Overall rating: 4.5/5 stars.

The stories are absurd, quirky, and surreal. Two narratives with a more grounded tone have particularly grown on me: 'Time Capsule 1994' and 'Don't Cry, Hongdo'.

In 'Time Capsule 1994', a woman reflects on her past relationship with her step-daughter as their city unearths, restores, and re-buries a time capsule. Meanwhile, 'Don't Cry, Hongdo' portrays a different mother-daughter dynamic. The rebellious 10-year-old Hongdo challenges her mother's obsession with organic lifestyle, preferring cotton candy—a stark contrast to the health-conscious diet enforced at home and school.

My favourite piece is when the writing touches on capitalism. In 'Table For One', a female employee finds dining alone in public daunting, especially in family restaurants where meals are typically served for two or more. She faces awkward interaction with the server and stares from other customers, not to mention the food and monetary waste:

"More than half the order of the woman who came alone at 7:00 p.m. remains on the table. She probably asked for one extra serving of pork so that she could eat the first. At a barbecue restaurant selling only servings of two or more, one portion of the woman's meat is left to turn into charcoal. At 7:30, her meal ends."

Determined to improve herself, she enrols in a course promising to teach the skill of dining alone. Rationalising her 200,000 won expense, she thinks, "If I could develop a healthy stomach and an open-minded spirit in three months, like the flyer had said, wouldn't that be the most efficient way to spend my money?"

Anxious individuals like her sought out the course to help them navigate real-world challenges. This invites the question, considering that the coaching business was born out of the food and beverage industry's focus on profits over customer needs, does this group of customers end up paying double?

‘Hyeonmong Park's Hall of Dreams’ reads to me like an allegory for a financial crash. Park sells custom dreams until competitors flood the market with new derivatives: instant dreams, age-specific dreams, and even organic dreams for the health-conscious. Everyone is buying and selling until the inevitable happens — the crash, or in this case, Park's Hall of Dream comes to an end, and what follows turns into something more surreal. Among the nine stories, this one stands out as the most complex.

‘Roadkill’ is a story where the real horror is capitalism. How easy it is to lose a source of income and watch yourself getting deeper and deeper into the rut, when the system that is supposed to help, fails you. The endless conveyor belt going around further emphasises this loop.

In ‘Invader Graphic’, a young female writer working on her first novel tries to navigate her day at minimal cost, choosing an unconventional workplace: a department store. She argues that her freeloading doesn't increase the store's expenses since sample perfumes, soap, and lotion are already accounted as part of the overhead.

For fans of surreal, thought-provoking stories with contemporary commentary, this one might be for you.

"Table for One: Stories" by Yun Ko-eun is a poignant and thought-provoking collection of short stories that explores the intricacies of human relationships and the complexities of modern life. The author's writing is lyrical and evocative, with a keen eye for detail that brings the characters and settings to vivid life.

The stories themselves are diverse in terms of theme and tone, ranging from the humorous to the heartbreaking. Ko-eun's characters are often outsiders or misfits, struggling to find their place in a world that seems to be moving at a breakneck pace without them. This sense of disconnection and longing is a recurring theme throughout the collection, as the characters grapple with issues of identity, belonging, and connection. It's probably one the strengths too.

Overall, "Table for One" is a solid read from a talented new voice in literary fiction. Ko-eun's writing is engaging and thought-provoking, and their exploration of modern themes is both timely and relevant. If you're looking for a collection that will make you think about the human condition, this might be the book for you.

Just when you thought the short stories in this book couldn't get any more weird or wonderful they continued to. A very fun and creative read!

A collection of nine stories from 2010 by award-winning Korean author Yun Ko-eun. In South Korea Yun Ko-eun’s regarded as a writer with a singular vision, keenly observational, her fiction’s suffused with understated humour, deftly criss-crossing boundaries between the real and the absurd. She’s particularly invested in exploring the plight of people living in capitalist societies: afraid they’re mere cogs in its machinery, struggling to find some way to stand out and assert their individuality.

In the evocative title piece Oh Inyeong’s ambivalent about her relationship with her colleagues, uncertain why they leave her out of their group meals yet oddly relieved to be excluded. She takes a lunchtime course at a local “hagwon” – the private education facilities found throughout South Korea – that focuses on the art of eating alone, carefully progressing through each level from small cafés to the heights of a family barbecue restaurant. Yun Ko-eun’s matter-of-fact delivery enhances the eccentricity of her plot and her character Oh Inyeong’s experiences. When it first appeared this operated as a biting commentary on a group-centred culture in which solo eating was distinctly aberrational. In more recent years, particularly post-Covid, its meaning has gradually shifted, as the “honjok” lifestyle – with increasing numbers living alone – and its embrace of activities for one has gained ground. So that Oh Inyeong seems far less eccentric for craving a starring role in her own life.

