Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2021 -

Focusing on what was commercially published in 17th-century Japan, Moretti (Univ. of Cambridge, UK) discusses what scholars have left unread: Confucian and Buddhist teachings; lessons on etiquette, cooking, courtship, and letter writing; advice on how to make money or accept poverty, how to cope with disasters, and so on. Moretti explains how the complex writing systems in use in the 17th century accommodated varying degrees of literacy, and she analyzes publishers' catalogs to show that inexpensive books were available to a diversifying reading public. The many texts Moretti analyzes are characterized by intertwined narrative and non-narrative prose, which is non-normative today, and she suggests that this "discontinuous writing" was met with reading strategies that included both "purposive and digressive curiosity" (p. 291). Moretti dismantles the age-old, simplistic contrast between what is entertaining or aesthetic versus what is instructive or didactic when she concludes that books that were issued for monetary gain provided their readers with the pleasures of other kinds of profit, such as the self-confidence and even joy that can come from learning new and useful things. This book is impressive in both scope and sophistication.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.

Former director of the Institute for the Study of Korean Modernity, Kim (Yonsei Univ., Korea), one of the most influential and meticulous scholars of modern Korean literature, offers an account of the development of modern fiction (sosol). The four stages of this development--the rise of Korean script and the corresponding decrease in the use of Chinese, the rise of a modern literature through magazines and newspapers, the appearance of professional writers, and the increasing importance of social themes--provide the book's framework and offer easy signposts with which to follow the narrative. Kim's primary achievement is highlighting the importance of the new print media--and the interaction of writers, publishers, and readers--in the rise of prose fiction, and his treatment of the diverse genres of fiction reveals the social and professional dynamic of the literary scene at the time. The sheer scope of Kim's study, the detailed and extensive notes, and the fluency and elegance of the translation by Rachel Min Park make this book not only a vital guide to early modern Korean fiction but also a genuinely enjoyable, if intense, read for those with a particular interest in the subject.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.