Nothing Gold Can StayBy Ron Rash (Ecco)When a prisoner on a chain gang is sent to the nearest farmhouse to fetch water in the backwoods of North Carolina, author Ron Rash sets the scene for a sterling collection of short stories in “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” They span a range of years and an even wider range of emotions.Rash’s 14 stories are broken into three sections and set in a variety of eras and places. He introduces a would-be hippie in the 1960s; college-bound sweethearts of today and their

July 1914: Countdown to WarBy Sean McMeekin (Basic Books)A Sarajevo chauffeur took a wrong turn, and Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip had his chance to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. In the resulting inferno of World War I, 9 million others died.The conventional wisdom of the last 100 years holds that Germany’s desire for empire and cultural hegemony turned Princip’s deed into an excuse for war. Barbara Tuchman’s famed history, “The Guns of August,” makes the most of this cas

What would it be like to dance on the moon? There, things weigh six times less than they do on Earth. Imagine how far you could go with every jump and leap ― and how light your body would feel. The latest volume of Azalea, an American, English-language journal featuring Korean literature and culture published by Harvard University’s Korea Institute, features contemporary Korean author Bae Myung-hoon’s (“Tower” “Concealing”) science fiction “Art and the Acceleration of Gravity” ― a story of a Seo

Rapper Psy left for the U.S. on a three-month promotional tour of “Gentleman” on Thursday morning.Speaking to reporters at Incheon International Airport, Psy said, “While my iTunes rankings currently are going down, the YouTube hits continue to climb.“I hope to see my iTunes ranking go up during this promotional tour, which includes TV appearances and press interviews.”On Thursday, “Gentleman” hit fifth place on Billboard’s main chart, climbing up from the No. 12 spot last week.Meanwhile, his lo

French writer-director Jacques Audiard’s acclaimed drama about two utterly unhappy individuals forming an unlikely but genuine relationship arrives in local theaters next month.Based on short stories by Canadian writer Craig Davidson, the movie, “Rust and Bone,” stars Marion Cotillard (“Midnight in Paris,” “The Dark Knight Rises”) as Stephanie, a beautiful, self-assured killer whale trainer who works at a marine park in Antibes, a resort town in southern France. One night she runs into Ali (Matt

As director Alfred Hitchcock once said, the act of watching others for voyeuristic pleasure is a “basic human trait.” In the end, the cinematic experience, sitting in the dark hidden and distanced from the events on the screen, is a form of voyeurism. Movie spectatorship is, in late French film theorist Christian Metz’s words, “inherently antisocial”: It offers us the pleasure of looking ― from romance to murder to horror ― knowing the scenes we see cannot look back at us.Director Choi Seung-ho’

Seoulites were offered free children’s books and brochures a day before Tuesday’s World Book Day.In celebration of World Book Day on April 23, the state-run Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea gave out free roses, a total of 100 children’s books, and 50,000 brochures on book recommendations in central Seoul near Gwanghwamun. The day, organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing, and copyright, was chosen as it is the anniversary of the death of many renowned writers, including W

A film school student won the top prize at the third Olleh International Smartphone Film Festival on Sunday for his smartphone-made short “After 24 Months.” Kim Chan-nyeon, who is currently on leave of absence from Dongguk University’s film program, won the competition by creating a work that features a dystopian world where everyone communicates through smart devices. His protagonist is the only human being in the world who tries to make human-to-human eye contact. The 24-year-old also won the

CJ Entertainment’s latest Chinese-language film topped the Chinese box office in the first week of its release, becoming the first-ever Korea-China joint production film to gross 100 million yuan ($16.2 billion) in the country.“A Wedding Invitation,” directed by Korean filmmaker Oh Ki-hwan (“Last Present,” 2001, “Art of Seduction,” 2005), features Chinese stars Eddie Peng and Bai Bah-he as the leads. It tells the story of two former lovers who run into each other after being separated for five y

Kim Dong-ho, the founding director of Busan International Film Festival and its current honorary chief, received a lifetime achievement award at the opening ceremony of Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy on Friday.Kim is considered a pioneering figure in the Korean film history. He was BIFF’s founding director for 15 years, and retired from the position in 2010. Though BIFF started small in 1996, Kim’s well-known leadership and networking skills turned it into the largest film festival in Asi

