The winner of prestigious prizes in Korea, Kim makes his anglophone debut, thanks to Kim-Russell, who captures his dark, dark wit and searing sarcasm in an irresistible sociopolitical parable designed to delight and dismay.
... [a] gripping portrait of a killer for hire ... The Plotters is no primer for a visit to Korea. What it does offer is a vivid portrait of a mesmerizing central character — the stoic Reseng. It will also keep readers delightfully off-balance. In The Plotters Kim has mixed bookishness, crackpots and commissioned murder into a rich and unsettling blend.
Pleasingly deadpan, The Plotters manages to be both humorous... and violent, and sometimes even wise ... a translation from Sora Kim-Russell that is both seamless and intriguingly provoking...
Much of the joy of the book comes from seeing Reseng meet a number of quirky characters ... Sadly, the women who populate The Plotters are less compelling than the men, though even then Reseng is not that interesting of a character to follow. You would think a killer who grew up in a library, taught himself to read and has an affinity for literature would hide a lot more under the surface than Reseng does, but he's a rather shallow creation. Similarly, what at first seems like a diabolical plot that will upend the assassins' worlds and plunge them into a vicious war ends up being a bit of a meh situation ... There are two novels here. The one that is promised at the beginning of The Plotters... 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.
The Plotters, rendered in English by Sora Kim-Russell, is an unusual book: a violent action-thriller that could also be a parable, a fable of good and evil stitched together with poignant threads. What Reseng is really trying to discover is whether it’s possible for a lost soul like himself to find a way into heaven. That said, readers may have to write that ending for themselves.
... intriguing and playfully fun ... If all of the allegorical and philosophical stuff makes the proceedings sound like a drag, don’t worry, The Plotters, translated from the Korean by Sora Kim-Russell, is a lot of fun ... The trope of training and conditioning passages and montages in books and films about specialized danger-man vocations is expected, but sidestepped and subverted here by presenting a skilled professional of high intelligence fully developed on page one whose routine is explored, but only on the back end ... The Plotters walks in the traditions of the noble detective and the samurai while spinning some new chewy bits probably best not mimicked. By the end, heroism rises out of the carnage to trump the nihilistic capitalism in a rousing climax.
From a genre perspective, [the book is] a refreshing shake-up ... [Its] blend of realism and the fantastic gives The Plotters an incisive edge ... The Plotters is deeply funny and, surprisingly, full of heart. There are moments of transcendence and heartbreak mixed in with the knife fights and shootouts, and Kim balances it all beautifully ... Speaking of action scenes—The Plotters delivers the goods ... Kim is a fresh voice in crime fiction, and the more he sits at his desk, twirls his pen and comes up with books like The Plotters, the better.
... streamlined yet superb ... The book starts off at a high pitch of tension, and then modulates through an unpredictable succession of quiet and frenzied moments ... The reader is forced by the author’s noncommittal objectivity to parse all the philosophical arguments and start asking questions they may never have considered. But all of that is secondary to the cinematic immediacy and engrossing colorful realism of the action. It’s not only in such balletically violent, heart-grabbing scenes as Reseng’s battle with the Barber, but also in simple conversations—not unmarked by black humor—and other interactions... that Kim’s prose sparkles.
Translated by Sora Kim-Russell, The Plotters is written beautifully, thoughtfully, wandering through Reseng’s thoughts as a visitor observes a new landscape. The story is dark but inviting and feels like new territory, even in the genre of hit men. Un-su Kim takes us on a ride, but a ride with both action and contemplation. Highly recommended.
The novel unfolds nicely ... Eventually, The Plotters becomes more cinematic than novelistic, with a variety of showdowns and Reseng pursuing both his own and other agendas (leading to more showdowns); it's quite well done and reasonably exciting, but also somewhat by the book (i.e. the traditional thriller formulae). The Plotters is a solid hit-man thriller ... Sufficiently character-focused, Reseng is perhaps ultimately too single-minded—indeed, Kim saturates his story with what eventually becomes a too-fatalistic feel—but it's engaging reading to the bitter end.
Kim makes a few gestures toward literary gravitas ... But between the convoluted plotting and myriad stylistic intentions, Kim hasn’t identified a clear target to hit ... An energetic mashup of thriller tropes that doesn’t quite jell.
Powerful, surreal ... Most memorable is the novel’s message about the insidiousness of unaccountable institutions, from those under the military junta to those that thrive in today’s economy. The consequence of the pervasive corruption is an air of existential despair. This strange, ambitious book will appeal equally to literary fiction readers.
