Incredibly creative, engrossing, mind-bending story. I can't wait to recommend this to everyone I've ever met.

One of the most creative books I have read. This mixture of history and sci-fi and works very well. I was immersed in this book and thought it was beautifully written.

Ed Park's "Same Bed Different Dreams" is an inventive and thought-provoking literary work that challenges the boundaries of reality and identity. Park's exploration of the protagonist's fragmented psyche is both captivating and disorienting, immersing readers in a world of dreams and memories. The book's nonlinear narrative adds to its allure, keeping readers engaged as they unravel the layers of the protagonist's mind. Park's prose is beautifully crafted, with each sentence carrying a weight of emotion and introspection. While some readers might find the ambiguity of the plot disconcerting, the novel's enigmatic nature is also its strength. "Same Bed Different Dreams" is a remarkable and imaginative journey that merits a 4 out of 5-star rating.

Same Bed, Different Dreams has a lot going for it: an imaginative, daring writer with a distinctive and original voice; a great premise (what if the Korean Provisional Government, established in 1919 to protest Japanese occupation, still existed?); wild characters including assassins, spies, a mysterious avant-garde novelist, American icons with surprising links to the KPG; the use of Korean words that echo the way Junot Díaz uses Dominicanisms whose meaning is revealed in context rather than explicit definition; the interweaving of history (extra points for a history little known to most Americans) and fiction; vivid situational depictions, and more. A lazy reviewer would probably use a well worn phrase like "dazzling prose." (btw, the novel is completely different from the K-Drama of the same name.) On those grounds I'd rate this novel a 5.
But...
Even though there was so much I liked about this novel, I had a hard time connecting with the characters and plot. Part of this was because there was so much going on it was hard to keep up (and I say this as someone who gets impatient when things are too slow). But the crucial issue was that Park doesn't spend enough time with any of the characters for readers to really relate to their emotions and care about what happens to them. I wanted to know more about the mysterious novelist whose lost and unfinished manuscript is a plot device; I also wanted to know what happened to the manuscript. I'd rate the novel a 2 based on these shortcomings.
If there were a half-star option I'd probably give this a 3.5. I'm rounding up to 4 and looking forward to Ed Park's next book which hopefully focuses more on connecting the reader with the characters.

Same Bed, Different Dreams is a story told in three parts all revolving, somehow, around Korean War—the Korean and international focus that arrived at the conflict, the effect of the war on those who survived it, its largely forgotten place in history. There is present-day Soon Sheen, who has given up his literary ambitions for a job at a tech megacompany. There is a fleet of characters populating a book-within-a-book that Soon reads in pieces, all working for or against the Korean Provisional Government (KPG), both as it is in history and how it might have been. And there is Parker Jotter, a former POW who spends the years after publishing a series of increasingly strange science-fiction pulp paperbacks that some fans believe contain secrets from his time in Korea.

The threads of each story flow, sometimes along each other and sometimes seemingly in completely independent directions that improbably come back to center. But they are united in two things: their focus on Korea during a formative and tumultuous time in the country's history, and in grief. There is grief for death and people lost to violence, of course, but there is also grief for relationships that might have been, and for a country that might have been. The worst thing that can happen to a revolutionary isn't their blood spilling, Same Bed tells us, but that blood-boiling ambition and conviction having nowhere to go and nothing to do.

As the narratives intertwine, answers and questions invariably pop up, not necessarily in the expected order. The end comes full circle in a way that feels both unexpected and inevitable. I'm glad Korea's history is getting such richly imagined literary treatment, and hope it doesn't get pigeonholed into a box for "Asian literature" or some other niche. The story might revolve around Korea, but the Korean diaspora is wide, and Korea isn't the only country that has been pushed and pulled across ideologies with violence—it's just more noticeable than most.

ARC received in return for an honest review. Quotes are from the ARC version for review purposes and may not reflect the final passages in the book. DNFed at 50% through. Here's why...

Same Bed Different Dreams (SBDD) describes itself in a meta way early on.

"I said, 'It’s really not bad, when you take a step back.'
'Yeah, he does his own thing. Like with point of view.'
'Right.' Point of view?
'And how it goes back and forth in time.'
'Yeah, totally …' I said."

Totally... That aside, why this rating?

What worked?

