One could argue this title falls into the sub-genre of “weird fiction”, which readers may associate with China Miéville and Jeff VanderMeer. In this fantastical, strange, and sometimes whimsical novel, Mr. Kong, a harried office worker, is in charge of Cabinet 13. While it looks normal, this cabinet is full of files on humans with strange abilities and unusual experiences. Funny, ironic, and strange, I found it hard to put down. Kim won the Munhakdongne Novel Award, South Korea's most prestigious literary prize, for this novel, translated by Sean Lin Halbert.

Any time a thriller or spy novel features a mysterious space called “The Library”, it’s a must-read. This story follows assassin Reseng in an alternate version of Seoul, Raised in The Library, Reseng never questioned his criminal lifestyle until something unexpected goes wrong and he’s forced to make some hard decisions about his future path. Un-Su Kim is a beloved author (he also wrote my above pick, The Cabinet,) and this title is acclaimed as an action-packed and wildly entertaining thriller. While this is on my TBR, I haven’t read it yet, and online summaries suggest that sensitive readers may want to avoid it due to some violent content on the page. Translated from the Korean by Sora Kim-Russell.