War With Pigeons - a novel by Tae Kim

At its heart, Tae Kim's literary fiction novel, War With Pigeons, is a story of love, loss and hope, and written in a style of prose that emphasizes flow and rhythm.

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Despite the makings of a suspense-thriller, Tae Kim’s debut novel, War With Pigeons, is a love story – a love story told through the journal of the main character, Simon, whose funeral sets the stage for the novel’s opening chapters. Many people are gathered to commemorate his death, but only a handful prove to have had any particular significance in the protagonist’s life: his mother, the woman he loved and his best friend, Peter.

Peter, a young partner at a New York law firm, has been appointed the administrator of Simon’s estate. It is during his administration of the deceased’s Will that Peter uncovers the journal and therein the details of Simon’s tragic love affair and the events leading up to his death. The journal portrays a very different picture of Simon from the image that Peter had known. Simon’s reflections, codified in a small, black notebook, of the variety Hemingway and Picasso were purported to have used, trigger long-since buried memories of love and loss within Peter’s own heart.

The settings for the novel are no doubt familiar to all Korean-Americans – the Korean cafés, restaurants, clubs and room salons that litter the side streets of midtown Manhattan. Yet, the particular details of these establishments and the patrons who frequent them have, until now, largely remained a black box to those outside the Asian-American community.

Biblical references run seamless throughout the novel in a manner that may be imperceptible to some, obvious to others, lending another dimension to the symbolism and meanings underlying the books engaging story.

At its heart, the novel is a story of love, loss and hope, and written in a style of prose that emphasizes flow and rhythm. By using the device of the journal, the author is able to switch back and forth between two styles of storytelling – the third-person narrative which is intended to be more objective, and the deeply personal first-person narrative of the main character’s journal entries.

War With Pigeons is a beautifully written book. Readers will no doubt experience many different emotions while reading through it.

Early Reviews & Awards

5 out of 5 Stars
"The writing style is passionate. War With Pigeons is a story that will touch your heart. This book will stay with the reader long after reading the last page."
–ReadersFavorite.com


Tae, I finished your book this morning. It’s amazing! I was taken from the
first sentence and stayed that way till the last. Never have I read a book
where I felt so intimate and connected with the main characters and
constantly yearning to learn more about their lives. This is a must read!!
I love[d] all the areas of the book that w[ere] so familiar to me, but I
just as much loved the areas that were not - such as the beautiful peeks
into Korean culture and ways. The way you described them, however, made
these aspects of the book feel familiar as well.

- Alicia Furman, Director at Moody's Investors Service

War With Pigeons is a thoroughly engaging story that captures many of the common themes of our lives: love, lust, loss, envy and hatred. It intersperses a fascinating mystery story with real to life depictions of the social and family lives of Korean-Americans and Korean gyopos that hit home for many of us that grew up in the New York area in the 80s and 90s. Tae Kim uses vivid descriptions of places and events that made me feel as though I were a voyeur into the lives of both Peter and Simon. The use of firsthand accounts and Simon’s journal lay bare for the reader the emotional turmoil experienced by the protagonists throughout the story. While clear villains can be found throughout the book, even Peter and Simon at times exhibit Jekyll and Hyde tendencies. Tae’s carefully crafted characters show tenderness and compassion toward those they care for while exhibiting uncontrolled rage toward those that would threaten their loved ones with harm. WWP is an inspired and entertaining first novel by Tae Kim and I eagerly await his next literary effort.

Eugene Kwon, Managing Director at Citi

Just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know I finished the book last night. I couldn't fall asleep right away bc I was reflecting on how much I enjoyed the book. It was really beautifully written. I experienced so many different emotions while reading through it. Congratulations on an amazing novel.

Patricia Kim, CFA, Director at a global financial institution

Being a Latina, I don’t know what it’s like to inhabit the skin of an Asian American person, but novelist Tae Kim does a great job in making the reader feel as if they are part of a world and culture that may have its differences but ultimately unfolds into a story shared by many. Peter Kim’s best friend is dead and in dealing with the grief and loss, stumbles onto a journal that reveals many secrets Peter did not know about his friend, Simon. The novel spans a lifetime - from the story of a woman leaving Korea in search of a better life for her family, to the start of the friendship between Peter and Simon, to the eventual twists and turns that growing up and growing apart do to a friendship.

WAR WITH PIGEONS is filled with interesting characters that all seem just as real as the people in your own hometown. It’s a story of loss and regrets, sacrifice and intrigue, love and happiness - all common themes in all our lives that the author has spun into a lovely and engaging tale. A really great read and I happily await future fiction from Mr. Kim.

Joanne González-Gerena

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War With Pigeons, Tae Kim, aStoryTelling, love story, fiction, literary, Korean American, best seller