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admiralette's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
balise's review against another edition
5.0
This was absolutely lovely. I realize that "slice of life" may actually be one of my favorite genres; and this one is the population of a bookshop. And, well, just lovely.
readingtreena's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
lizlinguist's review against another edition
4.0
I just want to headline this review with my overriding thought, which I'm not seeing expressed in other reviews: this book is not primarily about a book shop. It's about finding yourself and your passions. This is achieved *through* books for several of the characters, but by no means all of them.
This is a really odd book. But it's also a good book. I don't know that I'd rush to recommend it as it's such an eclectic collection of themes and characters that I would struggle to say "fans of X would love this book".
It's at once a very gentle slice-of-life (that's certainly the case for the first few chapters) and a scathing criticism of late-stage capitalism. It evangelizes self-determination and working for what you love, avoiding burnout and having fulfilling hobbies in a way that isn't at all preachy - it's the characters speaking their own minds to the eachother and not the author speaking to the reader.
Each character is well articulated. They have their own struggles and goals and because this book is all about lacking direction and finding oneself what's interesting is often these goals are not well-articulated initially since even the characters themselves don't know what they want. This was a really refreshing and human take that I really appreciated. Most books I read feature some kind of quest, big or small, that the characters are determined to complete. The characters of Hyunam-Dong just want to be happy, and I think that's not only admirable, but it's very clever to have constructed a proper narrative around such a non-traditional arc. It's very satisfying to see each character able to find some small passion or make some decision for themselves. The power of community really shines through in this narrative.
This is a really odd book. But it's also a good book. I don't know that I'd rush to recommend it as it's such an eclectic collection of themes and characters that I would struggle to say "fans of X would love this book".
It's at once a very gentle slice-of-life (that's certainly the case for the first few chapters) and a scathing criticism of late-stage capitalism. It evangelizes self-determination and working for what you love, avoiding burnout and having fulfilling hobbies in a way that isn't at all preachy - it's the characters speaking their own minds to the eachother and not the author speaking to the reader.
Each character is well articulated. They have their own struggles and goals and because this book is all about lacking direction and finding oneself what's interesting is often these goals are not well-articulated initially since even the characters themselves don't know what they want. This was a really refreshing and human take that I really appreciated. Most books I read feature some kind of quest, big or small, that the characters are determined to complete. The characters of Hyunam-Dong just want to be happy, and I think that's not only admirable, but it's very clever to have constructed a proper narrative around such a non-traditional arc. It's very satisfying to see each character able to find some small passion or make some decision for themselves. The power of community really shines through in this narrative.
reading_in_the_garden's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
chamomiledaydreams's review
3.0
This is a very peaceful book, and I appreciate a lot of its themes/messages: that we should care more about happiness than success; that a good life is lived one step at a time, through a series of good days; and that hard work isn't worth the ensuing burnout.
However, I'm not too impressed by the audiobook edition. The narrator has a relaxing voice, and I enjoyed listening to her speak, as though it were background noise. But she doesn't distinguish between characters voices enough, in my opinion, which makes many conversations with sparse dialog tags difficult to follow.
This affected my overall impression of the book, because half the time, I wasn't quite certain who was speaking. The themes and overarching stories are great, and the characters do have unique personality traits. But at times, their words felt interchangeable, and I only felt moved by spoken passages when one person had a fairly big monologue, so I could absorb both the depth of their words and the relevance to their character arc.
I can understand why so many people love this book, but I suspect that I would have been more similarly moved if I hadn't listened to the audiobook.
However, I'm not too impressed by the audiobook edition. The narrator has a relaxing voice, and I enjoyed listening to her speak, as though it were background noise. But she doesn't distinguish between characters voices enough, in my opinion, which makes many conversations with sparse dialog tags difficult to follow.
This affected my overall impression of the book, because half the time, I wasn't quite certain who was speaking. The themes and overarching stories are great, and the characters do have unique personality traits. But at times, their words felt interchangeable, and I only felt moved by spoken passages when one person had a fairly big monologue, so I could absorb both the depth of their words and the relevance to their character arc.
I can understand why so many people love this book, but I suspect that I would have been more similarly moved if I hadn't listened to the audiobook.
kpkp's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
bookwolf22's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75