفها قدامك...

الرواية من ترجمة المترجم المصري محمد نجيب و أعتقد دي أول مرة أقرأ كتاب من ترجمته و كانت فعلاً ممتازة...
يعيب الرواية إن حجمها كبير حوالي ٤٠٠ صفحة و طبعاً كان ممكن إختصارها شوية عن كدة بجانب إني مشوفتش فيها تشويق أوي بس عشان مكتوبة حلوة فحتلاقي نفسك بتقرأها و إنت مبسوط..
النهاية معجبتنيش اوي و كانت شبه شوية الأفلام الامريكاني.

في النهاية هي رواية مهمة وفيها أجزاء فلسفية ومش مجرد رواية بوليسية ولكنها بالتأكيد أعمق من كدة بكتير...

[Paul Fulcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

"‘Reading books will doom you to a life of fear and shame. Now, do you still feel like reading?’"

The Guardian newspaper recently heralded Korean thriller writers as starting a new wave of translated popular fiction to succeed Scandinavian noir -https://www.theguardian.com/books/201... - and the book on which they centered their article was this: 설계자들 by 김언수 (Kim Un-su). A more literal translation of the original title would be designers or architects, but the publisher and translator have gone with The Plotters.

The translation is from Sora Kim-Russell - the 7th author I have read through her translations, the others being Gong Jiyoung, Pyun Hye-Young, Hwang Sok-yong, Bae Suah, Park Hyoung-su and Shin Kyung-sook, and she is one of my favourite Korean-English translators alongside Deborah Smith and Jung Yewon. Her translations tend to be towards the reads-naturally-in-English end of the spectrum, certainly as compared to Jung's, which makes this a highly accessible read, albeit one with an appropriate amount of local colour: e.g. as soon as page 2 we get a description of a man with 'a permanent grin, like a carved wooden hahoe mask' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hahoetal).

As with two other books in this genre - The Hole by Pyun Hye-Young (my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) and The Good Son by Jeong You-jeong (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) this isn't a type of book I would have naturally read in English: my interest is more in Korean literary fiction and in in pure literary terms, this is not, and does not purport to be, in the same class as Bae Suah, Han Kang or Hwang Sok-yong say.

Nevertheless it is a well-written book, humourous and quirky, with some fascinating characters, and one which rises above the constraints of genre by not following too linear or (except perhaps in the closing pages) predictable a path.

The subject of the novel, Reseng, is an assassin-for-hire, adopted as a young child by Old Raccoon who historically has run Korea's contract assassination business from The Old Library, one that developed in Korea after the end of military rule:

"What sped up the assassination industry was the new regime of democratically-elected civilian administrations that sought the trappings of morality. Maybe they thought that by stamping their foreheads with the words It’s okay, we’re not the military, they could fool the people. But power is all the same deep down, no matter what it looks like. As Deng Xiaoping once said, ‘It doesn’t matter whether a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice.’The problem was that the newly democratic government couldn’t use that basement on Namsan to beat the crap out of the pains in the arse. And so, in order to avoid the eyes of the people and the press, to avoid generating evidence of their own complex chain of command and execution, and to avoid any future responsibility, they started doing business on the sly with contractors. And thus began the age of outsourcing. It was cheaper and simpler than taking care of it themselves, but best of all, there was less clean-up. On the rare occasion that the shit did hit the fan, the government was safe and clear of it. While contractors were being hauled off to jail, all they had to do was look shocked and appalled in front of the news cameras and say things like, ‘What a terrible and unfortunate tragedy!’"

Although with changing times, particularly the growing demand from the private and corporate sector, his business, and his life, are under threat from competitors.

In the novel's world, the assassination requests come into the contractors via the plotters of the book's (English) title, who themselves take orders from end clients. Reseng very much subscribes to Lee Harvey Oswald's 'patsy' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbR6v...) theory of assassination:

"Whenever an assassination came to light, the first person the police looked for was the shooter. In the end, all they wanted to know was: ‘Who pulled the trigger?’ When they did find whoever pulled the trigger, they fooled themselves into thinking everything had been solved.
...
‘Plotters are just pawns like us,’ Reseng said. ‘A request comes in, and they draw up the plans. There’s someone above them who tells them what to do. And above that person is another plotter telling them what to do. You know what’s there if you keep going all the way to the top? Nothing. Just an empty chair.’"

But as the novel begins, Reseng is starting not to follow the rules. Sent to kill a former North Korean general, and someone who was himself a senior plotter in the South, he ends up having dinner with him, before completing his task. And when he finds a small bomb planted in his toilet:

"‘This would’ve blown your arse off.’
‘That tiny thing?’
‘The pressure is higher inside a toilet bowl. It’s like squeezing a firecracker in your hand when it goes off. Basically, when you sit down to take a shit, your arse forms a seal over the hole, creating the perfect conditions for this bomb to do maximum damage.’
‘Are you saying it could have killed me?’
‘Ever seen anyone survive without an arse?’"

he gets caught up in a world of memorably eccentric characters and complicated plots. The chief suspect for the toilet bomb for example "was working at a convenience store. After greeting customers with an overly loud ‘Welcome!’ she hit them with a bubbly ‘Help you find something?’ or butted in with a nosy ‘Ooh, I buy these biscuits too!’ Most customers ignored her. But she laughed anyway, indifferent, and kept tossing jokes at them while clacking away at the register, picking up items from the counter with an exaggerated sweep of her arm. When there were no customers, she chattered nonstop on the shop telephone, or cleaned the shelves and reorganised the already perfectly arranged items. Chatting or cleaning , cleaning or chatting. She looked like a child with an attention-deficit disorder."

And at one point he finds himself wondering what he has got involved in:

"Plotter, cross-eyed librarian, knitting-shop owner— what on earth were these three mismatched women doing together? And in this ridiculous shop, of all places, watched over by Papa Smurf and Winnie-the-Pooh and all the Teletubbies?"

Kim is very effective at creating these memorable characters, although one criticism would be that he doesn't always follow through or suggest any deeper significance. For example, Old Raccoon runs his business out of a library:

"he found it hard to believe that this quiet place had headquartered a den of assassins for the last ninety years. He marvelled at the thought that all those deaths, all those assassinations and unexplained disappearances and faked accidents and imprisonments and kidnappings, had been decided and plotted right here in this building. Who’d chosen this place from which to orchestrate such abominable acts? It was madness. It would have made more sense to set up camp in the office of the National Dry Cleaners Union, or the office of the Organising Committee to Revitalise Poultry Farming."

And Old Raccoon has a one-book-in, one-book-out policy to stocking his shelves that very much reflects my own:

"Old Raccoon used to order new books regularly, but would throw out the same number just as regularly ... When their time came, Old Raccoon placed a black strip around the discards. It was his own special form of sentencing, a funeral procedure for books that had reached the end of their life. The same way ageing assassins were added to a list and eliminated by cleaners when their time came. Of course, a book’s life span was determined by Old Raccoon alone, and neither Reseng nor the librarians could understand why certain books had to be tossed. The books with black bands were gathered by the librarian and stacked in the courtyard to be burned on Sunday afternoons, the librarian’s day off. Old Raccoon could have sold them to a secondhand bookshop or even to a recycler, but he insisted on burning them."

Old Raccoon himself only read two of the books, alternating between an English and German encyclopedia, but, to his horror (as per the opening quote) Reseng teaches himself as a child to read, and becomes an avid bibliophile:

"The cabinet under the sink was stacked with instant noodle cups, and next to his pillow and on the table were the books that he’d either brought with him from Seoul or bought at the local bookshop : Albert Camus’ Summer and The Plague, Italo Calvino’s The Baron in the Trees, Martin Monestier’s Suicides, Andrew Solomon’s The Noonday Demon."

which is all wonderful colour - but doesn't then seem of any great significance in the later plot or character development.

Nevertheless, an atmospheric and enjoyable read, rather too quirky to count as noir.

As for a rating - a tricky one. For personal appreciation, given my literary tastes, 3 stars but as a recommendation for other, particularly those seeking an alternative to Stieg Larrson clones, a solid 4.

Thanks to the publisher's via Netgalley for the ARC.

[Richard Derus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real Rating: 4.5* of five, rounded up for the sheer verve of the storytelling

The Publisher Says: From the novelist dubbed "the Korean Henning Mankell" (The Guardian) comes a fantastical crime novel set in an alternate Seoul where assassination guilds compete for market dominance. Perfect for fans of Han Kang and Patrick deWitt.

Behind every assassination, there is an anonymous mastermind—a plotter—working in the shadows. Plotters quietly dictate the moves of the city's most dangerous criminals, but their existence is little more than legend. Just who are the plotters? And more important, what do they want?

Reseng is an assassin. Raised by a cantankerous killer named Old Raccoon in the crime headquarters "The Library," Reseng never questioned anything: where to go, who to kill, or why his home was filled with books that no one ever read. But one day, Reseng steps out of line on a job, toppling a set of carefully calibrated plans. And when he uncovers an extraordinary scheme set into motion by an eccentric trio of young women—a convenience store clerk, her wheelchair-bound sister, and a cross-eyed librarian—Reseng will have to decide if he will remain a pawn or finally take control of the plot.

Crackling with action and filled with unforgettable characters, The Plotters is a deeply entertaining thriller that soars with the soul, wit, and lyricism of real literary craft.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Oh, you're gonna love this:

As if it wasn’t ironic enough that the country’s top assassination provider was brazenly running his business in a building owned by an international insurance company; the same assassination provider was also simultaneously managing a bodyguard firm and a security firm. But just as a vaccine company facing bankruptcy will ultimately survive not by making the world's greatest vaccine but, rather, the world's worst virus, so, too, did bodyguard and security firms need the world's most evil terrorists in order to prosper, not the greatest security experts. That was capitalism, Hanja understood how the world could curl around and bite its own tail like the uroboros serpent. And he knew how to translate that into business and extract the maximum revenue. There was no better business model than owning both the virus and the vaccine. With one hand you parceled out fear and instability, and with the other you guaranteed safety and peace. A business like that would never go under.

–and–

“People think villains like me are going to hell. But that’s not true. Villains are already in hell. Living every moment in darkness without so much as a single ray of light in your heart, that’s hell. Shivering in terror, wondering when you’ll become a target when the assassins will appear. True hell is living in a constant state of fear without even knowing that you’re in hell.”

