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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
A violent contemplation on the choices we make and the life we path we travel. An aging assassin wrangles the choices that have brought him to become the hunted as he works to survive.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
This was a fantastic(!) Korean action-thriller about assassins. I highly recommend this book, it was very well done. I never really read action packed novels but this one has set a high bar.... #ThePlotters
This was a fantastic(!) Korean action-thriller about assassins. I highly recommend this book, it was very well done. I never really read action packed novels but this one has set a high bar.... #ThePlotters
I picked The Plotters up on a total whim when I saw it in a bookstore, and what a delight it turned out to be. For such a dark setting (assassins, murder, dark underworld, etc etc), this book is unexpectedly funny, fast-paced, and surprising. It`s truly very rare for a book to make me gasp in surprise, but The Plotters had so many twists out of nowhere (that also made sense) that I was shooketh.
I love when a spur of the moment read delivers so strongly.
I love when a spur of the moment read delivers so strongly.
I heard about this book a lot over the past few months, and I was really looking forward to reading it. I initially borrowed it from the library, but I was in a little reading slump and returned my library books unread when they were due. So I ended up buying this for my Kobo, because I knew that I wanted to read it eventually.
This was such an interesting book! I wasn’t really sure what it was about, and it was one of those stories where I felt like there was a main plot but the story meandered and I liked it. I was happy to follow along and see where things would go. There were chapters made up of asides and memories, and I liked he way it showed me more about Reseng and other characters.
This was a dark, at times funny, gritty story and as I read on, I didn’t want to stop reading. I really really liked this book.
This was such an interesting book! I wasn’t really sure what it was about, and it was one of those stories where I felt like there was a main plot but the story meandered and I liked it. I was happy to follow along and see where things would go. There were chapters made up of asides and memories, and I liked he way it showed me more about Reseng and other characters.
This was a dark, at times funny, gritty story and as I read on, I didn’t want to stop reading. I really really liked this book.
The kind of world in which “The Plotters” gives a glimpse into has a hierarchy, one in which the people belonging to the titular role occupy the highest rung, or at least higher than Reseng the protagonist of the story. Plotters, plot and assassins like Reseng execute. The assassins are not privy to the big picture, they are simply given the kill orders and are expected to carry them out and often times the “how” is as important as the “who”. It is not up to the assassin to question these details – if a mark is to die by a bullet, then it is expected that the assassin does not kill in any other way, because to the plotters details are everything.
A story about assassins, one would expect, to be dark, grim, action packed and violent if not at least suspenseful or filled with dread, remorse and angst. Though “The Plotters” does indeed play out eventually to involve all those attributes, least expected would be laugh out loud moments along with a little bit of romance. The first thing to strike the reader upon starting the book would be how death and murder are discussed about in a matter-of-fact way. One could actually be reading about watering plants or something similarly mundane. Another aspect that quickly becomes apparent is the surreal but quirky feel that encompasses the overall narrative. It is not apparent how much is actually lost in translation (this is a Korean novel) as it has minimal cultural references. For anyone not being overly familiar with the Korean way of life, this book (which plays out like a Quentin Tarantino movie) would probably not be a good reference point, though there are some interesting glimpses into religion and superstition. This is a book about assassins, after all and provides an interesting look into the trade and what makes the players tick.
The most interesting aspect of this book would have to be the characters, starting from Reseng himself. Imagine a professional hit-man who was picked up from a dumpster as a baby and grew up in an old library surrounded by classics. Obviously, he ends up being a voracious reader and grows a conscience. A definite highlight of this book is a brief flashback into Reseng's life when he once went undercover as a factory worker as part of a mission for an extended period of time where he got involved with another factory worker. The unlikely romance would leave impressions as it is sweet, somewhat realistic and plays out pretty much how one would expect a love story between a blue collar worker and an assassin with a conscience would end.
