I really love this book. The storytelling and the format/structure is not really new to me and i really love it. I love how the characters, everyone of them build the world in this book. I also love the main characters. I love Eungyo’s character, she seems to be more of a character that's too observant and she made the story so quiet until the last chapter. This is a short read but i really enjoyed reading this. I would love to reread it again.

Thank you netgalley for letting me read this book!

The last thing I want to convey in rating this work two stars is that it’s bad. It isn’t. But it is frustrating.

One of the most important things to remember when reading translated works is the perspective they’re coming from—One Hundred Shadows is first and foremost a valuable and thoughtful piece of Korean lit that functions as a remembrance of the people impacted by the Yongsan apartment building tragedy, as well as a criticism of redevelopment and the impact on society and its microcosms.

For further context, in 2009, renters occupied an abandoned building in Yongsan District, Seoul, to protest inadequate compensation for urban redevelopment. Without negotiation or any prior run-through of their plan of action, the riot police were dispatched. Five protestors and a police officer were ultimately killed in the resulting conflict, and upwards of twenty others were injured. Families of the victims have yet to receive any degree of justice ten-plus years on. Accordingly, this is what I’d consider an important book. It even scored an introduction from Han Kang.

There were parts of this that I really enjoyed. I struggled to get through the first 35%, and then sort of hit a stride with the writing and felt very engaged until the end. The writing is at times quite lyrical and visual, and I think the latter half of the book is where this shines through the most. Hwang Jungeun is clearly a talented author, and the atmosphere was the best part of the book. While the dialogue was definitely too simplistic and repetitive, it did add to the dismal vibe. Lots of cool stuff happening here.

My problem is that this book apparently doesn’t want you to know it’s important. It feels unfinished. I really struggled with the way this was structured, the intertwining of the ‘shadows’ with the portrayal of life in a slum, and the total lack of provided context. There are no footnotes, no notes in the introduction on the cultural context, and no provided translations or equivalences. As a reader, I don’t want things spoonfed to me, but in translating a work for an international audience, certain things are incredibly helpful for understanding the work’s perspective, none of which were present here. For some reason, there’s a translation of “fox rain” at the beginning, which I found pretty unnecessary for appreciating the book as a whole, really only the first paragraph of the story, and this is the only piece of context provided in the entire thing. I don’t mind doing my own research, but I really think this book could gain something by providing some groundwork.

As is, it came off very disjointed and incomplete, especially the bit about the rising shadows, which was admittedly what I was initially most interested in. Honestly, the idea was mostly abandoned, only brought up to add atmosphere when the writing was petering out. While the descriptions were at times creepy, nothing was really done with the shadows. I think I would have enjoyed the book much more if it either went all in on being a mundane portrait of life in this slum, or all in on the magical realism. It wasn’t able to pull off both, and the shadows only came up a few times throughout. There was so much more that could have been done with them thematically.

Ultimately, I appreciated what this book was going for, but I believe there’s room for significant improvement both in the writing and the translation efforts.

This book was short but I still have decent amount to say, so I'll start with the premise. Shadows can be dangerous, and so are capitalists.
However, it's also a quaint burgeoning love story between two people who have life paths that have brought them to similar points.

"One Hundred Shadows" was a quick read for me, and would probably be for anyone considering the short length of the book. Reading it was a fine way to spend the day. It flowed naturally, and there was nothing stilted about it for me. I really enjoyed the two main characters and the stories about their lives that were woven into the story. If it had just been about them without any fantastical elements, I would have enjoyed it just as much. Even the fantastical parts felt grounded in a type of realism, though. None of the elements about shadows really detracted from the story in the slightest. In fact, one of my gripes with the story is that I wish there was more lore about how the entire concept of it worked. But maybe that's because my media literacy is a tad dull these days.