Witty, trenchant, and true. I would go so far as to say tendentious. The wonder of meeting Reseng is that his existence is so extreme, committing murders for a living, and yet so extremely simple. Show up at this place at that time and do your job...kill. Like working at a meat-packing plant or a fish cannery. People aren't in any significant way more important than cattle or catfish. In this hypercapitalist alt-Seoul, there's little enough difference paid to any even notional difference between them, when it comes to one of the Plotters making a meticulous and scrupulously untraceable plan to off the person they're being paid to murder.

Make no mistake, these are murders, and they are violent. Author Kim does not stint on the violence. What makes it different from all those ghastly Stieg Larsson clones is that it's not sexual violence. There's a modicum of sex, and even a brief interlude where Reseng, having gotten himself in the crosshairs of nasty competing assassins because his boss (and sole parent figure since he was orphaned) is getting shoved out of the business, explores domesticity. It's...bizarre. To him as well, which is why it doesn't last.

The whole novel unfolds at the strangest pace. If you've watched Squid Game or Parasite, you'll see it here: the off-kilter way pacing is handled for us calibrated to US norms. It serves the plot in all of these cases, and it makes this story's universe really *feel* genuine, lived-in, and solid. I think that's a major plus compared to most of the violent thrillers I've read.

What caused me to give the read four stars in place of another half was, in fact, the mismatch between the violence of Reseng's profession, his philosophical musings about it (I chose one illustrating what I'm talking about above), and the cool remove of his actions and reactions. These things don't work together as well as it seems to me others believe they do. It's like watching a Godard film with a boy you want to bonk and then not getting any after you've invested unrecoverable hours trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

For all that, this here's a terrific entertaining read. Alienation, outrage, warped filial devotion, blood and gore...all present and accounted for. It's a weird trip and I'm glad I took it.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would make one hell of a TV script with Reseng, our protagonist torn between the old world of trained career assassins, the back-alley, anything for a buck world of the Meat Market and the slick, MBA having, Stanford educated Hanja and his corporate supermarket of death. The host of eclectic characters from the soft-hearted but bear-sized owner of the pet crematorium, the cross-eyed, knitting librarian, the non-stop talking convenience store owner and her wheelchair bound sister. The action is done well and the story moves but I guess I like a bit more flourish in my writing. The translation is serviceable but I have a Western appetite for wordy flourishes on the page and the need for some authorial pyrotechnics. It's a question of activist versus originalist translations explored a bit more here: https://youtu.be/rKmkhWh_vzY

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't have any strong feelings regarding this book. My thoughts were not provoked, my emotions were not engaged, I was not sad that the story ended. But that doesn't mean it was a bad read, it wasn't.
It's the story of Reseng, an assassin, the lowest position on the ladder but he's at the top of his game, one of the best. He works out of Old Raccoon's library where he was raised after being found by nuns in a dumpster 30+ years ago. Old Raccoon works with Plotters who have been hired to kill people but Plotters don't do the actual job, they just come up with a detailed plan, give it to contractors like Old Raccoon and the contractors give the murder and body disposal instructions to assassins.
The thing is, now that there's a democracy in South Korea and everything is working better than it had back in the more corrupt days, the need for professional assassins is waning. Sure, there are still politicians who need to get rid of mistresses and petty feuds between government officials but, for the most part, business is slow. The few remaining contractors want Old Raccoon's client list; he's the only one who still has a solid roster of old-school officials who regularly need hit men. They can't kill him for it because they'll never get it that way, but there are ways to persuade him to leave the business which means there are crosshairs on Reseng.

I kept forgetting this takes place in Korea, probably because the narrator has a British accent. Also, there weren't a lot of touchpoints; except for some of the food and drinks, the mention of a highway, and the city of Seoul, there wasn't much to remind me that we weren't in any other city popular in stories. Even Reseng's name threw me off because there is no "R" in the Korean language.

I enjoyed listening to this but I think I've become too used to American thrillers in which everything is high stakes, fast-paced over-the-top action. This was a slow story, sometimes sweet, in which no one is really bad, everyone is just doing what they need to do to get by. It's definitely not a thriller, it's slower-paced, heavier, and redolent of American maverick stories from the '50's.

Give it a shot (SHOT! Because assassins! They shoot!) and see what you think.

[Metodi Markov · Rating 1 out of 5]

Интересно начало, мудно действие и постепенна, но прогресивно нарастваща липса на желание да дочета тази книга…

Ресенг и обкръжението му ме умориха от скука, а Южна Корея ми изглежда като много досадно място, особено погледната през призмата на този роман…

dnf на 61%

Все пак, исках да видя нещо корейско и в литературата, след световния успех на музиката, филмите, сериалите и кухнята им. 🤷🏻‍♂️😊🇰🇷

Цитати:

"Всичко, което хората казват за китовете, е лъжа. Защото идва от книгите. А китовете не живеят в книгите, живеят в океана."

"Но за нещастие животът не е чаршаф. Не можеш да изтъркаш от него миналото, спомените, грешките и съжаленията."

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering this was a novel about the hierarchy of assassins, it had a beautifully rolling, gentle prose - even in it's more violent moments, plus it was hugely compelling and absorbing.

The Plotters sit at the top of the hired killer food chain, hidden from view but pulling all the strings. We rock along with one "lowly" assassin as he changes the plans and comes under fire.

This is only my second Korean thriller and I'm hoping more come my way soon- different and quirky, both in the realistic setting and well drawn protagonists, The Plotters has a very different, almost poetic feel about it that is utterly riveting.

