The novels "Pachinko" by Korean American writer Lee Min Jin and "The Vegetarian" by Han Kang are among the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century by the New York Times. (Lee Jihae)

By Lee Jihae

The novels "Pachinko" (2017) by Korean American writer Lee Min Jin and "The Vegetarian" (2007) by author Han Kang are on the New York Times list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.

The daily on July 13 released the list of works dating back no earlier than January 2000.

"Pachinko" (2017) was 15th and "The Vegetarian" (2016) 49th.

The Times called "Pachinko" a "rich and roiling chronicle of a Korean family passing through four generations."

On "The Vegetarian," about a young housewife in Seoul who decides to stop eating meat, it said, "Han's lean, feverish novel becomes a surreal meditation on not just what the body needs, but what a soul demands."

Topping the list was "My Brilliant Friend" by Elena Ferrante, a novel about Elena and her childhood friend Lila who grow up in their small hometown near Naples, Italy.

To compile the 100, the Times asked 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets and literary critics to each recommend 10 books published since January 2000.

jihlee08@korea.kr