Of Tales and Enigmas

The 15 exquisitely crafted stories in Kang's first collection will delight fans of literary fantasy. The five tales in the section "Tales from a Lost History" exemplify Kang's theory, as stated in "The Beautiful and Useful Machine," that humanity emerged from prehistory by recording myths, memories and activities. Five shorter pieces, in "Fables of the Dream World," approach the mythic dimension lurking in the human subconscious, while the five "Stories from an Imaginary Homeland" seem drawn from Kang's own dark experiences in the South Korean army. Each tale hinges on some sudden remembrance whose significance only occurs to its narrator after contact with a traumatic event. Most are multilayered, subtly emphasizing the role of the storyteller who alone can make sense of, and thus heal, the damage caused by human wickedness. Poignant and revealing, nostalgic and concealing, Kang's paradoxical short fiction handsomely bears out D.H. Lawrence's equally enigmatic advice: "Never trust the artist. Trust the tale." (Nov.)