There’s something of a Shirley Jackson sensibility to entries like “Sweet Escape” in which a man on the brink of an overseas holiday finds himself obsessed with avoiding bedbugs. Only to find on returning to Korea that bedbugs have crossed its borders, rapidly advancing on his own apartment building, endangering not only health but property values! It’s a chilling, original take on paranoia, authoritarianism and social conformity. The highly-referential “Invader Graphic” is an unusual perspective on becoming a writer; while “Hyeonmong Park’s Hall of Dreams” is a haunting reflection on capitalism and consumerism demonstrated via a man who kick-starts an industry based on the literal selling of dreams. Similar themes emerge in “Roadkill” an oblique examination of social isolation and commodification, and in the speculative “Time Capsule” with its emphasis on memory versus truth.

One of the stand-outs is “Piercing” which moves into body horror territory in ways that reminded me of writers like Sayaka Murata and Bora Chung. “Iceland” is an inventive look at how abstract concepts – rather like religion – operate to distract people from disappointing, everyday realities; and “Don’t Cry, Hongdo” is an intriguing look at mothers and daughters, cultural norms and South Korea’s highly competitive atmosphere. Inevitably some pieces were less successful than others but overall, I found these accomplished, arresting and memorable. Translated by Lizzie Buehler.

I love short stories and this one started off really interesting. The first story was really good, I liked the unexpected premise. The rest of the book really didn't capture my attention though. maybe the stories just didn't speak to me, or maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind to digest them, but I wasn't able to get into it.

I think this was a great book overall. I requested it because the cover intrigued me and when I went to see what the book was about, it even intrigued me more. I've been wanting to get into more stories written by diverse authors, so I immediately wanted to read it. Thank you guys for allowing me to read this book! I will definitely recommend this book for those that are wanting to read a book about short stories and want to read more diversely.

A quirky collection of stories, connected by their quirkiness.
Some worked better than others.
The titular story was very satisfying, Roadkill was disturbing but the rest were rather messy. I struggled to finish the book.

i really enjoyed this collection of short stories as i am actually a fan of the author’s work. her pieces in the collection are thought-provoking and i really liked how she used metaphors to convey her views.

Quirky characters and relatable stories focusing around single individuals in a world that more often seems built for two. I enjoyed these stories and gleaning different perspectives of each unique character - I especially enjoyed the story around the group of individuals learning to eat alone in a restaurant without awkwardness.

Thanks very much to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC of Table for One. I wasn't sure what to expect as I was unfamiliar with the author's work before reading this collection, but I loved these incredibly imaginative and quirky short stories. I'll definitely check out more of Yun Ko-eun's writing in the future.

An unusual, eclectic mixed bag of short and surreal short stories. Well written but I found them a difficult and slow read.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5
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Table for One - 3/5
A woman joins a course in order to learn how to eat out alone. I liked the theme, and how ridiculously seriously the concept was taken by the characters, but I felt it was a little repetitive and could've been a bit shorter.

Sweet Escape - 3.5/5
While preparing for a holiday abroad, a man starts to worry about the possibility of encountering bedbugs. His anxiety builds when an outbreak occurs in his neighbourhood. This was fairly similar to the first story, with common themes in both being loneliness and finding connection with a support group, anxiety leading to obsession, rhythm/music as metaphor.

Invader Graphics - 4/5
This was two stories in one: an author spends as much of her waking time as possible living for free at a department store, the story she is writing is about a man who is unsatisfied in his job and finds a passion for discovering a particular genre of street art.

Hyeonmong Park's Hall of Dreams - 3.5/5
Narrated by the assistant to Hyeonmong Park, the first entrepreneur to create a business selling dreams. This story follows the rise in popularity of dream-selling and the struggles of Park's business in the face of competition.

Roadkill - 4/5
The owner of a vending machine arrives to restock, but a severe storm leaves him snowed in to the isolated motel. I loved the atmosphere of this one - the motel felt almost like a character in its own right, becoming stranger as the story goes on. It reminded me a bit of The Shining.