Kudos to the translator, Sora Kim-Russell for making it read so well and to the author Un-su Kim for writing such a considered, cleverly woven and totally addictive narrative with an ending that made me draw a sharp breath at the emotion of it.

Genuinely great to read and with an atmospheric noir sense that digs deep, this is one for any crime fan who is after something new and differently intriguing.

Recommended.

[Semjon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dieser südkoreanische Thriller hat eigentlich alles, was ein Buch dieses Genre braucht. Einen stillen Einzelgänger als Hauptperson, Berufskiller oder wie man in Südkorea sagt, ein Plotter. Ohne familiäre Bindung von seinem Boss großgezogen und schon als Teenager ins Haifischbecken der menschlichen Liquidation geworfen. Aber nach 15 Jahren im Geschäft beginnt er zu grübeln, stellt sich moralische Fragen und weicht von der gängigen Praxis in seinem Gewerbe ab. Schwupps, steht er selbst auf der Todesliste und die Geschichte beginnt spannend zu werden.

Leider wurde dieser Wendepunkt des Plots erst spät umgesetzt. Zuvor zeichnet sich das Buch durch essayhaften Charakter über das Kriminalmileu in Südkorea aus. Wie immer in ostasiatischen Romanen wird auch Wert auf gesellschaftliche Studien gelegt. Alles soweit okay für mich. Zäh fand ich aber die auf lässig gemachten Dialoge und der fehlende Spannungsbogen in der ersten Hälfte des Buchs. Der Schluss ist dann passend. Eigentlich stimmte vieles, sogar das Cover, trotzdem fällt es mir schwer Chrysanthemen für diesen ungewöhnlichen Thriller zu vergeben. Der Funke wollte einfach bei mir nicht überspringen.

[Sarah ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Plotters - Kim Un-su

استمتعت بقراءة هذه الرواية، رواية جريمة كورية تدور في عالم القتلة المأجورين والعقول المدبرة للجرائم والفساد الحكومي ...
وأحببت النهاية كثيرًا، أعجبتني لأنها كانت متسقة مع طبيعة الحياة والشخصيات في العالم الذي تدور فيه الرواية,
الرواية مترجمة ومتوفرة بتطبيق أبجد وهو أمر لم أعلم به إلا بعد أن أنهيت قراءتها .

[The Captain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahoy there me mateys! This tale be described by Goodreads as “a fantastical crime novel set in an alternate Seoul where assassination guilds compete for market dominance. Perfect for fans of Han Kang.” I love Han Kang. I love assassins. I love translated works. I love the cover. I loved Fiction Fan’s awesome review which led me to this fun read. She said:

I’m not sure if I’ve made this sound as appealing as it deserves. I found it compulsively readable and, despite the apparent bleakness of the subject matter, full of humour and emotional warmth. I highly recommend it as something different from the usual run of things – well written, well plotted and ultimately strangely satisfying.

There is no doubt that this book is odd and quirky. I highly enjoyed it. This is the story of an assassin named Reseng who is part of a specialized group of assassins whose existence is a thinly veiled secret and whose trade was governed by an elaborate system of rules under the old dictatorship. But the new democracy is here and with it a change of the societal norms. The assassin code of ethics is over and someone is out to kill the competition.

Reseng is skilled as an assassin but is rather naive when it comes to the rest of Seoul and how normal people work. That’s what happens when ye be raised from childhood to kill. So when he finds himself a target, he chooses to figure out why and how he ended up becoming the contract. It is this deeper look into Reseng’s life and the world of assassins that became fascinating. The fact that a very unusual library is used as front for the business was a big bonus. It was also interesting that Reseng is a sympathetic character despite his stance on killing.

I can’t really explain more than that about the plot. For all the complexities of the world-building and assassin lifestyles, this was a well-crafted book that was not difficult to read. There were many wonderful and memorable characters. I absolutely loved the resolution and Reseng’s journey. I think that both the author and the translator, Sora Kim-Russell, deserve a lot of praise for their work. If the idea of this book intrigues, then I suggest ye give it a chance. Arrrr!

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Plotters is the first novel by prize-winning Korean author, Un-su Kim, in English. Reseng has been an assassin for fifteen years. His facilitator is Old Raccoon, who operates out of the library he calls The Doghouse. His instructions come from the Plotters who take orders from the Contractor. An assignment will often see Reseng presenting a body to his friend, Bear who runs a pet crematorium but will, for a fee, cremate a human body with due reverence and ceremony.

Reseng is careful to maintain emotional distance from his victims, because it is important to follow the plotter’s instructions to the letter, if the assassin does not want to end up on the list himself. This has happened to two of his associates. But when Jeongan, his tracker and good friend, falls victim, it becomes personal for Reseng. And, as unlikely as it seems, the plotter is apparently a pretty young convenience store cashier.

This is a story with that particular Asian quality to it: the way the characters speak, their logic, their reactions, all are distinctly “not Western”. The plot, too, is patently Asian, with a twist or two, and an exciting, although very dark, climax. There’s plenty of black humour in this rather unusual tale, along with some delightful ironies. Characters engage in matter-of-fact discussion of assassination, of death, of body disposal, of corruption, of honour, and many more aspects of life. A distinctive work of Korean crime fiction that is flawlessly translated into English by Sora Kim-Russell.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by Text Publishing.

