It wasn't bad and I thought the concept of shadows rising was very interesting. Of course they were a metaphor for a poor mental state, but I might have enjoyed it better if that aspect was explored more. Overall I was just very bored.

I also couldn't tell for quite some time how old the characters were because the narration felt childish.

I loved the weird speculative premise of this novel: a world where shadows can detach and lead humans astray. But the novel didn't really deliver on that premise, which is maybe as much a failing of the summary and descriptions as the novel itself. Perhaps I would've been less disappointed at how little the shadows actually affected anything in the story if I hadn't expected them to. I also think digging more into what was going on with the shadows could've heightened the political / socio-economic commentary. As it was, I felt like I was dragging myself through the story more than enjoying it which is such a sad thing to say.

In the aftermath of the 2009 Yongsan Disaster, a Seoul slum marked for demolition witnesses the inexplicable rise of residents' shadows. Electronics-repair-shop duo Eungyo and Mujae, amidst the crumbling landscape, can only watch as their community dissolves, shadow by shadow. The novel dances with understated yet emotional magical realism, exploring futility in a capitalist society. Against the uncaring ruling class and the enigmatic shadows, Eungyo and Mujae find solace in their growing connection, but it may not be enough to fend off the impending shadowscape.

Pros:
🌟 Five stars for this enchanting novella! Lovely prose that's practically magic.

😍 Love the metaphor of the shadows – it's like a poetic language spoken by the characters themselves, leaving you in awe.

📚 Unique format and story – it's as refreshing as a splash of cold water on a hot summer day, with a narrative that dares to step into the shadows of unconventional storytelling.

Cons:
🤷 Honestly, there's no downside to this mesmerizing tale. It's like trying to find a flaw in a moonlit night – you just get lost in the beauty.

Disclaimer: A massive shoutout to NetGalley and the magical wizards at Kensington Books for the bewitching eARC. All opinions are as uniquely mine as the dance moves of the shadows in this captivating novella. 🌌📚

A very solid unique story line. I read this in one setting. So interesting. I look forward to more by this author.

One Hundred Shadows follows Eungyo and Munjae, both working at electronic shops in a poor area of Seoul. The book touches on capitalism, social inequality, the struggles of growing up and living in poverty, mental health, and the importance of companionship in times of hardship. The slow pace in no way makes this an uninteresting book, in the contrary: it makes for a unique experience of reflection, longing, and authenticity that I hadn’t experienced in a really long time.

Although I can see this book could not be for everyone, I absolutely adored it and read it in one sitting. The dialogues that seem so random and irrelevant at the surface, upon deeper thought reveal something deeper about the characters and their world view, which helps us understand what is going on with their shadow. The prose was lyrical and full of symbolisms that nudge the reader into a state of reflection and wonder.

This is one of those books that will stick with me for a long time and I am so amazed at how simple yet impactful it was.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One Hundred Shadows is a short story that comments on the way individuals struggle within a society that prioritises economic development over the working class. The shadows act as a natural way of making poor mental health tangible, and a vehicle for delivering the message of how our interactions with others can affect how they carry themselves through these darker times.

It was an atmospheric read, with the drudgery of living in such a society very well communicated. However, it was very hit and miss with the way some of the ideas were proposed. While some were easy to follow, other anecdotes or patterns of conversation were a lot more difficult to connect to the main storyline. Especially with the way the narrative was written, emphasising the disconnect between the characters and their identity/sense of purpose, it was difficult to be emotionally engaged in the story and so these more abstract concepts needed to be read a couple times over. Despite the heavier subject matter, there was still a small, hopeful tone throughout to highlight that building strong support networks and actively being in the community helps relieve the burden.

Overall, I think it carried out its purpose in condemning gentrification and bringing awareness to the unaddressed high rates of mental illness in South Korea, but for me fell short in creating a lasting emotional impact.

Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

It was a quick, trippy read. A surreal and lyrical fairytale of poverty, gentrification, and erasure.

In a city haunted by creeping shadows, the true horror are the injustices to those stricken with poverty.

Shadows begin to wander from residents of a slum set to be demolished. As the community braces for impact, they cling to each other, fearing both the shadows that tempt them to follow, and the uncertainty of their future.

