I couldn't finish this book. It was too confusing. I really had high hopes for this book but sadly it was too mixed up. It started off interesting. However, there were no hints as to when she was talking about mythology or real life and I eventually had to give up at about 38%. Maybe this book isn't for me

This is a complicated tale of family mental illness with some pretty scary Korean folk tales interspersed as the main character comes to terms with generational trauma etc. I feel like I may not be smart enough to understand all this book has to offer- but still loved it.

Folklorn started off strong, with smart use of lyrical language, unpacking the generational trauma of the main character Elsa. The language at the very end was beautiful as well. However, this writing style was inconsistent throughout the entirety of the novel. There was the narrative, injections of myth, and it randomly includes epistolary format. There were also parts that dragged.
if the consistency was there, as well as more clear formatting in terms of switches to myth or letters/emails, I think my enjoyment and intrigue would have gone up.

Folklorn was a challenging read for me. The pacing was too slow for me, and it meant that I would put it down and then take a little while to return to it. However, the writing itself was beautiful and the story that was being told was one that had so much depth that once I was able to get into it, I could almost forget the pacing. This book deals with a lot of issues, from personal to more wide-ranging, and the emotional depth of this book which looks at grief, and family amongst so many other things is breath-taking. I was not completely sold on the magical realism aspect, and it felt a little like it muddied the waters in place, however, I did enjoy the exploration of Korean folktales and how they were woven into the characters' stories.

It's probably a good book, but I didn't manage to enjoy it, due to its slow pacing and some triggering content related to abuse. I did enjoy the writing style and the use of folktales, culture and myths, though.

I decided to not finish this book right now because I've seen reviews that this book contains stillbirth. I have heard great things and will pick it up again when I have the capacity.

Folklorn is such a personal book that it is difficult to read but necessary.
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In this mixture of personal stories with the magical realism of Korean folklore, the story of Elsa and her family flows like that of many immigrants who try to find their place in a new country while still feeling belonging to a place they no longer feel like own.
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The connection with her mother is so strong even at times when they seem to misunderstand each other. I can think of so many people who can come to love this book that I will not tire of recommending it.
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War wounds and shelters are mixed with prejudice, obligations of being first generation and fear, in a new culture. It is a very nice book although slow at first, it is totally worth reading.
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Thanks to Erewhon Books and Netgalley for give me this beautiful book in exchange for my honest opinion

I often love books that include an element of magical realism. Although I am fairly down-to-earth in real-life, I love when an element of the otherworldly changes the life and circumstances of characters in a book that I am enjoying.

Unfortunately, it didn’t completely work for me in Folklorn. In a huge simplification, this story is about a Korean-American woman who begins to learn more about herself and her own past through Korean folktales told by her mother.

There are a number of good things about this book; I loved the writing, which was lyrical and wonderful to read, and I loved the other characters that surrounded the main character and how they interacted with her in her various mental states.

However, as sometimes happens for me in books where the main character finds themselves having difficulty separating reality from fantasy, I found myself confused as well. I had trouble understanding which events were actually occurring for the main character, which were simply visions, which were memories, which were in real time, etc. And for me, that type of dislocation within a book’s plot seldom leads me to enjoy the book as a whole. And that was where this book did not work for me. However, if you are a person who is more comfortable with less linear and/or defined storytelling, I would recommend this book for its interesting story and lovely writing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advanced reading copy.

Taking from Korean folklore and intergenerational trauma, Folklorn is a beautiful work of hardship, mental illness and pain, mixed with the longing to understand who we are and where we come from, to give a second chance to a family that, despite a bit broken, is still filled with love. This was a story of culture, family and keeping us alive within where we come from and where we want to be. As I am not an immigrant myself, I cannot speak for the impact that this will have, however I can say it has meant something. It helped me understand that these types of stories need to be told, that people will be able to identify with them and make peace with living in between two cultures. It was a slow-paced book, where you are stuck in a quest of a lifetime, a quest of generations, a story of family and countries, enveloped in magic and metaphors. Angela Mi Young Hur brings a fantastical contemporary story to life and answers the question: can we find ourselves in each other? Yes. We can.

