Translated by Lizzie Buehler
Table for One (4 stars)
We start the story with a person eating a meal alone. It took me a very long time to wander into an eatery by myself and have a meal. I have done it a few times in the years since I first tried it, and I always (Always!) have a book with me for company. I have never tried the actions discussed in this story, but I can see how a course to train people to eat alone in restaurants would be something that would work. It’s a simple premise deftly executed.
Sweet Escape (3 stars)
I liked this story even if I felt it was a little too long. If it had been shorter, I would have definitely rated it higher. A man is planning a trip, and he has free time. This leads him into researching bedbugs, among other things, and the chaos does not end with just one man’s obsession.
Invader Graphic (4 stars)
This plot begins innocuously, with our protagonist wanting to avoid her parents and write. We have a list of all the small ways she not only saves money but also earns in free goods as she spends her day in the mall among a few other places. It feels good until she has competition.
Hyeonmong Park’s Hall of Dreams(4 stars)
I was not sure what I’d think of this story when I started it. It’s an odd concept but I’m this day and age of social media, one that would work well. It’s a man who dreams dreams for others. The market is not saturated when the plot begins but people start to catch on to the idea itself and things change quite quickly. The concept itself would make a good talking point in a book club.
Roadkill (3 stars)
Although there are morals that can be got out of this story, it took its time getting there. A man walks into a motel to do his job but ends up stuck in a never ending loop that gets increasingly tough to deal with.
Time Capsule 1994 (2 stars)
I didn’t get this plot. There’s a blank cd which was not catalogued when a time capsule was sealed and this leads to some head scratching.
Iceland (5 stars)
This was my favourite story in the book. A man matches with Iceland better than his own country online. This leads him to join a fan club of sorts which discusses all about Iceland. The kind of people he meets ( and becomes) was fascinating to me for some strange reason.
Piercing ( 2 stars)
A couple who aren’t good for each other turn out to be worse for others!
Don’t Cry, Hongdo (4 stars)
Although I probably would come under the crowd if mothers in this story who try to force organic and better snacks for the children in and around school, I couldn’t but enjoy the way the story unfolded. A child is narrating her life in school with a mother who is very health conscious and single, both of which she wants to do something about.
Some of the stories could have been shorter, but on the whole it was a satisfying collection. I had not realised when I started this book that I’d read another of the author’s works before – The Disaster Tourist . That book was odd and interesting just like this one. It’s hard to place this collection under any particular genre but it is one I would highly recommend to people who like short stories.
The translation was seamless, I did not feel like I was reading a book written originally in a different language at any point!
I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
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