* The historical characters and facts, who though woven into a fictional narrative, serve to call out historically-untold or minimized experiences of the treatment of Korea at the hands of Japan and during the World Wars, when the fate of an entire country was decided for it by bigger countries.

What didn't work?

* At one point, there is a video game in the outermost book based upon a board game within a book within the book. At least I think that's the right level of things. That is to say, the nesting of narratives is ambitious but very difficult to follow.

* The misogyny - There in the drinking culture scenes and in guy's "locker room talk"-style passages. It's very clearly written from a man's perspective. Some examples, though possibly historically-derived, include:

"A year earlier, rumors that the PM bought the virginity of a fifteen-year-old geisha were met with a shrug, even a sort of patriotic admiration for how he’s sustained a deep-rooted folk practice."

"It’s the mixing of races that stimulates. In Britain as a youth, he sampled tarts white as paper. On his continental tour, he tasted the confections of Vienna and Paris. But he considers a Korean girl the most tempting: so close, yet so despised. Sadako will be his to civilize."

Women aren't tarts or confections. They don't exist for men's consumption, nor to be "tamed." While it's possible that these were the perspectives of the historical figures involved, they feel uncomfortable and unnecessary in telling what an alternate Korean history could have looked like. What is the goal here?

* The first half of the nested book within a book reads as a set of (well-researched) tell-not-show style encyclopedia entries. For example:

"Bae Boonam becomes Udam becomes Dayama Sadako becomes Bae Boonam again, a double or triple agent. Kim Jongsook of Manchuria becomes Vera Kim. Franziska Maria Barbara Donner of Vienna becomes Francesca Rhee, the frugal 'Martha Washington' of South Korea. All are members in good standing of the Korean Provisional Government."

* What's actually true historically? The blend of fact and fiction makes it harder to take away what you might have learned as a reader and what's fabrication. At that point, maybe just take the wiki entries of the historical figures listed and read those instead?

* The narrative within the narrative within the narrative doesn't really seem to contribute much to the goal of exploring alternate Korea. It does introduce confusion though.

I give credit to the lofty goal of the premise and the historical facts it does teach. That said, I wouldn't recommend this book.

I just finished this book and loved every bit of it. From the beginning I was drawn into this world and it kept me interested and reading all the way through. The mix of fiction and non fiction. The other story lines that are intertwined as well are all masterfully done. I can’t recommend this book enough. I really don’t know how to explain it but it is fabulous. I got this as a NetGalley copy.

I cannot make heads or tails of this book. It's boring, there's no character development, the plot is non-existent, and the book the character Soon is reading (this is supposed to be the main point of the book) is one of the dumbest things I have ever read. It's not even a story, just a list of people/events that are nonsensical and read like it was written by someone was drunk or high.

This book was both imaginative and interesting. I was sometimes confused by the non-linear style, but I still found it enjoyable.

Ed Park spins historical fact into brilliant literary fiction with Same Bed Different Dreams. His gripping prose and flair for unconventional storytelling makes even the most opaque sections completely engrossing. This book will coast onto yearly Best-of lists (including my own) and it should be in contention for major literary awards. I was simply blown away.

It’s a mesmerizing fever dream of a novel, with an expansive story that contracts on a whim. It’s sprawling, yet intimate. The subtle interconnections between its nested layers are a joy to puzzle out and it begs to be re-read. Starting over with more enlightened eyes (and maybe a character web to track the broad cast of players and their connections) would certainly yield a different, yet still satisfying, experience.

While it’s difficult to describe the book in terms of plot, if you’re an enjoyer of secret societies, doomsday cults, alternate histories, coded messages, spies, double agents, artificial intelligence, and the history of Korea – give this book a go. If you bristle at the thought of an unconventional narrative structure without much hand-holding, perhaps skip it. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it was certainly mine.

I was intrigued by the synopsis for this book. I have watched a lot of Korean dramas and have become so interested that I would like to visit South Korea. I started this book with high hopes however it is not for me . I have put this book down several times, read another book and come back to it and still not done, forcing myself to read it. I will not be finishing this book, a real rarity for me.
The book seems to jump all over the place, from different characters to different time periods. It was very dry and I felt like I was never able to form attachments to any of the characters. I wanted to like this book but it was not for me. That is not to say that others will not enjoy it , just not my cup of tea. Happy reading!