Time Capsule 1994 - 3/5
In Seoul, a time capsule is opened early, only 14 years after being buried, due to corrosion. I've got to admit that I didn't really understand this one - there is a second narrative about the personal life of a woman who works on restoring the capsule which I found quite engaging, but it meant that I didn't really care too much for the time capsule part of the plot.

Piercing - 4/5
A man who has separated from his wife develops a new passion for body piercings. This one contains some quite gruesome descriptions and some violent parts. I loved the twisty ending!

Don't Cry, Hongdo - 4/5
A child tries to distract her mother from an obsession with organic food and high academic expectations by trying to set her up with a new substitute teacher. Hongdo, the main character, was endearing and I enjoyed the slice-of-life feeling. The ending of this one felt very abrupt, like the author hadn't been quite sure how to wrap it up.

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Overall, while I enjoyed many of these short stories, the collection did take me a very long time to read. I enjoyed a lot of the stories' content and themes, but I didn't particularly engage with the writing style of the author as the tone and many of the characters felt quite flat.

Disappointing after a promising start. I felt these stories needed a good edit to make them less long winded and, ultimately rather tedious. I liked the surreal elements and the quirkiness of the writing but overall they were not engaging enough. I wouldn't recommend them.

4.5 stars.
Table for One is one of the best short story collections that I have read in 2024, if not ever.
Dining alone, bed bugs, extreme weather conditions are some of the themes and topics that feature in these 9 stories, all of which are if various styles and genres.
The prose, the incorporation and twisting of the every day and the unexpected, and the magical realism were wonderful. I will revisit this book and read more by the author. Kudos to the translator too.

This was a lovely little collection of surrealist stories that have a lot to say about society and important issues without being too preachy.

I really enjoyed the style of writing and found the stories to be the perfect length for dipping in and out at my leisure.

I think this is perfect for lovers of Murakami, Kafka and Ishiguro.

From the author of 'The Disaster Tourist', a book I loved when it was published a few years ago, comes this quirky and engaging collection of short stories. A definite must for fans of the slightly peculiar, although for me it was a bit hit and miss, as is so often the way with short story collections.

Strong point for me were: the title story, about the issues and problems of eating out alone; 'Iceland', in which a man joins an online chat group about the country; and 'Sweet Escape', about losing a job, feeling isolated and getting involved with bedbugs (!).

Slightly surreal, these stories develop into a world that is off-kilter. Think Murakami, via Kafka, with a modern Korean twist.

Some good, some ok, but this collection is definitely well worth delving into. An author that is one that I will be sure to follow, and I can't wait to see what comes next!

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

Lavish. Peculiar. “Table for One” by Yun Ko-Eun is a series of short stories based on off-the-wall scenarios.

From writing a novel on the rolls of a department store restroom toilet paper, to volunteering as a human bedbug trap, the stories explore unusual circumstances. Many focus on absurd business ideas like selling dreams and overseeing party supply vending machines.

I had trouble staying engaged for parts of this but love the author’s bravery in tackling unique ideas. Thanks @columbiauniversitypress for the ARC on @netgalley!

I found it a mixed bag. I really liked the first story - dinner for one and also I enjoyed Iceland. The other stories were ok but didn’t capture my attention so much.

Table for One: Stories by Yun Ko-eun is an intriguing enough short story collection and i did appreciate how the author incorporates surreal elements in her social commentary

3/5

Table for One is a short story collection filled with nine stories that are each unique and strange, not only with the characters, but the settings. It explored loneliness and societal expectations in South Korean culture. An interesting piece of translated fiction that toes the line between realism and the fantastic, with some general fiction mixed in. Throughout each story, themes of hopelessness and loneliness are interwoven with comedy. A melancholy commentary on densely packed urban life, rapid industrialization, and the displacement of traditional culture.

“But I don’t check expiration dates anymore. I know that I’ve already passed the expiration for my former daily life. I’m decaying, out of orbit from my past sense of normalcy.”

Table for One was a mix of stories that I really liked and stories that I either skimmed through or DNF’d. I liked their stories that were more lit-fic compared to the more surreal/sci-fi stories. I felt like they were a bit stronger. Some of my favorite stories included a woman learning to enjoy eating alone, a man getting stranded at a hotel during a blizzard and having to pay for cheaper and cheaper rooms that keep getting smaller, a woman finding a blank CD in a time capsule that was taken out of the ground too soon, and a man becoming obsessed with Iceland because an online test told him it was his “perfect” country based on his character. I’m between a 3 and a 3.5, but if I were to average my ratings for each story, my final rating would be closer to a 3.