Folklorn is not the book I expected it to be. It is really a contemporary story with some pretty heavy topics. Elsa is a complex character dealing with complex family dynamics and ancestral history. She is a female Korean particle physicist doing her post-doc in Sweden. That alone would make for a complicated storyline. She is also revisiting family and generational trauma which adds a mythical layer to the story. As an experimentalist physicist, Elsa can only rule out possibilities, not prove what is true. Does she have mental illness or spirit sickness?
There are lots of metaphors in here, and a lot of them are over my head, about ghost particles, and ghosts of ghosts. Some chapters are Korean folktales. There are chapters about Elsa’s family relationships with her parents and her brother, and their experiences immigrating to America. Elsa’s job takes her from the South Pole, where she has a Swedish lover, to Stockholm, where she meets a Korean-born Swedish adoptee. Historical connections between Korea and Sweden come into play.
This novel is FULL, in other words. My analytical mind loved it, my emotional mind loved it, my spiritual mind loved it. This is an author I will surely read again.
Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

DNF @ 20%

I am so disappointed that I couldn't enjoy this book. It had such an interesting premise, and I hoped I would love it, but that wasn't the case unfortunately. I was confused most of the time as I was reading this book, and I didn't understand what was happening in the story at all. So I couldn't connect to the story or our main character at all because of that. But I guess this book might have just not been for me. And that's fine.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Folklorn was quite a unique and emotive book, definitely unlike anything I'd read before. I don't think I really knew what to expect going in, so when the book opens in Antarctica, I really didn't predict the journey it would take from there! I think I will break it down into all the cool things you can expect from this one, and then the little stuff I had some trouble with!

What I Loved:

►There is such a focus on family here! And the thing is, it's messy. This isn't one of those families who sits around the fire singing Kumbaya. They have incredibly complex relationships within the family unit, much of which comes from the parents' experiences as immigrants, and as such, the children's experiences as first generation Americans, which is a whole positive in itself. Not only do we see these relationships as they are now, but we get many glimpses into how they became this way.

►As I mentioned, the Korean cultural aspect is huge. The fact that they're immigrants, and especially how they're treated as immigrants, as well as their customs and values from home obviously shape the parents in a huge way. So, in turn, of course the children are influenced by it as well. Elsa has been dealing with her mother's warnings about Korean folklore translating to misfortune and grief for their family, and her father's straight up abuse. Her brother hasn't fared much better, as he's been stagnant through his entire adult life. Speaking of Elsa...

►I loved how wonderfully complex Elsa was as a character. So, you have this woman, who to the outside world, probably appears to have it all together. She's studying some science that I can hardly wrap my head around with some of the most prestigious people in the world. She's earned the opportunity to study in Antarctica, for goodness sake! But she's anything but content. She has no idea what she truly wants to be, perhaps even who she wants to be, and she's quite alone. Her mother has been in a catatonic state for many years, and her father is abusive, both physically and emotionally. Her brother Chris is mentally ill, and when Elsa's "imaginary friend" returns to haunt her, she feels her own sanity slipping away. In the midst of all this, she must return home and face her demons- both literal and figurative- and decide once and for all who she is, who she wants to be, and where she sees her life leading her.

►So much great social commentary. Especially in light of recent AAPI hate, the author showcases how difficult life can be for Asian folks, in this case, Elsa being Korean has not always been an easy path. She and her family obviously faced a lot of hate in their California home town, and it undoubtedly shaped who they became. But even in Sweden, hell, even in Antarctica, Elsa always felt "other". When she meets Oskar, who is also Korean but who had a wildly different experience, he is able to shine more light on the conversation. (Also, he is awesome. Oskar. Is. Awesome.)

►The Korean stories interspersed throughout were incredible! These folktales were dark, but I really enjoyed reading them, and I thought they were a great addition to the book as a whole.

What I Struggled With a Bit:

►So look, this is a slower paced book. It just is. If you're heading into it looking for action and adventure, this is not that book. And while I generally didn't mind the slowness, as I appreciated the characters so much, there were times it felt a bit too long.

