The StorytellerBy Jodi Picoult (Emily Bestler Books/Atria)Sage Singer, the protagonist of Jodi Picoult’s ambitious 20th novel, “The Storyteller,” is a physically and emotionally scarred young woman working as a baker in a small New Hampshire town. She avoids human contact, interacting only with the wise former nun who owns the bakery and a married undertaker with whom she is having an affair.Her quiet existence is shaken, though, when she befriends Josef Weber, an elderly German who frequents th

“The Romanov Cross’’By Robert Masello (Bantam)Army epidemiologist Frank Slater does the right thing ― and is court-martialed for his actions ― in Robert Masello’s latest novel, “The Romanov Cross.’’ During sentencing, Slater is stripped of his military credentials and pay. Surprisingly, he’s given no jail time, but he soon learns why.His expertise is needed in Alaska, where a burial site containing victims of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic has begun to erode. The exposed bodies might contain the

Don Causey was beginning to plan his retirement, selling off his profitable sporting newsletters, when his life took a horrific turn. While on a safari on a long-anticipated trip to Africa, a tree tumbled onto him, breaking his back. The process of getting a medical transport to take him from a remote village back to Miami proved arduous and costly.Today Causey’s back is healed, and at 70 he finds himself in a post-retirement career ― consulting for a company that sells travel memberships that i

There’s a subtle arc to Jim Gavin’s first book, “Middle Men” (Simon & Schuster). Gathering seven stories largely set in Southern California, it opens with a high school basketball player and ends with Marty Costello, a plumbing supply salesman who “averages 50,000 miles per year, vast territories, circles of latitude, Inglewood to Barstow, sailing across SoCal, all day every day.”In between, we meet men of different ages, from Costello’s adult son Matt, also trying to make it in the plumbing sup

A building by the renowned Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta on Jeju Island is being torn down this week, ending months-long debate on whether to preserve or demolish the building. The building named “Casa del Agua,” meaning the House of Water in Spanish, was originally built in 2009 to function as a temporary model house for a hotel and condominium resort in Jungmun Tourist Complex in Seogwipo, Jeju. Legorreta, who died at 80 in 2011, won several prestigious architecture awards including the

Lee Byung-seok, general director of Gangnam Severance Hospital, has been tapped as personal physician to President Park Geun-hye.The 57-year-old doctor is the first gynecologist in Korea to be responsible for the medical needs of the president and the second Cheong Wa Dae doctor selected from Severance Hospital, one of the leading general hospitals here and a teaching hospital for Yonsei Medical School students. Except for former President Kim Dae-jung, all physicians to previous presidents were

Oh Se-hoon, who resigned as Seoul mayor in 2011 and has since stayed out of the public eye, recently resumed work as a counsel attorney of a large local law firm.The 52-year-old signed a contract in mid-February with Daeryook & Aju, one of the top 10 local law firms. His remuneration is not as high as that of other staff attorneys, but he will lead an ordinary life as a practicing lawyer, an aide to Oh said. Oh resigned as Seoul mayor in August 2011, after losing a referendum that he called agai

A Seoul court on Thursday declared Shim Hyung-rae bankrupt, saying that the comedian-turned-director will be exempted from his debt if found to have no assets.After receiving a suspended prison term in mid-January for failing to pay wages to former employees at his movie production company, the 55-year-old Shim filed for personal bankruptcy with the Seoul Central District Court on Jan. 30.The court accepted the petition, allowing the former comedian to benefit from the state-run personal credit

Actress Koo Hye-sun has been invited to showcase her paintings at an art fair in Hong Kong in May. According to her agency YG Entertainment, Koo will participate in the Hong Kong Contemporary from May 24-27. Koo is the second Korean celebrity artist to have been invited to the art event following actor and artist Ha Jung-woo last year.  Koo held her first exhibition in 2009 in Seoul and has been active in the field ever since.At Hong Kong Contemporary, she is expected to showcase 10 to 15 pieces

The 2013 Family Concert with a renowned orchestra and choir was held at Seoul Arts Center on Tuesday. Sponsored by the United Foundation, the event opened with the World Vision Korea Children’s Choir singing familiar songs such as “Sanduelbaram (Breeze),” “Eolgul (The face),” and “Gohyangeuibom (Spring in my hometown).” The members also presented traditional Korean fan dance and drum dance folk songs such as “Arirang,” “Ongheya,” “Hangangsutaryeong” and “Jindobukchum.” The World Vision choir wa

Finding a can of regular Sprite in the United Kingdom is about to get difficult.Coca-Cola says it‘s replacing Sprite in the country with a version that uses the sweetener stevia and has 30 percent fewer calories. Sprite Zero, which doesn’t have any calories, will also be available.The change by the world‘s biggest beverage maker is in response to a government push calling on companies to address obesity. Coca-Cola already made a similar move with Sprite in France last year.Stevia is a sweetener

Nagan Fortress boasts rich culture and natural resources

PARIS (AFP) ― New York fashion star Alexander Wang last Thursdsay presented his much anticipated first show for Balenciaga with a collection praised as “elegance, modernity, structure.” Wang paid homage to the founder of the illustrious fashion house Cristobal Balenciaga in what he modestly described as a “prologue.”Wang, one of the hottest names in U.S. fashion who also has his own label, was announced last December as a replacement for Nicolas Ghesquiere whose surprise departure came after 15

PARIS (AP) ― A hundred years ago, the legendary Coco Chanel opened her first boutique in the Normandy seaside town of Deauville. Today, the boutiques number 300 and Chanel spans the globe.Karl Lagerfeld celebrated this century’s skirt-suited success story Tuesday with an incredible Paris collection that had journalists gawping at an enormous globe right under the Grand Palais exhibition hall’s glass roof. Dotting the sphere were 300 Chanel flags, each representing a boutique.“The spirit of the s