In the end, it felt almost unfinished? It was very open ended, which doesn't bother me much. However, it felt like there were so many other threads that were begging to be tied up, but were left dangling at the end of the book. Knowing it was a short novel, I wasn't expecting to be lore rich and full of plot twists and whatnot. Were there things I'd change about it? Sure. But it was a nice piece of translated literary fiction, which is totally in my wheelhouse, and I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Would recommend for Korean literature fans, fans of translated fiction. and readers who enjoy subtly written themes with maybe a dash of surrealism.

I really wanted to love this book, the premise had a lot of promise but there was something about the structure that made me really struggle to get into it.
I found it particularly challenging having no speech marks to indicate when a character was talking, resulting sometimes in some confusion. I also found the dialogue a little clunky, but that may be a product more of the translation

In an exploration of the poorest areas of Seoul and lives of the people that live there, Hwang Jungeun gives us a fantastical, slightly supernatural rendition of the struggles of a forgotten class in the capitalist hellscape that is Seoul. The novella is inspired by the Yongsan tragedy of 2009, a peaceful sit-it by forty renters who were protesting the evictions from their homes and business sites due to urban developement, which turned into a violent clash once the police got involved, resulting in five casualties.

I’m not sure I fully understood the novella and its use of the fantastical elements: I interpreted the rising of the shadows as a way to represent depression and the loss of control one feels in late stage capitalism, but sometimes I felt the narrative disputed this kind of reading. I also have to say I wasn’t a big fan of the dialogues, which felt meandering and were a series of repetitions ad nauseam.

I found the novella to be very quiet: the few characters in it feel like the only living beings in über populated Seoul, incapsulated in their own world, which is very fitting with the theme of the novel. It suggests a hint of loneliness but at the same time of closeness towards the community they have created in the business venture they all work in.

Despite this I didn’t find the characters particularly compelling, but I appreciated the hopeful tone the text suggests.

While it might not have worked that much for me, the book still has merits, and I do think it’s still worth reading! Also it’s a very short read, and you breeze through it while still getting its impactful punch.

Access to the ARC acquired thanks to NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I decided to read this book because the premise sounded interesting. It's a short book and it's easy to read, although I didn't like how it was narrated since it seemed childish, especially regarding some dialogs, and for me it lacked profundity. I also felt like the author tried too much to seem unique in the writing, but this could be that I don't have all the context of Korean society.

Maybe it could've been better to have some footnotes providing context since it seems like it was primarily a social critique, but the book doesn't really offer much information about it with a few exceptions, and that is also quite short.

The concept of the shadows rising seemed intriguing at first, but then I felt like they didn't had much importance at the end, I think that could've been explored more in the narrative.

At the end I finished the book not really knowing what I read and ended disappointed. But maybe if you know about Korean culture and its society you'll find this book more enjoyable than I did.

A small book with a powerful impact.

One Hundred Shadows follows two young people, Eungyo and Mujae, who work in an electronics market slated for demolition in a socioeconomically disadvantaged part of a South Korean city.

The narrative is constantly shifting, from portrayal of the realities of life for the working poor, becoming fairytale-like at times with elements of magical realism, and moments of lyricism. There are little stories told of the people who have spent their lives making the market their home and a part of their personal and family history interspersed throughout, highlighting the humanity that hasn't been considered by those in political and economic power.

"I wonder if they call this kind of place a slum, because if you called it someone's home or their livelihood that would make things awkward when it comes to tearing it down."

In the two protagonists, Hwang Jungeun powerfully portrays the feelings of despondency and futility (Mujae) and anxiety and fear (Eungyo) that come with constantly living with the looming threat of economic insecurity and having one's place in the world disrupted and taken away, whilst being powerless to resist the forces causing it.

The ending was perfect. I'll be thinking about this story for a long time to come.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of One Hundred Shadows in exchange for an honest review.

This is a short yet thoughtful and lyrical novel that deals with the topics of class, poverty, and gentrification.
Eungyo and Mujae's relationship develops as the shadows of the people at the electronics market they work at start behaving strangely.
While the story is relatively simple, it's very poetic, and provides an atmosphere that is captivating and eerie, walking the line between literary and magical realism. This drew me in from the onset and I enjoyed learning more about these characters who have been excluded from the capitalist success of the society that surrounds them.