[Marilena ⚓ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ο Ι Μ Η Χ Α Ν Ο Ρ Ρ Α Φ Ο Ι / Un-su Kim

Οι μηχανορράφοι είναι αυτοί που που σχεδιάζουν κα οργανώνουν δολοφονίες στα κρυφά, σαν σκιές. Ο Ρέσενγκ είναι ένας από αυτούς, μεγαλωμένος σε μια παλιά βιβλιοθήκη σ' ένα υπόγειο της Σεούλ-το Σκυλόσπιτο- που λειτουργεί σαν φωλιά των μεγαλύτερων δολοφόνων της Ν. Κορέας.
Όλα κυλούν ήρεμα μέχρι την στιγμή που ο Ρέσενγκ, ο καλύτερος δολοφόνος παραβαίνει τους κανόνες και όλα αλλάζουν. Όπως ήταν αναμενόμενο, υπάρχουν πολλοί εχθροί σε αυτόν τον σκοτεινό κόσμο και όταν ο Ρένσενγκ πάει ενάντια στις οδηγίες που του έδωσε ο εντολέας του, θα αναγκαστεί να κρυφτεί για να προστατεύσει τον εαυτό του. Τα πράγματα παίρνουν άσχημη τροπή και οι σχέσεις μεταξύ των δολοφόνων θα δοκιμαστούν έντονα. Στη Ν. Κορέα της συγγραφέως, οι δολοφόνοι είναι ένα διαδεδομένο και σύνηθες επάγγελμα, σε τέτοιο σημείο που γίνονται παζάρια για να μειώσουν την τιμή των φόνων και φυσικά όλα αυτά με εντολές των πλουσίων, των πολιτικών και των επιχειρηματιών.

''Περισσότερο θάρρος χρειάζεται να βάλεις το μαχαίρι πίσω στο θηκάρι και να φύγεις, παρά να το τραβήξεις''

''Οι Μηχανορράφοι'' μου άρεσε πολύ, δεν με κούρασε καθόλου, κράτησε το ενδιαφέρον μου ως το τέλος και δεν ήθελα να τελειώσει. Αν θέλετε να διαβάσετε ένα σκοτεινό σουρεαλιστικό θρίλερ δράσης με στοιχεία σάτιρας, -κάποιους χαρακτήρες τους παρουσιάζει σαν καρικατούρες ή μάλλον σαν τραγικές φιγούρες της διπλανής πόρτας, που δύσκολα θα υποψιαστεί κάποιος- για την πίστη και την αφοσίωση στον κόσμο των δολοφόνων της Σεούλ, τότε διαβάστε το!

''Μην ξαναγυρίσεις.
Θέλει τεράστιο θάρρος για να ξεφύγεις.
Εγώ δεν μπόρεσα''

[George K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Μάλλον μια από τις ευχάριστες εκδοτικές εκπλήξεις της χρονιάς, όσον αφορά το είδος των θρίλερ. Και αυτό το γράφω γιατί η (πικρή) αλήθεια είναι ότι στην Ελλάδα δεν κυκλοφορούν και πολλά θρίλερ και αστυνομικά μυθιστορήματα Ιαπώνων ή Κορεατών συγγραφέων, και είναι πραγματικά κρίμα, γιατί μπορούν να προσφέρουν πολλές ωραίες ιστορίες, όπως καλή ώρα ο Ουν-σου Κιμ με το άκρως ψυχαγωγικό και απολαυστικό "Οι μηχανορράφοι", που αναδεικνύει μια άλλη Νότια Κορέα, μια άλλη Σεούλ, αυτή των εγκληματικών συνδικάτων, των γκάνγκστερ, των πληρωμένων δολοφόνων και των σκοτεινών τύπων που διατάζουν και οργανώνουν δολοφονίες για να εξυπηρετήσουν κάθε είδους συμφέροντα. Ουφ, επιτέλους έβαλα τελεία. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι το βιβλίο αυτό το διάβασα σαν να μην υπήρχαν τελείες, σχεδόν με μια ανάσα, μιας και εκτός από πολύ ενδιαφέρον και ψυχαγωγικό, ήταν επίσης ιδιαίτερα καλογραμμένο, ευκολοδιάβαστο και εθιστικό, με ρεαλιστικές περιγραφές, ολοζώντανους διαλόγους, μπόλικο κυνισμό και μια ωραιότατη και κατάμαυρη αίσθηση του χιούμορ. Σε διάφορες κριτικές αναφέρεται το όνομα του Κουέντιν Ταραντίνο, και ναι, μπορώ να πω ότι αν ο (πολυαγαπημένος) Ταραντίνο διάβαζε το βιβλίο, σίγουρα θα περνούσε καλά, αν μη τι άλλο θα απολάμβανε το σαρκαστικό χιούμορ, την όλη τρέλα της πλοκής και των χαρακτήρων, καθώς και την ανελέητη σάτιρα. Εντάξει, τέλειο μυθιστόρημα δεν είναι, ίσως έχει κάποιες αδυναμίες στη πλοκή και ορισμένους χαρακτήρες, όμως εγώ μια φορά πέρασα πολύ όμορφα την ώρα μου, είναι ένα βιβλίο που με κράτησε στην τσίτα από την αρχή μέχρι το τέλος, ενώ σίγουρα θα μου λείψει ο περιθωριακός κόσμος στον οποίο έζησε και κινήθηκε ο Ρέσενγκ, ένας βιβλιόφιλος και γατόφιλος πληρωμένος δολοφόνος, που είναι και ο πρωταγωνιστής της ιστορίας.

