I love short stories, so any collection is game. This one, however, just never connected. I read the first story (twice, because I had forgotten it) and then the second...and they both just fell flat. A good short story leads you to some place unexpected, some new revelation, it leaves you different than you started. Neither of these stories did that, and I just couldn't stand the thought of reading more like that. I'm not sure what Yoon was trying to accomplish, but I got nothing from him.

A haunting collection of short stories that capture the mysteries of human history. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

Struggled with this book, found it challenging to get in to and did not finish

These are quietly beautiful stories – haunting, contemplative, meditative. There are no easy answers or resolutions to these six long stories, and that’s where, for me, the haunting beauty lies. Set across several times and places, the characters seem to drift through their worlds, shaped by traumatic pasts, sometimes wounded by them to the point of no redemption, sometimes trying to escape that wounding, and sometimes, not always succeeding.

The first story, ‘A Willow and the Moon’ is a melodic, yet stirring story of the narrator’s mother, a morphine-addicted nurse in World War One France. The story is both elegy and puzzle, the portrait of an unhappy marriage, and yet points to something far darker and deeper in the mother at the heart of the story.

Meanwhile, ‘Galicia’ is the strange story of Antje, married to a hotel owner in San Sebastian, who dreams and escapes her reality in strange ways. While not an unhappy marriage, the couple seem to glide past each other, slipping past any deep connection. Yoon’s writing is poetic as he describes them: “She thought of the day she opened the hotel room door to find Mathis sitting on the edge of the bed. The bowl of seashells. His solitude. How it made her feel like someone else. How she knew in that moment that what was broken had already existed long before they had met. How it was still with her now, here.”

Excellent too is the title story, ‘The Mountain’ in which a young Korean woman emigrates to Shanghai from Korea, working in a sweat shop, trying to make sense of life, her life and the general mess that carries on around her and on her TV set.

Beautiful, fluid, melancholy short stories from Paul Yoon. Every single one is tragic and emotional on its own and combined this reads like a beautiful song.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was thrilled to receive a complimentary copy of The Mountain, because I loved Paul Yoon's novella Snow Hunters so much. Words I used to describe Yoon's writing then hold true to this collection of short stories: quiet, gentle, exquisite. Yoon has a way of packing so much into his sparse prose! This is the kind of writing that makes you feel like you're holding your breath so you can listen more closely. There were spots that moved a little too slowly for my taste, but overall this collection satisfied my need for a book I could relax into and simply enjoy.

I have long wanted to try Paul Yoon based on glowing reviews from Jason R., and I'm so glad I finally got the chance! These stories aren't linked by time period or characters, but they have a lot in common. They all seem to be following a major war or conflict, where the characters are displaced, have experienced loss, or are regathering their lives. They seem to follow life where it goes with the options that are presented, not out of desperation but almost in a way that feels like they are people who have grown accustomed to not having options, of taking what is given, of surviving. They move in and out of situations and relationships, almost a floating feeling, absorbing consequences as they come. The writing, of course, is beautiful. I feel like reading them again.

Short story collections are a bit hit or miss for me always, so I liked some and didn't like all of them.

These short stories are beautifully written - prose that is almost poetic. The stories all carry an almost tangible scent of sadness, grief, and longing.

Not a 'feel-good' book by any means, but one that provokes thoughtfulness. The sensitivity of the writing makes this book well worth reading.

"The Mountain" by Paul Yoon wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it! The author truly has a gift for writing compelling stories. I would definitely read another one of his books in the future.

When I requested The Mountain, by Paul Yoon, from NetGalley, I admit I did not realize it was a collection of short stories. This format has always been a challenge for me. I have a hard time with the brevity of the tale, and often feel that the characters are not developed enough for me to be engaged. But I was pleasantly surprised by this book. With an economy of words, the author quickly sets a tone for each story and makes the reader care about each character. The result is a group of stories that will haunt your dreams, and perhaps cause some nightmares, too.

What I Liked:
Stories Connection:

According to the books description, each story is somehow associated to another in the collection. Sometimes the connection is obvious, but most of the time, I had to really think about what one story attached to another. It was a fun challenge to figure this out.

Writing:

I thought the writing of the book to be beautiful in it's prose. Paul Yoon was able to quickly create circumstances where these characters existed and searched for meaning and connection. Many of the settings are times and places that are dealing with the aftermath of war. As displaced people try to reestablish their lives, they seem to grasp at any memory they may have to latch on to a moment when they felt safe and happy.

