The Owl Cries is a prime example of high potential and substandard execution. Part of this may be because of its origin in a different language — how it's easy to lose a lot of a work's strength and beauty in translation — but I do think that the work suffers from a multitude of missteps. Mild spoilers ahead.

The premise, in and of itself, is intriguing. A forest ranger goes missing and his estranged brother investigates. The forest is dauntingly beautiful and untamed, and the populace of the adjacent town is not exactly who you'd be eager to invite to Sunday brunch. Trust no one, trust nothing. Great! Let's solve this mystery!

Except, there doesn't appear to be strong incentive to really solve anything. For one, the novel's protagonist, who ought to be the very individual who anchors the readers to the story, is not firmly established until the second part. The first part relies heavily on a series of perspective shifts, vignettes that touch upon characters that ought to be kept in mind, while also alluding to omitted details regarding the answers we seek. The problem, however, is that these omissions are so blatant and so frequent that it makes the third part feel like a massive, continuous info dump. The descriptions may at times be vivid and enticing (particularly regarding nature) but simply put, there is more effort placed into stating the backstory than there is into the creation of a truly mysterious, unsettling environment.

Plot presentation aside, I also think that the translation was... For lack of a better term, kind of "clunky." Repetition can be a powerful tool in making a piece more poetic, but there are times when it comes across as wearisome. One example that comes to mind: there's a mention of "young men" becoming "old men"; would it not be more effective to make the comparison between "boys" and "(old) men?" I understand the importance of staying true to the original text, but I do also think that there ought to be some space to allow for reinterpretations, so as to account for the distinctions between languages.

I have seen The Owl Cries classified as a "thriller," and so I fully went into it expecting that my interest would be swept away in an instant. Instead, what I found was difficulty in sitting through it, so much so that it took me several attempts to do so. Due to the overall presentation of the story, I would actually go so far as to re-classify this read as more of "general fiction" and/or "drama."

Thank you to the author, the publisher (Skyhouse Publishing), and NetGalley for providing the opportunity to read an eARC of this work.

Clearly well written and the translation is very well done. But the story did not grab my attention. I don't know what to say about it. Very grateful for the opportunity to read this in advance. I was really excited as I love both the writer and translator, but I think I'm just not the writer reader for the book after all. 4 stars anyway because I appreciate how cohesive and coherent the writing is. It's extremely good writing, unfortunately, I'm not the right reader. I know others have mentioned or complained about how this was too dark for them, but I actually wanted and craved for it desperately to be a lot darker. So dark it verges onto comical and absurd.

Made it to 60% on this one, so I’m considering it read.

This is about a forest ranger who goes missing. His brother comes looking for him, but no one wants to admit to having seen him. Things spiral from there…

This one reminded me of The Whispers by Audrey Audrain which I DNFed just recently. I thought I was getting a thriller, but I got drama instead. Same here - there’s so much more backstory and drama going on than mystery/thriller, which was disappointing.

My intrigue varied a lot which helped me get to 60% instead of DNFing earlier. Whenever something sinister and mysterious happened I’d perk up, but then there would be lots of repetition and domestic drama again.

I enjoyed The Hole, but I see this is actually an older book by the author. It’s only newly translated. So I think I’d try whatever she writes next but maybe not any other backlist.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

It was an interesting thriller, but too slow-burn for my liking, It pushes the genre's boundaries but didn't immerse me with the plot or characters' fates. An ok read, I guess.

This may be an artefact of translation, but I just couldn't get past the didactic exposition behind He-in's character. I must give the book a star rating but I honestly don't know how to rate it – heavy-handed exposition is a total dealbreaker for me. I will not be posting this review on Goodreads because I only post books that I finish.

Very, Very underwhelmed by this story. I kept waiting for something to happen. It never did.

The writing was so vivid in spots and I enjoyed the author's perspective on a few different things however the story itself just wasn't there.

Curious if I'm missing something because it was translated from Korean?

"The terror of those childhood days was carved into his adult bones and flesh and veins as deeply as ever. He waited in silence, disappointed at how fear was still such a reflex for him."

The Owl Cries was a book that really defied genre description. I considered it one genre at first but then changed my mind several times as the story progressed, and even now I am not sure how to classify it, though I have gone with "thriller". The story initially intrigued me, but my attention wavered a little towards the end. I guess I found the ending a bit less climatic than I'd expected from the slow build up. But it was certainly an atmospheric read and the forest itself really came to life as a character in its own right. Overall, I am glad I read this book and I would pick up more works by this author in the future even if this one was a middle-of-the-road read for me overall. If you like genre-bending works with a mysterious vibe, The Owl Cries by Pyun Hye-young is worth checking out. I am giving it 3.5 stars.

LOVED THE BOOK and damn i knew that Jin was real sus!!! Once i started reading it was hard to put it down!!