[Hulyacln · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Çay emperyalizmin izlerini barındırır. Bu yüzden tadı bu kadar muhteşem. Bir şeyin muhteşem olması için içinde çok fazla katliam gizliyor olması lazım.”
.
Bir çöp kutusunda buldular sizi. İhtiyar Rakun, size Reseng adını verdi. Okula göndermedi, halbuki kütüphanede yaşıyordunuz. Binlerce kitabın olduğu, 90 yıllık bir kütüphanede. 9 yaşında okumayı kendi kendinize öğrendiniz, İhtiyar Rakun size tokat attı.
17 yaşında öldürdünüz birini, ilk kez. Sonra devamı geldi.
Size bir siyah çanta veriyorlardı. Bir de öldürülecek kişinin bilgileri. Kadın, erkek ne önemi var? İsim ne kadar büyükse iş o kadar zor, ama bunun da önemi yok. Ölene kadar öldürmek. Tek işiniz bu.
Ta ki alıştığınız düzenin değişimine dek.
Birisi sizi öldürmek istiyor,evinize bomba koymanın başka ne amacı olabilir? Evet zaten uzun ve sakin bir yaşam düşünmüyordunuz ama en azından sizi öldürmek isteyen kişiyi bulmanız gerek.
Harekete geçin!
.
Kim Un Su, gerilim türünde bir eser ortaya koyuyor. Bu kitapta sadece kovalayan ve kovalananlar yok; sistem analizi ile birlikte eleştirisi de var. Okurun, yaratılan her bir karakteri anlamlandırmasını sağlayan, heyecanı yüksek bir kurgu var.
‘Burada başka bir noktaya mı bağlansaydı’ demediğim; aksine detaylarını ayrı sevdiğim bir kitap oldu Komplocular~
.
Çeviride tabii ki S. Göksel Türközü! Koreli yazarlar ile onun açtığı yoldan tanışmak çok özel bir duygu..
.
Özellikle renk seçimlerini sevdiğim kapak tasarımı ise Geray Gençer çalışması~

[Alexis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reseng is an assassin. Assassin's follow instructions made by plotters, who decide who will die, when and how, and who will kill them.

On the positive side I did like the characters, this is obviously a strong point for the author. There were definitely interesting personalities in the book, some craziness and individuality which I liked. There were a couple of scenes in the book I enjoyed, probably most of all the very beginning of the book where Reseng meets and old man and his dog. I loved the idea of the library, and the pet crematorium was also a glimmer of genius.

Sounds exciting and interesting, but actually I found the book to be quite slow and not very exciting at all. I feel like it was more of a conversational, thoughtful piece than anything else, but not one that was particularly immersive. I also think that something was lost in translation, because the writing seemed a bit stilted in places and not very flowing. Some of the language seemed a little clumsy.

Overall this was quite a disappointing piece and I found it quite difficult to push through to the end. Sadly I can't say I would recommend this to anyone. A shame because there were good things about it, but on the whole I didn't enjoy it much.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed something to break me out of my reading rut and this certainly was outside my normal reading. This is part thriller, part comedy, part psychological study. Set in an alternative South Korea where gangs of assassins governed by mysterious leaders control society, this had a dark humor in its preposterous characters and it was stunningly insightful in its exploration of human motivations. The writing was crisp, a delight to read. I am not sure I would want to have a steady literary diet of this type of book, but I am very glad I read this one.

[Fabian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engulfed in the seedy underworld of for-hire-assassins in Korea, this novel is pretty action packed. And the ruminations of the many denizens of aforementioned society are poetic. The page turner literary novel is alive and well! But it is no coincidence that it is fresh, it is realistic, it is Korean. It's a book worthy of your time

[Osama Ebrahem · Rating 4 out of 5]

"إن تحمل هذه القذارة أسهل من مواجهة الخوف من أن يلقي بنا العالم الأوسع والأكثر وحشية وإلى الوحدة التي لاتقل عمقا واتساعا عن هذا الخوف"

الرواية موضحة لنفسها
الشر هو من ينتصر في كل الاحوال..
القتلة، المتآمرون الموجهون لهم، السياسيون الفاسدين الذين يوكلون للمتآمرين،سلسلة القتل تلك لاتنتهي لو قضيت على احد اطرافها..
الشر كالوزغ إن تقطع طرف ينمو من جديد ، فالقتل في النهاية من طباع بنو ادم سواء كانت الوسيلة او الدافع او التسلسل..
ولذلك كانت النهاية غير مرضية لبعض الاشخاص ولكني اجدها مناسبة جدا لرسالة الكاتب..
في قصة البحار جد الرجل المسن الذي اقصاه ريسنج توضح ذلك:-
فما ان ندم البحار على غرز رمحه في الحوت الذي انقذه من الغرق بعد ذلك واقسم انه لن يعود لصيد الحيتان ، يعود البحار مرة اخرى لصيد الحيتان لسد افواه ابنائه..أرى تلك القصة البسيطة لي البداية توضح الهدف العام للرواية..