It’s very clear that the shadows are an allegory for grief and depression. The protagonists Eungyo and Mujae navigate their sad circumstances with these dark feelings around every corner. The ending, although ambiguous, hints at choosing companionship and community, and in taking life one step at a time. I find this book works better as a reflective piece over a thriller novel. Nonetheless, it had a charm to its atmosphere, and a hopeful heartwarming message.

This book contains heavy topics, so read with caution. I’m glad I got to read more about the importance of showing humanity in times stricken with poverty and unjust circumstances. I hope books like this help open doors to educate us on the reality of modern slums and what their residents face.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

A short novella exploring the life of an electronics repairer as her life seemingly crumbles around her.

The story meanders through numerous different scenarios, using each to explore a 'meaing of life' style concept. Some are stronger than others, whilst some don't work so well: the dicussion on hair whorls, for example, seems inane. The ruminations of the demolition of old, established buildings and their rusted-on communities are where the novella works best.

There is a horror element running throughout the story, as character's shadows 'rise up' to threaten them as they reach their low points, but I thought that this could been stronger: the shadows kinda stand around being ominous without doing much apart from being a metaphhor.

Some moments of listing items and minutiae that doesn't really serve a purpose, e.g. there's one long paragraph just describing junk in a drawer.

I thought the translation was strong, better than many other translated works I've read.

This is my first dive into Korean literature. This story was very bleak. I resonated with growing up in ahorbent communities. This story was rich is imagery and symbolism.

one hundred shadows is set in the slums of Seoul. the two characters this focuses on, eungyo and munjae, are trying to find their way through a world in which dire social situations are echoed in their environment. the buildings they work in are supposed to be demolished, the marginalisation of the poor greatly influencing their lives. the budding friendship (maybe even romance?) between these two characters felt real in a way I was unprepared for but greatly enjoyed.

throughout the book, the reader encounters people's shadows rising - my interpretation here being that the shadow rises once a person "collapses," similarly to their neighbourhood, meaning they ultimately give in to their fear. while this is cleverly integrated into the story, I sometimes struggled with small parts, such as the discussion of the word "whorl" (had to look the meaning of that up).

Overall, this is a clever and atmospheric read that I would recommend to anyone fascinated with Korean literature!

I requested to read this book on Netgalley because I was intrigued by the description and the book cover. When I started reading it, I was truly captivated by the surrealism- or should I say the atmosphere of the book, whereas the dialogue between the main characters Eungyo and Mujae were very much present, the concept of human shadows rising and Mr. Yeo's account of his own experiences, made me pause to connect the dots and given the backstory of what inspired the writing of this book, the pain of mistreatment of the poor, classism and importance of housing and communities in S. Korea stood out. I know readers would draw different insights to this book, because it is not just a simple read. There are layers to the characters and when the demolitions take place, there are even layers to the activities thereafter and somehow the plot felt more like a constant hum/flow.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

One Hundred Shadows is a wistful little novella that voices the dilemmas and experiences of the working class. It gives the feeling that all the stories and lives around us will eventually fade around us.

This is a world where shadows have the ability to rise up and act on their own accord sometimes. It gives a sinister vibe to the story but at the same time, it's a story of everyday workers whose lives are being upended by corporations and gentrification.

Eungyo works in a cramped electronics market that sprawls five buildings. A community has been built amongst those living and working here which is threatened when the buildings are marked for destruction, possibly being replaced by parks and such forcing workers to be displaced. Eungyo tries to navigate her life, working in her shop that may be shut down, finding beauty in little things, and trying to maintain a relationship with another worker Mujae all while being aware that their shadows are rising.

It's inspired by the Yongsan disaster where police and hired guards attacked protesting displaced tenants of a building marked for redevelopment and the resulting blaze killed and injured many. It's one of the many signs of Korea's rapid development even at the cost of the laboring class.

Many of the vignettes are steeped in Korean culture and superstitions. The working class perspective is rooted in reality with their hopes and dreams but also the melancholic feeling of being stuck while being afraid of change.