What I Was Mixed About:
Characters:

Many of the characters in each story are wanderers who seem let random circumstances carry them from one situation to another. They seemed adrift in the world, without the usual ties of family, friends, community, or careers. This passivity was hard for me to accept. Don't most people have some intent each day, if for nothing else than to eat and find shelter for the night's rest? They all seemed to be searching for purpose, which was probably the point. But I found it hard to believe that people could be so random in major life choices.

What I Didn't Like:
Lack Of Resolution:

I still have problems with the short story format. While these stories were beautifully written, they were snapshots into the lives of these people. Not much was resolved. Since the author was able to create such vivid characters, I found this to be frustrating. I cared about the people in each story and wanted to see how things would be resolved. The result is that these stories are beautiful, but rather bleak.

This was one of the best anthologies of short stories I have ever read! The prose was beautiful and fluid and the transition into each story was seamless.

All six stories are tied together through the beautifully described landscapes, even though they range from the Hudson Valley, to Russia and places far and wide. The author is very skilled at pulling you in with the imagery used throughout the book. It's well crafted and not overly done.

They all take place after the end of WWII up to modern times again uniting the stories in different ways. Even the characters, unite each story in small ways that takes this anthology to new levels. The characters are very relatable and beautifully crafted. Each on distinctly different, but also united in small ways. Whether the characters are united by previous employment, ethnicity, or the challenges they are left to face it is done smoothly and ties each story to another in various ways keeping it interesting.

I cannot wait to read more by this extremely talented author!! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC for a fair and honest review.

When I started reading this, I realized that I really should no longer say that I don't read short stories very often. This is the fifth collection of stories I have read this year. I also almost always say that I have a hard time with short stories because I want more of the story. That may still be the case because it seems to be the impact of the collections as a whole and the connections between the stories rather than any individual story that take hold of me . This was the case here. They were different, yet alike in so many ways. An underlying sadness, an emptiness, an inability to make sense of the things that happened in their past, a focus on their present but yet with a longing to move forward . It's a thin thread from moments of joy in their past before war, before horrifying losses of limbs, of lives, before traumatic events that mark the journeys of these characters. I felt like I had to stop in between each to relieve the tension I felt .

Paul Yoon takes us to America, France, Spain, Russia, Shanghai . The prose is as beautiful as I found in Snow Hunters, sparse, not flowery but full of description and meaning, conveying to us what addiction is like, what desperation of hunger is like, what it means to be alone, what it means to be a broken soul trying to heal. Even if you don't regularly read short stories (like I didn't), I recommend this collection that will certainly touch a nerve and most likely your heart.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Simon and Schuster through NetGalley.

Nice short story collection. I enjoyed it. I like how he uses words sparingly and still delivers impact.

I'm so happy I had the chance to read Paul Yoon's The Mountain. I will definitely be looking for his other works. He writes so eloquently, prose that is tragic, and stark. These short stories are of loneliness, tragedy, displacement, in various parts of the world. There is not much happiness in these stories, and they made my heart ache, but it was with a gentleness of writing that I knew the author had empathy. Tremendous stories, tremendous author! Thank you to Simon and Shuster for a copy via NetGalley for this yet to be released book.

My view

Paul Yoon's short stories are so beautiful. I couldn't possibly give his unique talent proper credit.

I went out and purchased his two previous short story books, I so not wanted " THE MOUNTAIN " to end.

Here is a review which describes my feelings;

"So persuasive are Yoon's powers of invention that I went searching for his Solla Island somewhere off the mainland of South Korea—not realizing that it exists only in this breathtaking collection of eight interlinked stories...Yoon's writing results in a fully formed, deftly executed debut. The lost lives, while heartbreaking, prove illuminating in Yoon's made-up world, so convincing and real. To read is truly to believe."—San Francisco Chronicle

Thank you NetGalley for this exceptional ARC.

Almost two years ago, I read Paul Yoon’s novel “Snow Hunters”, a beautiful story with spare prose and lovely, ethereal setting. This collection of short stories in his “The Mountain: Stories” Six heartbreaking, lovely stories about fragile, lonely, abandoned people trying to find their way through this life.

This short story collection is linked by the pain and suffering endured, across continents, across different eras, each involving some traumatic event, traumatic pasts. Uprooted lives lived without a place to call home, each person on a quest for the peace they believed in their hearts they were worthy of, and could hope to attain.