"ثمة ثقب من صنع رمح في اقدم جمجمة بشرية في الوجود..الدعارة مهنة اقدم بكثير من الزراعة..الابن الازل في الكتاب المقدس كان قاتلا ايضا لآلاف السنين كان الانجازات البشرية ممكنة فقك من خلال الحروب بما في ذلك الحضارة والفن والدين وحتى السلام.. هل تعرف ماذا يعني هذا بشأن الجنس البشري؟ هذا يعني انه من بدأ الخليقة كان البشر يخططون لقتل بعضهم البعض من اجل البقاء إما بقتل خصومهم أو بالإستعانة بقاتل ليقوم بذلك عوضا عنهم هذه هي ااطريقة التي يعيش بها البشر تحملت البشرية دائما هذه الاستماتة الذاتية هذا الموت الخلوي المبرمج إنها الحقيقة الأصدق لعالمنا هكذا بدأنها وهكذا عشنا بها كل الوقت من المحتمل أن تكون هذه هي الطريقة التي سنعيش بها دائما حتى النهاية لانه لا احد يعرف كيف يوقف تلك الحلقة بعد وهكذا لا بد أن ينتهي الامر بأحدهم بأن يلعب دور القواد أو المومس او القاتل المأجور ومن المضحك أن هذا ما يجب أن يحدث للإبقاء على العجلات دائرة"

هذا بالنسبة للجانب الفلسفي من الرواية ، الرواية بها كثير من مشاهد القتل (الأكشن) والحوارات الاخرى ..

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plotters are just pawns like us. A request comes in, and they draw up the plans. There's always someone above them who tells them what to do. And above that person is another plotter telling them what to do. You know what's there if you keep going all the way to the top? Nothing. Just an empty chair.

Un-Su Kim's The Plotters is said to be set in “an alternate Seoul”; a seat of power in which those who pull the strings have access to a thriving assassination industry to enforce their whims and clean up their messes. Told from the perspective of one such assassin – Reseng, who was rescued from a garbage can as a baby and raised to his craft – the whole vibe is cynical and nihilistic: if you can unsentimentally kill someone with whom you've just shared a meal, and if you expect to be knifed yourself at every turn, there isn't much meaning or value to life. One reaction to this worldview is humour, and Reseng does have some snarky and deadpan lines, but this book is more crime noir than dark comedy or political commentary. Taken for what it is, The Plotters was an entertaining page-turner.

What sped up the assassination industry was the new regime of democratically elected civilian administrations that sought the trappings of morality. Maybe they thought that by stamping their foreheads with the words It's okay, we're not the military, they could fool the people. But power is all the same deep down, no matter what it looks like.

Although written by a Korean author and set firmly in his country, The Plotters could have really been set in any capital city: there's nothing particularly Korean about the powers-that-be (beyond the above explanatory quote); nothing particularly Korean about the behaviour of the characters. As soon as the government started outsourcing its murders, private businesses also began using the services of freelance assassins, and an entire industry arose: with plotters, contractors, trackers, assassins, and cleaners working together and in rivalries; with only the shadowy plotters at the top having a complete picture of the goals and means. As for Reseng – as a respected but mid-level assassin – he drinks beer for breakfast, reads Camus and Calvino, plays with his cats, and waits for assignments. Despite proving himself to be a cold-blooded killer, when some of his friends begin to disappear – and Old Raccoon, the man who adopted him, seems to be under threat – Reseng feels a tug at his loyalty and determines to uncover the plotters and their latest plot.

To the plotters, mercenaries and assassins were like disposable batteries. After all, what use would they have for old assassins? An old assassin was like an annoying blister bursting with incriminating information and evidence. The more you thought about it, the more sense it made. Why would anyone hold on to a used-up battery?

Ultimately, The Plotters has a nicely unsettling nihilistic vibe, the storyline was compelling, and I was never bored. On the other hand, there's no deeper meaning here and I didn't find it to be revelatory of some definitively Korean experience (unlike the works of Han Kang). Still, a good read; four stars is a rounding up.

[Afifa Afreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much? I need to figure out a way to put it somewhere in my heart? Or lungs? I mean?????? The ending? THE ENDING?????

I loved Reseng. Try to understand. I LOVE Reseng. He's by far my Favourite Protagonist of the Year™. His diffuse anhedonia, dry and dark humor just threw me way off the deep end. The plot made me anxious, it made me scream a couple of times, AND it made me LAUGH OUT LOUD. The kind of jokes I laughed at books a ticket to hell for me. The characters are so complex and untrustworthy, it makes you want to root for them nonetheless. I need this to be turned into a movie, or even a k-drama. I don't mind, just give me anything.

[Effie Saxioni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Συμβόλαια θανάτου, εκτελεστές, παρασκήνια και περιθώρι�� που θα έλεγε κανείς πως δεν χωρούν στις δημοκρατίες, πόσω μάλλον αυτές να είναι η κινητήρια δύναμη.
Η ιστορία του Ρέσενγκ ήταν μια εξαιρετικά ευχάριστη έκπληξη, και ασφαλώς προτείνεται!
4.5/5⭐

[Silvia Moreno-Garcia]

There are two novels here. The one that is promised at the beginning of The Plotters, when Reseng has a conversation with a target, a conversation which is thrilling and keeps you guessing about the conclusion, and then another novel that just peters out. Some nice noir moments, like Reseng discovering a bomb in his toilet, end up feeling like puzzle pieces that don't quite align.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2019/01/28/688371...

