Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop

November 20, 2023
A bestseller in South Korea, Bo-Reum’s English-language debut is a tranquil if meandering slice of life. Yeongju leaves behind a high-pressure job to open a bookstore with a coffee bar in a residential neighborhood in Seoul. Though the store is her dream come true, she spends the first few months struggling to overcome her lingering anxiety, and slips into a reading slump. Once she comes out of her funk, she bonds with the people who find their way to the store. Among them are her barista Minjun, who’s obsessed with brewing the perfect cup, and Jimi, the coffee roaster who mentors him. Mincheol, an unmotivated student, gains a newfound interest in reading from Yeongju’s recommendations. As Yeongju continues opening up to others, she helpes promote the store by writing a book review column and running a seminar. Though some characters and relationships evolve, the novel is structured primarily as a series of vignettes (an interview with an author; a book club discussion). Despite the lack of a cohesive plot or linear character development, the prolonged philosophical considerations of reading, community, happiness, and the meaning of work offer moments of reflection and observation. Bo-Reum pleasantly evokes the feeling of spending an afternoon in a favorite bookstore.

November 1, 2023
Yeong-ju is at the end of her rope. After years of giving her all at a demanding job, and entrenched in an unhappy marriage, she is suffering from burnout when she decides to leave it all behind and pursue her dream of opening a bookshop. Initially only planning to keep the store open for a year or two, Yeong-ju gets off to a rocky start, spending her days crying in the empty store, and when the occasional customer wanders in, only recommending books she loves. All that time alone leads Yeong-ju to ponder what makes a good bookstore, and her instincts kick in. Soon, she begins implementing ideas that draw in new customers. As she forms connections with several regulars, hires a barista, and finds her bookstore flourishing and becoming a fixture in the community, Yeong-ju's own views about success and her future start to transform. Already a best-seller in Korea, this quiet debut novel poses big questions about what it means to be successful and lead a fulfilling life. A worthy entry into the ever-growing constellation of fiction about the power of books, reading, and community.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 15, 2023
A former high-flying corporate employee quits her job, leaves her marriage, and opens a neighborhood bookstore and cafe outside Seoul. Yeongju doesn't know how to run a bookstore, but she feels compelled to answer her internal call to do just that, trying to find solace in books as she did as a child. As she works to rediscover herself through reading, she collects friends, regulars, and co-workers who also take comfort in the gentle routines of the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, named for the neighborhood in which it's located. There's Mincheol, a high school student who becomes a staple at the bookstore, and his mother, who stops in daily for coffee and a chat. Jungsuh often sits for hours in the cafe, seemingly doing nothing, before she finally starts crocheting and then knitting. Jimi, who runs Goat Beans, the roastery from which Yeongju sources the coffee beans for her cafe, becomes a close friend. Minjun, who's been drifting ever since college, trying unsuccessfully to find a permanent job and feeling uncertain about whether his routine of yoga, work, movies, and sleep is enough, becomes the bookstore's barista and first full-time, well-paid (Yeongju insists) employee. Seungwoo is a corporate worker whose online hobby dissecting the written word morphs into a book deal and subsequent seminar series. The book follows Yeongju's efforts to expand the bookshop to make it profitable, and her search for meaning and value in her efforts. Together, Yeongju and her friends and colleagues spend much time discussing the meaning of life, whether or not work has value, and the aftereffects of burnout. A snapshot of life in a quiet corner of Seoul examines how reading can help give voice to emotions, worries, and dreams.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 19, 2024

DEBUT Bo-reum's debut novel is a comfortable book about books. Yeongju flees her corporate job, her family, and her friends to open a bookstore. She spends months--a few pages in this novel--hiding out in her new shop, making customers worry about this sad bookseller instead of purchasing books. Librarians and booksellers will identify with the bookshop's journey from full shelves and no customers to becoming a warm heart of the community. Much of the earlier half of Hwang's novel follows Yeongju's attempts to increase traffic to her shop by creating a social media presence, scheduling enticing programs, and building a caf� space. As Yeongju's community begins to grow, new characters are fleshed out over several chapters before gaining their own POV segments. Here readers learn that the story is really about people finding their paths in life, as Hwang's haracters learn to appreciate their own needs and desires and to seek happiness, even though it isn't guaranteed. This is portrayed in abrupt sentences peppered with Korean romanizations and British slang. VERDICT Bound to be a book club favorite.--Matthew Galloway

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