I don't know if it's the fault of the translator or if the writing is that way but the dialogue sometimes felt stilted and lazy. The writing could also use some editing with the grammar and syntax, and writers these days doing away with quotation marks is something I will never understand. And that is why I had to take off a star for my rating

Eungyo and Mujae live in a poor area of town, with buildings being demolished one after the other. Then there’s their shadows, which seem to want to escape from them all the time, and there’s lots of talk of not following your shadow once it does. It’s all very metaphorical, but my interpretation is that the shadows are their vices, mental health problems, dark thoughts, bad habits-that sort of thing, but I’m not entirely sure.

It’s very much a slice of life story which I find hard to get into. There’s not much plot, nothing is really moving the story forward. The prose is nice and it’s a lovely little slice but I found myself a bit bored unfortunately. I did really enjoy Eungyo’s relationship with Mr. Yeo and his little shop, that was my favourite part of the book

It’s very easy to read but it’s a style of writing that somehow keeps me at arms bay, that doesn’t draw me in and allows me to feel like I’m part of the story. I very much feel like an outside observer, and I think that’s why it doesn’t work for me. I think at the end of the day it’s just not my type of book, and nothing necessarily wrong with the book itself.

This book was spectacularly beautiful and unnerving. One Hundred Shadows is the story of the main character Eungyo and her best friend Majue whom have a budding romance with each other and their whole existence are being ripped from them by urban restructuring and the phenomena of individuals "shadows rising". This was a profound look into classism, displacement, mental health and finding one's way through the fog and darkness of life.
This was so gorgeously written, with such amazing world and character building that the reader becomes fully immersed into Eungyo world and her heart. Wonderful! Highly recommend.

This book has an interesting premise having to do with shadows rising and luring their owners, residents and workers in a Seoul slum, to chase them away from themselves, in a poetic exposition on capitalism (or so the book description says).

As someone who is drawn more to plot than writing, more to realistic and historical fiction than magical realism, this book wasn’t for me. The scenes are vivid but mundane and meandering and I find the writing style arty and distracting. There are no quotation marks and the story is written in first person with dialogue coming and going making it read like a stream of consciousness.

The sky looks amazing, Mujae sighed.
It really does.
Whenever I see this kind of scene, I always end up thinking that humans are truly strange creatures.
Strange?
They’re needlessly loud and always in a rush, and violent too, in many ways.

Originally published in 2010, a new edition is coming out in July 2024 featuring an introduction by Han Kang, a historical note about the Yongsan tragedy that inspired One Hundred Shadows, and an exclusive interview with the author. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this advanced reader copy.

I really liked this novella. The atmosphere was quite dreamlike and this is was I enjoyed the most. Some parts of the plot, when the shadows are at the core of it, were truly interesting. The only thing I did not particularly like is the main guy and his controlling behavior towards the girl. Also, the attempt at building a romance did not appeal to me very much.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Very vague, very slow going, very dreamy. Almost reads like a fever dream. The themes portrayed of how the poor are treated was nicely done, and the use of the shadows was creative.

One Hundred Shadows was truly an amazing piece of literature that is a social commentary on how the poor are treated. And while the author and the story are inspired by events in S. Korea anyone who's been poor can relate to this. And I have to admit that the thing I found most relatable here was how the Shadows are a metaphor for just how tiring it is to be poor. I genuinely don't even know why, I just felt that in my very soul and I appreciate the author being able to voice something I've never been able to voice. And as a person who literally was in the same situation with my own husband at the end of the book, car breaks down after trying to do something normal like going on a date, I appreciated that sentiment even more. I don't think people really realize how hard it is to actually even begin a relationship when both of you have no money. Something like taking a small trip to get dinner can become a literal bill.

Now, in terms of the translation and for those considering this to be your first Korean read, as I've seen a few complaints on that level. Honestly I don't see any issues there as well. Very little actual Korean words are used, there are some cultural things that may not make sense to Western Readers but they are few and far between and do not detract from the story.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this short read that has such an important commentary on something that effects people internationally. Koreans are certainly not the only people on the planet who have read an article or watched a story on the news and found out that other people, including your own government considers the place you call home a "slum".

A short book but with lots of thought put into it. I feel like this is a genre - slow paced, a bit dreamy - South Korean authors excel at The translator did a good job.