[Amr Mohamed · Rating 2 out of 5]

المفروض اما تكون رواية عن قتلة مأجورين وعصابات تكون فيها شوية تشويق للاحداث ومفيش ملل ووصف لتفاصيل كتير ملهاش داعي في حبكة الرواية

[Donna Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of this surreal, expertly crafted tale has been called “the Korean Henning Mankell,” but I say he is the Korean Kurt Vonnegut. Enter a world in which the most ignorant and uncurious survive, one in which “Reading books will doom you to a life of fear and shame.” My thanks go to Doubleday and Net Galley for the advance review copy, which I received free in exchange for this honest review. This novel will be available in the U.S. February 12, 2019.

Our protagonist is Reseng. Orphaned at a young age, he grew up in Old Raccoon’s library. He is an assassin. Killing others for hire has grown into a huge industry, and the story begins with Reseng watching an old man through a scope. He has a job to do.

Readers are forewarned that this story is not for the squeamish, and I almost abandoned it, because although I like dark humor, this is triple-dark. I set it aside fairly early, unsure whether I was coming back or not, but despite its brutality, it drew me back, and I am glad I returned to it.

Bear is Reseng’s friend, and he runs the pet crematorium. That’s what it’s called, because the murder industry is still officially illegal; it wouldn’t do to announce his business as the place to dispose of a freshly assassinated human victim. Not yet anyway; the way things are going, this may change. Reseng is there on business, though, because the old man he just killed has to be processed. And as he and Bear converse on the state of the profession—so many immigrants are coming to South Korea and taking these jobs; Chinese, North Koreans that sneak over, Vietnamese. They’ll work cheap, and it makes it harder for guys like Reseng to get what the jobs are worth. And then there’s outsourcing. Assassins are hired by plotters, but Reseng reflects that “Plotters are just pawns like us. A request comes in, and they draw up the plans. There’s someone above them that tells them what to do. And above that person is another plotter…You know what’s there if you keep going all the way to the top? Nothing. Just an empty chair.”

Reseng’s greatest concern is Old Raccoon, Reseng’s aging mentor who is being edged out by unseen forces. Old Raccoon isn’t an assassin, but he has kept himself out of the crosshairs by permitting his library to be used as a meeting point between shady individuals looking to make deals. That’s worked for him pretty well, until recently. Old Raccoon is all the family Reseng has, and so out of concern, he begins asking questions. It’s a reckless thing to do, and he knows it.

Before long, Reseng’s life turns into a hall of mirrors, and it’s hard to know who to believe, because he can’t trust anyone. Where does Hanja, who was also mentored by Old Raccoon, fit in? What about the cross-eyed librarian? Is she on the up and up, and if so, where did she go? Is The Barber involved here? His queries take him to visit Hanja, who is now wealthy and influential, a giant among giants in the industry, and his offices take up three whole floors in a high-rise building:

“As if it wasn’t ironic enough that the country’s top assassination provider was brazenly running his business in a building owned by an international insurance company; the same assassination provider was also simultaneously managing a bodyguard firm and a security firm. But just as a vaccine company facing bankruptcy will ultimately survive not by making the world’s greatest vaccine but, rather, the world’s worst virus, so, too, did bodyguard and security firms need the world’s most evil terrorists to prosper, not the greatest security experts. That was capitalism. Hanja understood how the world could curl around and bite its own tail like the uroboros serpent…There was no better business model than owning both the virus and vaccine…A business like that would never go under.”

The struggle unfolds in ways that are impossible to predict, and what kind of fool would even attempt to make sense of it? When challenged, Hanja tries to warn Reseng that when an anaconda tries to swallow an alligator, it instead dies of a ruptured stomach, but Reseng will not be stopped. His journey builds to a riotous crescendo, and there’s a point past which it’s impossible not to read till the thing is done.

It’s a scathing tale of alienation told by a master storyteller, and the ending is brilliant as well. There’s nobody else writing anything like this today. Highly recommended.

[Mei · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

My biggest problem with this book was that I didn't love or hate any of the characters. In a crime novel, with an assassin's plot especially, I definitely need somebody to root for and somebody to despise. But all the characters were surface level and inconsistent, and the main character Reseng had absolutely no depth. I could not care less what happened to him in the end, and I didn't. The main villain of the story was supposed to be a cold-hearted killer who the reader didn't want to see succeed, but that doesn't really work when all the characters are also depicted as cold-hearted killers.

An extra half star just because the writing was actually really beautiful and original at times!

[Left Coast Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started better than it ended.

You can't shit your pants just because the toilet is dirty.

This book seems to be an attempt to unpack the philosphy contained in that observation, made by the main character on p. 65 of my hardback edition. Written by a highly-awarded Korean author and translated with flair, this is a very easy book to read.

We find ourselves in an odd world in which a large number of professional assassins are employed by mysterious plotters and, by and large, carry out their jobs without question, without much emotion; it's simply what they're paid to do. Because there are rival organizations carrying these jobs out, and this has become a capitalistic exercise, the assassins themselves are often on a rival organization's list. While none of the assassins are enthusiastic about dying young, they accept that this is how things work.

(Assassinations produce a lot of orphans, thus provide fertile pickings for the cycle to perpetuate.)

The book jacket hints at some sort of deep lesson that comes out of all of this. The violence in this book was not graphic, but it was fairly relentless, and if there was any sort of moral payoff, I must have missed it. Four star writing wasted on a two-star story.