The Interpreter (Suki Kim novel)
Encyclopedia
The Interpreter is Suki Kim
’s first novel. In The Interpreter, Kim creates a twenty-nine-year-old Korean American
court interpreter named Suzy Park who makes a startling and ominous discovery during one court case which ultimately reveals the mystery of her parents' homicide. The award winning novel, mainly a murder mystery, breaks through the stereotypical images of the happy immigrant experience with a story of pain, loss, and murder.
for the New York City court system
. She has had two rocky relationships with married men, worked a series of unsatisfying jobs, and cut ties with her family before her parents were shot dead in an unsolved double murder. The life she has chosen as an interpreter is a reflection of Suzy's searching for her own identity and trying to bridge the two cultures to both of which she feels a detachment. During one court case she discovers that her parents were not murdered by random violence, as the police had indicated, but instead had been shot by political enemies. The discovery provides the glint of a new lead for Park, and the novel tracks her investigation into what really happened, which ultimately reveals the mystery of her parents' homicide.
Suki Kim
Suki Kim is a Korean American writer, a 2006 Guggenheim fellow and the author of the award winning novel The Interpreter.-Biography and work:...
’s first novel. In The Interpreter, Kim creates a twenty-nine-year-old Korean American
Korean American
Korean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...
court interpreter named Suzy Park who makes a startling and ominous discovery during one court case which ultimately reveals the mystery of her parents' homicide. The award winning novel, mainly a murder mystery, breaks through the stereotypical images of the happy immigrant experience with a story of pain, loss, and murder.
Plot summary
Suzy Park is a young, attractive, and achingly alone Korean American woman who works as a court interpreterLegal translation
Legal translation is the translation of texts within the field of law. As law is a culture-dependent subject field, legal translation is not a simple task....
for the New York City court system
New York City Courts
The New York City court system consists of civil, criminal, and family courts. All have a presence in each borough and have city-wide jurisdiction. Instead, New York City courts have jurisdiction in the five counties that are coterminous with the five boroughs, but in practice most cases are...
. She has had two rocky relationships with married men, worked a series of unsatisfying jobs, and cut ties with her family before her parents were shot dead in an unsolved double murder. The life she has chosen as an interpreter is a reflection of Suzy's searching for her own identity and trying to bridge the two cultures to both of which she feels a detachment. During one court case she discovers that her parents were not murdered by random violence, as the police had indicated, but instead had been shot by political enemies. The discovery provides the glint of a new lead for Park, and the novel tracks her investigation into what really happened, which ultimately reveals the mystery of her parents' homicide.
Awards and nomination
- PEN Beyond Margins Award
- Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award
- Runner up for the PEN Hemingway Prize
Translations
- Dutch:
- French:
- Korean:
- Japanese: