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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Absolutely loved this. I get why it wouldn't be for everyone but this book really spoke to me and it did all the commentary on capitalism, consumerism, greed, family dynamics/relationships super well and beautifully. A strange book but a delightful and entertaining one.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
New Seoul Park Jelly Vendor Massacre was a very interesting read! It shows the Jelly Massacre at New Seoul Park through the eyes of nine individual characters, allowing for the reader to gather a picture of what happened before, during, and after the Jelly Massacre. Each chapter allows for the reader to see what happened through a new character, making the story feel refreshing as each character was so different from the other. It also felt super creative, as some characters weren’t necessarily human, allowing for a completely different but creative perspective.
After the story ends, there’s a section at the end of the book talking about the process of writing the book, how it doesn’t and shouldn’t belong to just one specific genre, and how the purpose of the book isn’t to answer any plot questions. I thought this was interesting as it does show in the book – there is no answer to why, who, or what really happened. Of course, as a reader, you may make your own assumptions of it all, but I enjoyed the vagueness of it all. Moreover, I agree that this isn’t exactly one genre – I don’t think it’s necessarily horror, maybe it’s a mystery, but it doesn’t define itself within one specific genre. It kept you guessing, creating absurd and different scenarios, leaving you wanting to read more, and I thought that was wonderful (is that speculative fiction?).
While I liked the vagueness and lack of answer to what happened, I do think there’s moments where the story should’ve been more explicit. The story of the missing child, which starts and ends the book, felt lacking in content as it didn’t really feel that satisfying – there’s no real context of what happened or why it was that important to include.
Overall, it’s an interesting concept. I always love stories where you have all these different characters that are linked to each other or to an event and the story then becomes a sort of mystery waiting to be solved while reading it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Safehouse Inc. for the ARC!