This novel does not include quotation marks which, though they didn't affect my enjoyment, may be an issue for some.

Although I do wish it had been a little longer and had explored some of its themes a little further, I found this to be a really enjoyable and pleasant read.

The plot was interesting, but it felt more like a journal than a story. Not much happened and the characters were unlikable.

I really did enjoy the concept of this story.

I feel that this story may require some grammar corrections, it kinda feels like it was translated.

Besides no punctuation, I really did enjoy the story and the concept and the story.

One Hundred Shadows follows Mujae and Eungyo, two young people who work at different stores in a cramped electronic market. They soon find they have much in common, including the issue of their rising shadows. As their friendship blossoms, the market around them is being swiftly dismantled due to the effects of gentrification.

It is a slow, sparse, sad, strange, philosophical book, but rather than being morose, I found it to be quite a comforting read, with characters who show genuine care for each other and who remain hopeful despite their bleak situation. There are many tender moments, especially involving the sharing of food.

I had a few moments of confusion while reading, particularly due to the dialogue having no punctuation (and there was a lot of dialogue), so it was difficult to follow at first, however it only took a few pages to pick up the cadence of the text.

This is a short but powerful book, a wonderful blend of magical realism and real issues regarding poverty and place. It takes a skilled writer to say so much yet so little.

As the shadows of those of those working at an electronics market start to behave oddly, Eungyo and Mujae become friends. Everyone seems to know that following their shadows leads to no good, but no one can seem to resist them.

The lyricalness of the writing in the story was phenomenal, even the shortest descriptions evoked strong images and feelings. Hang Jungeun expertly explores themes including class, poverty, homelessness, and urbanisation. This was a short but extremely thoughtful read.

3.75/5

I understand why some people enjoy this book versus why others didn't. Hwang Jungeun's One Hundred Shadows looks at life in Korea in the midst of major cultural changes, rezoning and redevelopment. The main characters start to see their shadows, an ominous portent of future events, and each deals with the realities of a society in with they feel forgotten and marginalized. While some of the themes are international, the magical realism aspects do get a little lost in translation (literally), and can leave the reader trying to go back to make sure they understand what is going on in the tale.

I didn’t have any knowledge of the Yongsan disaster historical event while reading this, so it felt a bit abstract and confusing without that context. Still, the communicates very effectively a deep sadness and sense of loss.

This short novel took me to the realms of a shadow land yet also into a fairy tale.
the language is sublime.
the characters Eungyo and Mujae are dealing with their shadows in the real world as if they carry them physically.
I tend to understand the shadows as an allegory to the shadows that we all carry with us every day during our entire lives. depression, oppression, our dark side.
I like the style, it is minimalistic, and yet the details were enough to feel the atmosphere.
I wish the story was longer, the characters are so interesting with their ability to accept life as it is.
I marked the following phrase because for me it feels so much like a part of telling a short story with a longer story to think about.:
Because the neck is the part of the body where all our exhaustion gathers like a lead weight dragging it down. So that’s why I thought it must taste like lead.

I read the book twice, so much food for thought.
wonderful work of art.
Batia

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

This was a weird one. I liked the writing style, and some elements that were introduced were interesting, but then it just moves on. There's not much of a plot. But the descriptions are nicely written. It felt quirky, and more like it was written in metaphors rather than being fantasy. I would have preferred either going more in depth with the shadows and such or just being a bit shorter.

This book was so weird and bleak but also hard to put down! I haven't read anything else by Hwang Jungeun but I plan to now. This is the story of two young people, Eungyo and Mujae, and their maybe budding romance set in the backdrop of a soon-to-be-demolished electronics market. Seoul has a lot of areas like this, so it's not hard to picture. I like the way the story kind of meanders from scene to scene,

I was confused in the first chapter but I ended up really liking the imagery of the rising shadows.

I don't know why but I'm having a difficult time putting my thoughts into words for this book, so I will just say it's worth reading and I really liked it.

