Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - Love in the Big City

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Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park

8 reviews

angelo_vossen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

"Love in the Big City" by Sang Young Park is a novel that deftly explores the complexities of modern life, love, and identity in Seoul. The book offers a vivid and poignant portrayal of queer experiences in contemporary South Korea, delivered with a blend of humor, melancholy, and candid introspection.

The narrative is structured in a series of loosely connected episodes, each exploring different facets of the protagonist, Young's life. These vignettes offer glimpses into his relationships, both platonic and romantic, his struggles with familial expectations, and his navigation through the urban landscape of Seoul. The non-linear storytelling adds depth and dimension to the narrative, highlighting the fluidity of life and the interconnectedness of experiences.

Young is a multifaceted character, whose unapologetic honesty and vulnerability make him relatable and compelling. His relationships with others, particularly his best friend Jaehee, his mother, and various lovers, are depicted with nuance and authenticity. These interactions reveal the complexities of love, from deep camaraderie to the pain of unrequited affection, and the tension between societal norms and personal desires.

At its core, the novel explores the search for love and belonging in a rapidly changing, often alienating urban environment. It delves into the challenges of being queer in a conservative society, the pressures of familial expectations, and the fleeting nature of youth. The book also addresses themes of loneliness, identity, and the pursuit of happiness, often with a sharp wit and a touch of melancholy.

Sang Young Park's writing is both poetic and raw, capturing the vibrant yet harsh realities of city life. The prose is laced with humor, even in moments of sadness, offering a refreshing take on serious topics. The author’s keen observations on the absurdities of life and the quirks of human nature lend the narrative a unique voice that is both critical and empathetic.

"Love in the Big City" is a beautifully crafted novel that offers a heartfelt and insightful exploration of love and identity in a modern metropolis. Sang Young Park's honest and engaging storytelling, combined with the novel's richly drawn characters and themes, make it a standout work in contemporary literature. It's a book that resonates with anyone who has ever felt lost in the chaos of city life or grappled with the complexities of love and self-discovery.

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heir_of_regulus's review against another edition

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reflective sad 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? Yes

1.75

For me personally this book was difficult to force myself through. I couldn't get myself to like the main character at all, which is a first for me, I've never had that problem before. Also all of the relationships are super toxic. None of them seem to have a purpose. The character didn't really seem to grow, just making horizontally bad decisions. Also there wasn't really an ending?

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amberinpieces's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I picked this up because someone on TikTok said it was like if Lorde's Melodrama album were a novel and a fun fact about me is that Melodrama literally owns my ass. Though I'm not sure if I would've come to that comparison on my own, I can definitely see where it comes from. Like Melodrama, Love In the Big City deals with passionate yet disastrous relationships written in a cynical, self aware, and snarky voice.

This novel is less a single story, and more a loosely connected collection of four stories detailing the relationships (mainly romantic) of a gay Korean man in his 20s and early 30s named Young who's seeking success and love but failing on both of those. I found it to be surprisingly relatable due to the issues Young deals with around his boy problems, his pessimism, and his experience as a gay man and writer. Despite it having a relatively mundane plot, the melodrama of it all kept me invested.

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