Literary Fiction

This one is up there with Burmese Days as some of the most repulsive books I have read. It centers around a married woman in South Korea as she is driven to insanity by different men in her life. It includes themes of domestic violence, the patriarchy, and more broadly shame and desire.

This coming-of-age collection of short stories, taking place in Swansea in South Wales, are inspired by the authors childhood and young adult years. The stories cover topics such as poverty and alcoholism, but also lust and death. Dylan Thomas is by many placed among the best poets of the twentieth century, and this literary prowess could be seen throughout the book.