Edited by Heinz Insu Fenkl and Walter K. Lew, Kori is the first anthology of Korean-American fiction; as such, it identifies a literary void, but barely begins to fill it. Featured are works by 16 writers, including Chang-Rae Lee and Susan Choi. All but three are excerpted from previously published books. Themes of assimilation, racism and immigration prevail, and the selections are of uniform high quality. But the short essays preceding each entry, while instructive, often assume the stilted tone of a doctoral dissertation: the editors seem to be trying too hard to drive home ideas that the authors articulate with more grace and style. ( June 29) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

With just 16 entries, this anthology of Korean American prose written in English nevertheless ranges from early 20th-century writers (e.g., Younghill Kang and Willyce Kim) to contemporary writers (Chang-Rae Lee and Susan Choi being the best known). The editors themselves (both authors and professors of writing) are included in the anthology. Each entry focuses on some aspect of being Korean, but there is a wide range of writing styles and of attitudes and situations. Unfortunately, 13 of the works are excerpts for which the editors must give synopses or background information, inevitably making the reading less compelling. However, one- to two-page biographies of the authors and a list of suggested readings point readers to the complete works, making this a helpful tool for further exploration. Recommended for all public libraries. Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Editors Fenkl and Lew explain that the title of their cornerstone anthology of Korean American fiction refers to the phases of a Korean shamanic ritual, or an "intersecting of one world with the other." Worlds do indeed overlap in the novel excerpts assembled here, cultural clashes the editors carefully explicate in their clarifying introduction. Strained relations between Korea and the U.S. are rooted in racism and fallout from the Korean War, subjects that shape all of these works even as each author focuses on a particular form of cultural dissonance. Me-K Ahn, for instance, poignantly explores the fate of Korean adoptees, while Kim Ronyoung and Leonard Chang dramatize tensions between Koreans and African Americans in the aftermath of the L.A. riots. From Younghill Kang (1899-1972), the first Korean American novelist, to Chang-rae Lee, Nora Okja Keller, and lesser-known but no less compelling writers, Kori presents a sampling of highly literary and profoundly moving voices integral to the moody song that is America. Donna Seaman