The alternate reality history depicted in this mind spinning novel drew me in a mesmerizing way. So many different characters morphed into others over time and space. The connections among them were not always clear, but I liked how the novel slowly revealed the interconnectedness of the world.

I found this book told in non linear style a little confusing to follow. I found I had to check back in previous sections to refresh my memory to understand what was happening certain sections, which slowed down the reading process, and at times it was a slog. The writing is brilliant and beautiful, but I did not enjoy the narrative style of this book. The author clearly did a tremendous amount of research into Korean history and culture for this book and there is much to be learned if you stick with the book. Unfortunately, I wanted to love this book, but found I could not. Thanks NetGalley for this opportunity.

First off, hats off to a very talented writer. Ed Park essentially write one story through multiple POVs and time lines. The Korean history is both interesting and informative and the characters are intriguing and well-developed. I liked how the book came together and I found the ending to be quite cleaver.

That being said, I personally struggled with this one. It failed to hold my attention and I even contemplating not finishing it. In my very honest opinion, books 1-5 are very long and a bit of a drudgery to get through.

I’m glad I finished and the final sentence made me smile.

This is a hard book to categorize. Seems to be a lot going on in the book due to which it may not be for everyone.

The writing is beautiful and there is no doubt that the author is very talented. Sometimes it feels like there is a lot going in the story, maybe a bit too much. Alternative history is depicted very well.

Overall I liked it and will probably read future works from the author.

Unfortunately this is a DNF for me, but I think it boils down to taste more than quality. The opening of this book gave me big Cloud Atlas vibes -- another ambitious, sweeping book. I suspect readers who loved Cloud Atlas might love Same Bed Difference Dreams in a similar way.

For my tastes, it just did not pull me in hard enough. The narrator comes off a little distant, as opposed to a really deep point of view, which is a stylistic choice some readers love but can be a struggle for me. In this case, it was a struggle, in part because we seem to be introduced to a large number of characters before any real action happens. Between this and the frequent forays into backstory, I had trouble ascertaining what information was most important, and I struggled to retain it all.

I'm withholding a Goodreads star rating on this book because I truly think it was just not the right fit for me. The tone and atmosphere were very engaging, and the premise of the book pulled me in. If I were a faster reader or had a stronger preference for the narrative style, I probably would've kept on, and I suspect this book will find a lot of success with its audience.

And five stars get awarded to Ed Park’s whopping Head F__k of a novel, #Same Bed, Different Dreams, a stream of unconsciousness tome that proves Kaiser Soze is a member of the Korean Provisional Government. Mind Blowing in the best sense !

Such an excellent, interesting, brain twisting book. I couldn't put it down. This is a first time reading by this author but I will definitely be looking for more. You have to read this book.

Ed Park is super clever. Not only does he weave Korean history into his book with short bursts of what happened to famous leaders of the KGP, but he then weaves the story of Soon Sheen, who works at a modern company GLOAT similar to a Microsoft and his own take on pop culture and the madness of how the old world and new fit together today. He is a fine writer, with some surprisingly good prose, and a cutting wit.

This is a unique book, and one that is not necessarily linear, so the reader must be open for something different. If you are open you will learn about Korean history, get a sense of how absurd this time in history is, even from a kid’s perspective as Soon is married with a kid who likes their computer gaming time, and how history can be shaped by the powers that be.

One of the strengths of this book is Park's skillful writing style, which is both poetic and nuanced. He has a talent for evoking emotion and painting vivid scenes, which makes the story come alive. Additionally, the characters are well-developed and feel like real people with relatable struggles.
That said, the book can be a bit confusing at times, as the narrative jumps back and forth between different time periods and perspectives. Some readers may find this style of storytelling disorienting, but others may appreciate the challenge of piecing together the various threads of the plot.
Overall, "Same Bed Different Dreams" is a captivating and thought-provoking read that will appeal to anyone who enjoys literary fiction that challenges conventional narrative structures.

Park’s writing must come from some of his own experiences, and as a debut novel he is someone to watch.

Ed Park's dazzling novel left me feeling dizzy at times wondering if the "facts" presented in the historical lessons were actually true, and then I started fretting over truth from imagination, dreams from reality, and found at times I missed the main characters in Soon Sheen's small family. This is a wildly creative novel, at times quite funny, and at others quite thought provoking. All the characters are intriguing, the plots both wildly imaginative and too damn close to reality to be somewhat frightening, all connected by the dreamers and shakers.