Ann Y.K. Choi’s debut novel focuses on the Korean experience in Canada

Recently selected as one of the five shortlisted titles for this year's Toronto Book Awards, Kay's Lucky Coin Variety is billed as a bittersweet coming-of-age novel set in the Korean community in Toronto in the 1980s. It is the debut effort from Ann Y.K. Choi, who has produced a work that is, according to Globe reviewer Kerry Clare, the kind of book which many – including the novel's protagonist – have been hungering for. And there would seem to be little doubt when it comes to the appetite for stories about the contemporary Korean experience in Canada. Look no further than Kim's Convenience, a hit 2011 play about a Korean-owned store in Toronto's Regent Park. That comedic drama toured the country, and a television adaptation is set to air on CBC this fall. As with this thriving new Can-Kor genre, the time for novelist Choi has arrived.