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arirang's review
3.0
Part of the Yeoyu (여유) series from Strangers Press, eight chapbooks, each featuring a translated short story of around 30 pages, showcasing the best writing from the current generation of Korean authors. For my review of the overall series see: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2862365043
퇴역 레스러 by 전성태 (Jeon Sungtae) translated as Old Wrestler by Sora Kim-Russell
Sora Kim-Russell has also previously translated a short story collection [b:Wolves|31944908|Wolves|Jeon Sungtae|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1475302945s/31944908.jpg|52603564] by the author (https://koreanliteraturenow.com/fiction/reviews/jeon--stories-hinterlands-wolves-jeon-sungtae), but this is a new story in English.
The Korean title would be more precisely (if less eloquently) rendered Retired Wrestler, and this is the story of a former wrestling superstar, his career largely spent in Japan, now in declining health. In particular he has a degenerative condition causing him to increasingly lose his memory.
As the novel opens he has returned, accompanied by a nurse and against the advice of his doctors, to his home village and island, as guest of honour at a wedding.
It gradually becomes clear that there are also some memories he has chosen to forget: his fond memories of having helped the village by for example persuading the General (a senior political figure) to reward his success by building a much needed bridge contrast with hints from old acquaintances about the internecine strife between leftists and rightists in the village and his having abandoned the community.
Of all the stories in the Yeoyu series, this was the one that would have benefited from an afterword for English readers: even as someone relatively well versed in Korean culture and history I felt there were many allusions here I was missing. For example, some googling of Korean reviews revealed that the character, at least the wresting history, is closely based on a real-life Korean wrestler (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintaro_Ohki ) known as Kim-Il in Korea and Kintaro Ohio in Japan, where he made his name. And that the story is set in the Jeolla province, source of much of the leftist resistance to the rightist military regime of the 1950-70s.
3 stars.
퇴역 레스러 by 전성태 (Jeon Sungtae) translated as Old Wrestler by Sora Kim-Russell
Sora Kim-Russell has also previously translated a short story collection [b:Wolves|31944908|Wolves|Jeon Sungtae|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1475302945s/31944908.jpg|52603564] by the author (https://koreanliteraturenow.com/fiction/reviews/jeon--stories-hinterlands-wolves-jeon-sungtae), but this is a new story in English.
The Korean title would be more precisely (if less eloquently) rendered Retired Wrestler, and this is the story of a former wrestling superstar, his career largely spent in Japan, now in declining health. In particular he has a degenerative condition causing him to increasingly lose his memory.
As the novel opens he has returned, accompanied by a nurse and against the advice of his doctors, to his home village and island, as guest of honour at a wedding.
It gradually becomes clear that there are also some memories he has chosen to forget: his fond memories of having helped the village by for example persuading the General (a senior political figure) to reward his success by building a much needed bridge contrast with hints from old acquaintances about the internecine strife between leftists and rightists in the village and his having abandoned the community.
Of all the stories in the Yeoyu series, this was the one that would have benefited from an afterword for English readers: even as someone relatively well versed in Korean culture and history I felt there were many allusions here I was missing. For example, some googling of Korean reviews revealed that the character, at least the wresting history, is closely based on a real-life Korean wrestler (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintaro_Ohki ) known as Kim-Il in Korea and Kintaro Ohio in Japan, where he made his name. And that the story is set in the Jeolla province, source of much of the leftist resistance to the rightist military regime of the 1950-70s.
3 stars.
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