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Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop, Hwang Bo-reum

Garabrandt Reviews

February 20

Title: Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop

Author: Hwang Bo-reum, translated by Shanna Tan

Pages: 312

Genre: Asian Literature- Korean, slice of life, contemporary fiction, social commentary

Is this book part of a series? Yes

I discovered this book via... Netgalley, working with Bloomsbury Publishing.

Published: February 20th, 2024

The Korean smash hit available for the first time in English, a slice-of-life novel for readers of Matt Haig's The Midnight Library and Gabrielle Zevin's The Storied Life of AJ Fikry.

Yeongju is burned out. With her high-flying career, demanding marriage, and busy life in Seoul, she knows she should feel successful, but all she feels is drained. Yet an abandoned dream nags at her, and in a leap of faith, she leaves her old life behind. Quitting her job and divorcing her husband, Yeongju moves to a small residential neighborhood outside the city, where she opens the Hyunam-dong Bookshop.

For the first few months, all Yeongju does is cry, deterring visitors. But the long hours in the shop give her time to mull over what makes a good bookseller and store, and as she starts to read hungrily, host author events, and develop her own bookselling philosophy, she begins to ease into her new setting. Surrounded by friends, writers, and the books that connect them all, she finds her new story as the Hyunam-dong Bookshop transforms into an inviting space for lost souls to rest, heal, and remember that it's never too late to scrap the plot and start again.

This was not a fast read for me. It is sweet, slow, and thought provoking. Each character is going through something-depression, burnout, worry... gathering around the bookshop and it's enigmatic owner to learn about what they really need and what it means to live a good life. It is heavy and hurtful at times, but left me feeling warm, cozy and hopeful.

Yeongju is one of those characters that you feel for imediately. She did everything right- the grades, the job, the husband.... checked all the boxes. Yet she was miserable. To live, happily and freely, she left her job and her husband and opened a small bookshop- a dream of hers from childhood. Yet even here, she can't pull back from the brink. For months, she goes through the motions until a neighbor aproaches her about the shop. It can't last long with a comotose proprietor. With the help of her neighbors, customers and, later, employees Yeongju begins to heal and accept parts of herself. She isn't perfect in any way- too selfish, too worried about being in a relationship- but she begins to grow and evolve, bringing her toward her version of a happy life.

I feel like there is a lot of social commentary here- both in reference to asian culture and our own. We are obsessed with having work- the "right job". In Korea it seems to be nearly everything- your worth is in your work and your family. Here, a group that, for one reason or another, don't fit into society's neat ideals grapple with what that means for them. The man that got the best grades, went to the top university, and still can't find a job after graduation struggles with what this does to his self worth. A woman that cracked under the pressure at work spends time unemployed just to learn how to come back to herself. A mother that is terrified because her son can't seem to connect with anything, reaches out, desperate to have him just "be okay". How much has the ideals of a success-obsessed society led us to pressure ourselves. In America it isn't as bad, but I can see it. If you aren't working, you're "lazy". If you want to call in because you are genuinely ill you're "letting the team down". The guilt, the shame, it's heavy. And can having this job guarantee happiness? No, because living a happy life means something different to everyone. It was while watching these characters grow and come into themselves that I began to feel lighter. It's not a fast read, or always a comfortable one, but it's one that I cannot recommend enough. It reminds me to take time to see the things around me, make time for self care, and listen less to what society calls success. For me, this is a five star book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

On the adult content scale, there's some gas lighting, mild language and drinking. Nothing so far over the top that I would not recommend this for a younger adult- though the content does seem to be made with a mature audience in mind.