►I don't know if I fully understand the magical realism part? But that is probably on me, if we're being honest, since I have some trouble with it at times.

Bottom Line: A gorgeous story with so much culture and grief and hope, it's one not to miss!

I received this amazing ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I am so grateful. The symbiosis of this book sounded so great, but I honestly didn’t know what to expect. It had elements of science, elements of Korean mythology, and elements of family dynamics and struggles. It sounded like a lot and I honestly didn’t know how it would all blend together and become a complete and consistent storyline. Although I had some very small and petty issues with the book’s plot, I absolutely LOVED it and am so extremely blessed to have read it. It was such a cool idea and a story that definitely needed to be told.

This read was just so beautifully done, but DAMN did it cover a LOT of issues that are circulating in our society. Through Elsa and these vast cast of colorful characters, we saw so many issues and the struggle to juggle them all.

Elsa is such a strong character, but BOY she had a lot of issues up in that brain of hers. Her brother, Christopher, is such a strong presence in her life and the reason that she got out initially from her family. She also leaves her family at such a young age and this fact leads her to have almost a disconnection between them. Her mother has surrounded her with so much fantasy through the stories of her ancestors that I think she leaned on science to make sense of it all. Her mother is such a mystery to her and honestly such a crazy mystery to me.

Her family has faced so many struggles and it gave me so much heartbreak and sadness. Her parents lived through so many terrible things in life and they didn’t know how to cope with them and their struggles passed on to their children. Christopher lives up to the expectations of an Asian eldest son and bears the burden, but holds resentment. Elsa is almost forced out by Christopher, but also struggles to find out her identity and her family’s identity.

OMG there is just so much going on with this book and I could talk about it literally for YEARS. It was so hauntingly beautiful, but it was a LOT and I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything. However, I just enjoyed this story so much and it made my heart so happy even through the sad parts.

There were a lot of racial issues in this book as well that were very interesting to me. The American aspect was unfortunately sad, but nothing new; however, the racism in Sweden was very interesting to me. I found the way they handled and saw race to be interesting, but made me almost sad because I almost expected better. The way that Elsa dealt with the racism in both America and Sweden was an interesting take, but it made me feel so sorry for her.

The most interesting aspect of this book was the folklore of Korea. The stories of myth that were included were so much fun to read and almost were like a break for me from the very heavy dialogue and storyline of the book. However, you definitely had to pay attention to them because the author weaved these stories into the storyline and the characters themselves. Elsa’s struggle to find meaning of her culture through these stories was so amazing to me and such a unique take on contemporary fiction.

This was such a powerful story that went over so many amazing themes: mental health and different ways that societies cope with it, racism, first generation immigrants, family heritage, mythology, and finding your identity. I enjoyed this book immensely and can’t wait for more from this author.

Read an ARC from the publisher
Content warning: parental death, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, hate crimes, discrimination

Physicist Elsa Park returns from a research trip to Antarctica when she founds out that her catatonic mother had died. All Elsa has left of her is a collection of stories and an uncanny ghost who follows her around. Then begins a search for discovery as Elsa reconnects with the stories she inherited from her mother and what it means for the rest of her adult life. There’s physics, there’s ghosts.

Hypnotic in its exploration of mythology, culture, and family, this literary contemporary fantasy shows how family and mythology have lines that might not at all be clearly defined.

My favorite part of this book had to be Elsa’s relationship with her older brother, Chris. It’s so complicated and messy. Through their interactions, Hur showcases not only immigrant families, but choices parents make and the very different relationships siblings can have with them. And their bond isn’t all the way cordial, but there is much respect and understanding between them.

I could talk forever about Oskar Gantelius. The way Hur presents his experience of being Korean in Sweden and the adjacent ways he relates to Elsa felt so organic, especially as their relationship develops and he shows this kindness in helping Elsa make sense of the stories she inherited. But I think the tension between Elsa and the ghostly woman with the red ribbon captivated me the most. One of the many mysteries is how she got there and who she is, and the reader follows Elsa on this beautiful, heart-wrenching journey.