I have yet to recover after reading this book, for I wasn’t ready for this writer.

Unlike my usual self, I jumped into requesting a copy of the story based on the title and summary. Then, there was also my desire to explore a bit more of the Korean works. Just for context, I’m always keen on reading more works by Asian writers, regardless of them being translated or not. I find their perspectives and voices rather unique and usually quite deep, which I like quite a lot.

Now, in terms of this one, I enjoyed the writing, overall, although the lack of dialogue markings drove me up the wall. For this reason, most of the book turned out rather confusing and it also exhausted me emotionally. What was supposed to be a quick read, something to finish in about a week, spanned over a few weeks instead.

The cover didn’t particularly draw me in, but in terms of design, the choice wasn’t bad. The title stands out.

As far as the plot is concerned, I think I expected a bit more. I don’t know if I missed the fantastic elements or they were just too subtle, but I found myself a little disappointed. I wished the shadows and how they took over the people was explained in a bit more detail. The ending, however, was very nice—mostly the kind I appreciate usually.

The characters were interesting, Eungyo and Mujae, the main faces of the novel, were quick to garner my attention through their philosophical conversations. I think if you’re a fan of Parasite (the movie), you might actually enjoy this one a lot. For me, it had similar vibes. The problem is… that movie really wasn’t for me. I could also say the same about this story, to some extent.

I’m still torn and unsure of how to rate the story overall, so I’m mostly deducting points for the repetitions and lack of clear indications for the dialogue. Anyway, if I were to describe this book in two words, it would be mind boggling.

Finally, thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for granting me an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Creo que es todo un acierto abrir nuestros horizontes lectores a obras de culturas distinta a la nuestra, porque es un proceso enriquecedor y sorprendente. Por eso, cuando vi que se publicaría One Hundred Shadows de Hwang Jungeun con traducción de Jung Yewon, pensé que sería una buena oportunidad para leer algo de origen surcoreano. Es una lástima que el resultado no me haya convencido, quizá por que esperaba algo más fantástico cuando se empiezan a hacer referencias sobre sombras que se levantan y me acabé encontrando una obra de denuncia social, un tema candente y necesario, pero no lo que esperaba.


One Hundred Shadows es una novela corta slice of life, que nos va narrando en cada capítulo diferentes momentos de la vida de Eungyo y Mujae, mientras la comunidad en la que viven se ve desmembrada por los intereses capitalistas globales. Se trata de una lectura fragmentada y la pátina de fantasía que podría haber dado cohesión a la historia se queda sólo en eso, en un pequeño barniz sobrenatural que en ningún momento llega ni a explicarse, aunque esto no fuera imprescindible, ni a afectar de manera significativa las vidas de los personajes y eso sí creo que sería importante.

Buscando información sobre la obra, veo que la fuente de inspiración para Hwang Jungeun fueron unos incidentes acontecidos en 2009 en Yongsan, relacionados con la demolición de unos edificios, con cargas policiales y numerosas víctimas. Esto se ve reflejado en la novela, pero creo que es un suceso bastante local como para captar la referencias, aunque sí que es un síntoma global de la gentrificación de los barrios, algo que sucede en todas partes.

La prosa es muy atractiva, pero como el contenido se diluye tanto o yo no he sido capaz de seguir la intención del autor, la verdad es que la lectura me dejó muy fría. La atmósfera de soledad y de inevitabilidad que pende sobre todo el libro está muy conseguida, pero mucho me temo que yo no lo he leído en un momento vital en el que me hubiera podido llenar más.

3.5*
This was a very atmospheric read. Set in Seoul in a big electronics market that is supposed to be demolished to make room for new buildings and parks, we follow Eungyo and Mujae, who are working there and try to navigate their life and their budding relationship.
The atmosphere that was created was eerie and very captivating. While it is a short novel it manages to convey a lot of interesting points.
I was very thankful for the introduction and do recommend to read up on the 2009 Yongsan tragedy to which the story alludes, because it made me read the book from a very different perspective.