Spring is here, and that means the return of three annual film festivals in the country. Green Film Festival, International Women’s Film Festival, and Jeonju International Film Festival are all arriving this season, showcasing films dealing with the environment, women’s issues and social changes worldwide.JIFFThe Jeonju International Film Festival, one of the biggest events for alternative cinema in Korea, kicks off on April 25 with Cannes Golden Palm-winning filmmaker Laurent Cantet’s latest wo

The dystopian thriller “Oblivion” is a breathtaking collage of welcome originality and references to a huge common cultural bank of fantasy images and themes. It’s grandiose in scope and scale, attentive to important details like character and tone, and unafraid to tackle mature themes like love and loss, personal identity and redemption. If there’s a better science-fiction blockbuster this year, I’ll count us lucky.The film stars an intensely focused Tom Cruise as Jack Harper, a futuristic repa

Korean author Han Kang’s 2007 novel “Vegetarian” has been translated into Spanish and published in Argentina, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea said.The sensual novel tells the story of a video artist who finds himself obsessed with his sister-in-law after she suddenly stops eating meat. He asks her to be a model for his art project, which requires painting her naked body with flowers. The book deals with human desire and violence, as well as conflicted dynamics between social norms

Like a stoned Forrest Gump, Dennis Hopper always managed to be where the action was in American pop culture history.When James Dean was inventing the Angry Young Man in “Rebel Without a Cause,” Hopper was on the set (and in the movie).When Andy Warhol was turning the art world on its ear, Hopper was buying one of his early soup cans (and went on to scoop up Rauschenbergs and Ruschas). When the old movie studio system was dying, Hopper used the success of “Easy Rider” to help drive a nail in the

The Art of Controversy: Political Cartoons and Their Enduring PowerBy Victor S. Navasky (Knopf)Few people afflict the comfortable more savagely and effectively than political cartoonists. In “The Art of Controversy: Political Cartoons and Their Enduring Power,” veteran magazine editor Victor S. Navasky investigates how they work and celebrates some of the greats, from pioneering artist William Hogarth to contemporary caricaturist David Levine.His book features 76 black-and-white illustrations pl

After sweeping international film awards and hitting the 100,000-viewer mark last week, director O Muel’s independent film about the 1948 Jeju Massacre continues to attract audiences, earning additional screenings this week.The film will be opening in 14 more theaters nationwide on Thursday to meet demand, according to the movie’s producer Japary Films. “Jiseul” was initially released on March 21 in 56 theaters. The number of theaters screening the movie increased to 66 on April 11, and by last

A Korean short film is heading to the upcoming Cannes International Film Festival. Director Moon Byoung-gon’s short “Safe” has been included in the lineup of the competition of short films, to vie with eight other filmmakers from around the globe for the prize. More than 3,500 entries were submitted by filmmakers in 132 countries for the section. The 29-year-old studied film at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, and has directed two shorts ― “No More Coffee Break” (2008) and “Finis Operis” (2011). T

Whether you are a fan of the hit 1990 movie “Ghost” or musicals in general, the upcoming Asian premiere of the West End’s “Ghost the Musical” will likely come as a delight. For one, you get to hear the famous “Unchained Melody” live on stage, as well as witness the famed pottery wheel sequence. Two, it is being delivered in Korean and stars an all-Korean cast ― including “Bridal Mask” heartthrob Joo Won and talented up-and-coming actress Park Ji-yeon (“Mama Mia!” “Les Miserables”). Major local m

Following the towering success of Tom Hooper’s film adaptation in the box office, the musical “Les Miserables” again managed to capture the hearts of Seoulites on stage this weekend.The musical’s culminating number “One Day More” ― delivered in Korean by an all-Korean cast ― was greeted with tumultuous applause and standing ovation at Blue Square’s Samsung Electronics Hall Sunday, with members of the 1,700 audience members repeatedly cheering as the actors took their bows. It took 27 years to st