“A Willow and the Moon” – Having grown up in a sanitarium in Hudson Valley, a woman relays the story of her years lived there, her father’s abandonment, and a secret just shy of being taken into the grave. Set in New York and England. This was my favourite of this collection. 5 stars

“Still a Fire” – a post WWII story of the years 1947-48, a man, Mikel, and a woman, Karine, his nurse, and their individual battles to live to tell their tales. This takes a decidedly war-time look at pain and suffering, and includes some battles with addiction. Set in France. 4 stars

“Galicia” – Antje, a loving and faithful wife, meets Félix, a stranger, at a train station. Though she loves her husband, she follows this man Félix, as though under a spell, unable to bring herself to change her course of action. Set in Spain. 3 stars

“Vladivostok Station” – On his way home Misha sees someone he used to know, and reconnects with this old childhood friend and his father. 4 stars

“The Mountain” – a twenty-six year-old woman in South Korea, Faye, homeless, sitting at a bus stop, is approached about a job by a young, handsome, well-dressed man. He gives her the details of a ferryboat, the time, the pier number, the day and the time. He speaks to her in Mandarin, saying “Come back home.” 4 Stars

“Milner Field” – a soon-to-be-divorcee, his daughter, his father, and a story the father shares with his son, one he’s never shared before. A journey, a quest, soon follows to connect with this family of his father’s childhood. Set in New York and England, in the present. 5 stars

Yoon’s gift is that he can turn these sad stories, each involving some heartbreaking, tragedy-filled moments, and weave them quietly into lovely, poetic, breathtakingly austere works of art, paced to perfection, each deliberately chosen word, space, pause speaks volumes about tragedy and its role in this shared human experience we call life. Our hearts breaking over and over, daily it seems anymore, each act of violence, all the suffering in every corner of the world, and yet we still hold fast to our dreams, to hope.

”When the silence isn't quiet
And it feels like it's getting hard to breathe
And I know you feel like dying
But I promise we'll take the world to its feet
And move mountains
We'll take it to its feet
And move mountains”

Rise Up, Andra Day - Written by Cassandra Monique Batie, Jennifer Decilveo



Pub Date: 15 Aug 2017


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Simon and Schuster

“The passage connecting the wings of the hospital had long ago collapsed, so we signaled each other with candles, this brief joy at catching the blurred, lit shapes of other people’s faces over the rubble.”

This collection of stories is like sorrowful stones you will carry in your gut. It is beautiful and tragic and every rotten and fresh emotion lurking between. Different countries, after World War II, in a sanatorium high up in the mountains, at inns or train stations, each of the characters are stooped with grief. A woman working factories with nothing, with only coins and a tight small space to sleep, remembering the care she gave her dying father. Thankful for that small solitary space, when used to sharing cramped quarters with strangers. Too many hands on her, comfort in her father’s knife tight in her grip. Remembering the river she swam in, a lurking danger, a chemical plant, finding it again long after her youth. Violence, empty hands, wounds- these are not lives of privilege.

In Milner Field an immigrant father shares a sad, terrible story from his past that drives his son to try and find the missing friend from long ago. In Still A Fire, Mikel sifts through rubble that was once city blocks and wonders “What wouldn’t he do?” There is so much hunger in the tales, emotional and physical. The characters are all from many walks of life, similar in not just their suffering but their longing. I walked away thinking about how each of our lives are like solitary planets, some violent, some cold and empty, others bursting with life, filled with love. People wake each morning, some with everything arranged as it’s always been others with everything that anchored them obliterated. In this wide world of ours, so many lives a spinning fury, alien realities we will never know. How the heart breaks with all the suffering and yet how it clings to hope.

Riveting.

Publication Date: August 15, 2017

Simon & Schuster

Surreal and beautiful.

At the end of each tale I felt as if a hole inside of me had been filled. A hole that I had no idea was there waiting to be filled. Like spackle on aging drywall.

How did I get so full of holes and not notice any of the empty space?

Each story contained within this collection has the merit to stand out on it's own. Any one of the stories could have been expanded upon into a novel or novella, but Yoon excels at knowing when to stop telling the story. As such none of the stories feel cut off or too short, a fate many short story collections suffer with.

Paul Yoon is a writer of immense talent--at the sentence level, his langauge is crisp and surprising; his characters intriguingly messy and his plots spare but engaging. These are wonderful stories.