There is also "Old Raccoon", the librarian who rescued Reseng as a baby and took him in, and happens to be one of the major players commanding an extreme respect in the assassination racket, albeit aging and is deemed too traditional by the newer players. Another character, "Bear", owns a pet crematorium but makes his real money helping various assassins dispose of dead bodies who despite his grim profession, is actually extremely likable. Of course, there are over the top characters like "The Barber", an assassin who moonlights as a barber (like the name suggests), and Hanja, the young, ambitious and ruthless contractor who aspires to replace Old Raccoon as the new boss in town. The icing on the cake though, would be the unexpected humor and the revelation of who the Plotters actually are in this whole business and what motivates them.
The Plotters is an easy read with a steady plot. While not extremely thrilling, it is engaging in a laid back kind of way, with its quirkiness and interesting characters and stimulating conversations. It is the kind of book one could sit back and read on a quiet afternoon or evening, with a good cup of coffee. There are no jaw dropping twists, but it is an interesting enough read that by the end of it one would chuckle and think of how unique in tone it was. Of course, there are no other ways a story like this could end, and the ending while not necessarily a happy one, is probably the right one.
A story about assassins, one would expect, to be dark, grim, action packed and violent if not at least suspenseful or filled with dread, remorse and angst. Though “The Plotters” does indeed play out eventually to involve all those attributes, least expected would be laugh out loud moments along with a little bit of romance. The first thing to strike the reader upon starting the book would be how death and murder are discussed about in a matter-of-fact way. One could actually be reading about watering plants or something similarly mundane. Another aspect that quickly becomes apparent is the surreal but quirky feel that encompasses the overall narrative. It is not apparent how much is actually lost in translation (this is a Korean novel) as it has minimal cultural references. For anyone not being overly familiar with the Korean way of life, this book (which plays out like a Quentin Tarantino movie) would probably not be a good reference point, though there are some interesting glimpses into religion and superstition. This is a book about assassins, after all and provides an interesting look into the trade and what makes the players tick.
The most interesting aspect of this book would have to be the characters, starting from Reseng himself. Imagine a professional hit-man who was picked up from a dumpster as a baby and grew up in an old library surrounded by classics. Obviously, he ends up being a voracious reader and grows a conscience. A definite highlight of this book is a brief flashback into Reseng's life when he once went undercover as a factory worker as part of a mission for an extended period of time where he got involved with another factory worker. The unlikely romance would leave impressions as it is sweet, somewhat realistic and plays out pretty much how one would expect a love story between a blue collar worker and an assassin with a conscience would end.
There is also "Old Raccoon", the librarian who rescued Reseng as a baby and took him in, and happens to be one of the major players commanding an extreme respect in the assassination racket, albeit aging and is deemed too traditional by the newer players. Another character, "Bear", owns a pet crematorium but makes his real money helping various assassins dispose of dead bodies who despite his grim profession, is actually extremely likable. Of course, there are over the top characters like "The Barber", an assassin who moonlights as a barber (like the name suggests), and Hanja, the young, ambitious and ruthless contractor who aspires to replace Old Raccoon as the new boss in town. The icing on the cake though, would be the unexpected humor and the revelation of who the Plotters actually are in this whole business and what motivates them.
The Plotters is an easy read with a steady plot. While not extremely thrilling, it is engaging in a laid back kind of way, with its quirkiness and interesting characters and stimulating conversations. It is the kind of book one could sit back and read on a quiet afternoon or evening, with a good cup of coffee. There are no jaw dropping twists, but it is an interesting enough read that by the end of it one would chuckle and think of how unique in tone it was. Of course, there are no other ways a story like this could end, and the ending while not necessarily a happy one, is probably the right one.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i hit fatigues at many parts (not the book's fault, it's exactly what it wants to be; i'm just not in the mood for it most of the time that's why it took me 5 months to finish) but the last third is IT. i'm not attached to any characters, which i'm pretty sure is intentional anyway, so that ending felt fitting. it's a bleak story with a bleak, edgy, irredeemable cast and i'm fine with it - the "villain" could use some more depth to his character however, i was initially intrigued but then he turned boring real quick and i'm disappointed