The integration of Korean folklore both as lens and as plot worked so well. It’s what makes this work so fascinating, in addition to the way this framing connects with the past and the present. Sometimes those lines blur altogether. These stories act as a character of their own. It’s unclear whether they want to cooperate with Elsa or serve the role of antagonist, but I think the mystery of it all is what drives this story forward.

This book is such an accomplishment in terms of exploring family, identity, and much more. Come for the ghosts and folk tales, stay for the feels.

A beautiful story about generational memory, legacy, and trauma that weaves together folktale and family.

This was bizarre and amazing and fucked up in the best ways -- and also drove me to look up many things, from "Sterile Neutrino" to "ghost particles." It also provided a window into multiple other cultures I didn't know about before, like the experiences of Korean orphans adopted into Sweden, and the kinds of racism and cultural bias perpetuated by white Swedish citizens.

DNF'd @ 20%

Folklorn by Angela Mi Young Hur sounded like the kind of magical realism story I would enjoy, but unfortunately it ended up not being for me. I liked the use of fairy tales and folklore in what I read, but overall I couldn't connect to the realistic side of the story. I had a difficult time connecting to the almost clinical voice. It has a lot of potential as a whole, but in the end it just wasn't working out for me.

This was a beautiful story. The relationships in this book are interesting, and I love how the author wove a story of family with topics such as folklore, physics, death, and mental illness. A very poignant and impactful read.

Elsa's research on neutrinos took her all the way to Antarctica, but even that is not far enough to escape her family legacy of madness and trauma. Just before her schizophrenic brother calls to tell her their catatonic mother is stirring, Elsa starts to see her imaginary friend again. This pushes her into a journey across borders and generations as she seeks to understand her personal history through the lens of the folktales her enigmatic mother left her. Prickly Elsa unpacks years of familial pain (escaping wartorn Korea, surviving a loveless marriage, racist micro- and macroaggressions) before she can even start to work on her own psyche. Absolutely lovely prose.

Sometimes, I’ll come across a book where putting my thoughts and feelings into words is a challenge, not because I disliked the book, but because there’s just SO MUCH to unpack and I question whether I’m the right person for the job. Folklorn is one such book.

Folklorn follows Elsa Park, a Korean-American experimental physicist, as she tries to find her place in the world while also unraveling the past she’s inherited from her parents, and especially from her mother. Her story takes us from the isolation of Antarctica to the foreignness of Sweden to the claustrophobia of her hometown in California. With each location and Elsa’s relationship and history with its inhabitants, the reader gains insight into not only Elsa’s character, but the folklore that ties her to her Korean ancestry.

I’ll admit, I have complicated feelings on Folklorn. Elsa is, simply put, not a very likeable character. She pushes people away, through brash words that are sometimes tinged with condescension and superiority. I found her to be downright off-putting for the first maybe quarter of the novel. But, as the plot wore on and more of her history was revealed, I was able to connect and sympathize with her, even if I didn’t particularly like her. There was also something immediately gripping about her connection to Oskar, and I loved watching that connection grow and unfold.

Past my sentiments about Elsa as a character, Folklorn is a beautifully written novel. There was something so compelling about the prose that, even when the plot itself wasn’t necessarily the most riveting, I found myself constantly thinking about it and itching to get back to it when I wasn’t reading. Within the framework of this novel which often focuses more on the fantastical with Elsa’s imaginary friend and the folktales left behind by her mother, the reader is also given glimpses of historical details, along with a heavy dose of physics talk (which, I won’t lie, went nearly entirely over my head). The folklore elements were by far my favourite. Korean culture and folklore is admittedly not something I’m well versed in, so I loved having the opportunity to immerse myself, however briefly, in this culture via the snippets of folk tales as well as the historical elements that the author includes in Elsa’s journey. I found myself looking up some of the historical elements, like the connection between the Scandinavian hospital and Sweden’s high rate of Korean adoptees, because I had no idea that these things had occurred.

This novel definitely leans hard into its literary elements, rather than being a full-on fantasy novel, but it blends so many elements from different genres that it defies being placed neatly into any one box. While I did find that there were a couple of lulls in the story, Folklorn was overall an engrossing tale of finding one’s place while acknowledging the people and events that shape you.