August 1, 2009
Martin Limon's The Door to Bitterness is a gripping and melancholic mystery set in Korea in 1973. The title comes from a Korean proverb, "You have opened the door to bitterness" and the book does a good job interweaving Korean culture, especially the bedrock of filial duty, in with a bloody crusade of vengeance. The perpetrators use a gun stolen off Sergeant George Sueno, agent with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Division, to make things bloody and that makes Sueno mad. He and his partner, Sergeant Ernie Bascom plunge headlong into the fray, hoping to recover the gun and stop the bloodletting, and stay alive.
The Door to Bitterness is the fourth in the Sergeants Sueno and Bascom series, and the first I've read. I will read the first three now that I'm hooked on Limon's fast-paced style that slows down long enough to fill in all necessary -- and very interesting -- background information on 1970s Korea, when memories of the Korean War were still fresh, illegitimate offspring of American soldiers and Korean women were vilified, and ancient Korean customs ruled social interactions. The autumn festival of Chusok, Korean customs of hospitality, and the love/hate relationship Koreans had with Americans (love for the money supporting the Korean government and hate for the GI presence), are all worked into the plot as integral parts of a complicated pursuit of revenge.
Sueno is the narrator of the series and with his combination of intelligence, stubbornness, and kindness, he is the perfect detective hero, willing to look the other way when his heart bids him look away and willing to do battle even when the odds are against him. He is a new favorite, this CID in Seoul, and a complimentary companion to an old favorite, John Burdett's Sonchai Jitpleecheep in Bangkok Haunts.
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