The Plotters
Ratings8
Average rating3.4
15
Ratings8
Average rating3.4
• A complex and darkly funny noir thriller that led to a six-way international bidding war in the US • Un-su Kim has been hailed as a rising star of Korean literature. The Plotters is his first novel to be translated into English • A fascinating moral tale about power and corruption in Korean society filled with betrayals, power struggles and effortlessly smooth assassinations • Reseng is a young assassin working for a powerful syndicate of professional killers. But when Reseng steps out of line on his latest job, the hunter becomes the hunted. Will he be next on the kill list? Or will three young women with a subversive plot of their own change the status quo? • In the vein of Roberto Bolaño and Haruki Murakami, The Plotters has all the hallmarks of a thriller paired with a highly original voice and a cast of unusual and notable characters • Much attention has recently turned towards the originality and style of Korean crime fiction, with books such as Han Kang’s The Vegetarian amassing significant literary recognition • Un-su Kim has won the Munhakdongne Novel Prize, Korea's most prestigious literary prize, and was nominated for the 2016 Grand Prix de la Littérature Policière
Reviews with the most likes.
It was ok - not really my style of book. The summary I read that led me to pick the book was misleading. I should have read the goodreads summary instead - it was much more on target.
Korean librarian assassins, some knitting. Worth four stars just for those things.
Translated from the original Korean, this episodic novel is set in the dark underbelly of Seoul, where assassins and the titular plotters ply their deadly trade. Our protagonist is Reseng, an assassin raised in the Doghouse, an old library maintained by Old Racoon, a mainstay of the assassination trade since before democracy came to Korea. But times are changing and a new breed of assassin, headed by the businesslike Hanja, threatens to sweep away Old Racoon and the old ways.
Populated by a cast of oddball characters (Bear, the animal crematorium owner who has a sideline in disposing of the victims of assassination; Mito, the shop assistant who secretly wants to bring down the whole house of cards; the man who wants nothing more than to be utterly forgettable) this is a slow burn noir thriller punctuated by bursts of bloody violence.
The main problem with this story is that you never feel emotionally involved. Yes there are moments of pathos and black humour, but you are more the observer of events, than ever feeling truly involved. It's not badly written, the characters are quirky, unique, but it doesn't leave you with anything once finished. Maybe turned into a K-drama or movie it might work better.
So a good, enjoyable read, but nothing out of the ordinary.
