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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
This was exactly my scene. It got weirder as it went along: just the way I like it. One of the blurbs described it as a thriller, which I don't agree that it was up until the last few chapters. In fact, earlier chapters felt more like short stories loosely strung together. I'm still thinking about how to interpret the ending and the whole premise in general. It got disturbing, but not at the level of The Humans. Not a strong endorsement for going to Seoul, though: even the food is described with suspicion.
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Woah. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Going to be thinking about it for a long time. Too tired to actually write a review.
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Felt more like an anthology than a full novel, so it was a little difficult to stay engaged.
Unsu Kim is a funny writer, and there is a lot of humor in this book. I couldn't really tell if he was going for funny or profound, but it works in a uniquely Korean approach to satire. This is largely a satire of ordinary life.
Unsu Kim is a funny writer, and there is a lot of humor in this book. I couldn't really tell if he was going for funny or profound, but it works in a uniquely Korean approach to satire. This is largely a satire of ordinary life.
I was really bored for most of this book. I liked it at first and I liked a lot of the humor but this just isn't my type of book. I want more of a story and something to latch onto and this was so much more just whimsical and weird for the sake of it. If you like cozy fantasy and like Welcome to Nightvale like fantasy and want something similar in book form this is for you. I thought I might but don't.
Kim Un-Su's "The Cabinet" is an absurd little book made up of little vignettes about files from a mysterious, but also really banal, cabinet. Documents detailing the lives of "symptomers" - people with strange mutations or conditions that defy the rules of reality as we would understand them. A man who's turning into a gingko tree. People that can fall asleep for months at a time and others who simply vanish off the Earth before abruptly returning.
The book is a darkly hilarious and depressing meditation on life under capitalism. One criticism I see from readers is that the little stories documented by the narrator never really come together to anything meaningful. And it's true. Not to spoil anything, but the book ends on an unsatisfying note. Subplots and themes come together somewhat but never fully coalesce into anything grand or pointed. It just ends.
However, that is the point, right? Our main character finds himself in a bullshit job without purpose. The plot ends up happening to him because he was bored of getting paid to sit around so he spent months guessing a three digit combination to a lock for a cabinet that held some weird stories in it. The absurdity of the fantastical is grounded to the point that they are as banal and dull as a day job. Our main character is so ridiculously straight and normal that that alone is absurd.
So if you are looking for a book motivated by a coherent plot, you will not find one here. Instead, "The Cabinet" critiques the day-to-day of living in a late-stage capitalist hell hole by mimicking the essence of living in a late-stage capitalist hell hole. Which is to say: alienating, pointless and, above all else, absurd.
And for that it is a pretty darn good book.
The book is a darkly hilarious and depressing meditation on life under capitalism. One criticism I see from readers is that the little stories documented by the narrator never really come together to anything meaningful. And it's true. Not to spoil anything, but the book ends on an unsatisfying note. Subplots and themes come together somewhat but never fully coalesce into anything grand or pointed. It just ends.
However, that is the point, right? Our main character finds himself in a bullshit job without purpose. The plot ends up happening to him because he was bored of getting paid to sit around so he spent months guessing a three digit combination to a lock for a cabinet that held some weird stories in it. The absurdity of the fantastical is grounded to the point that they are as banal and dull as a day job. Our main character is so ridiculously straight and normal that that alone is absurd.
So if you are looking for a book motivated by a coherent plot, you will not find one here. Instead, "The Cabinet" critiques the day-to-day of living in a late-stage capitalist hell hole by mimicking the essence of living in a late-stage capitalist hell hole. Which is to say: alienating, pointless and, above all else, absurd.
And for that it is a pretty darn good book.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I... genuinely have no idea what I just read.
The book blurb describes it as whimsical, funny, and satirical. However, it ended up being this bizarre combination of fantasy and body horror.
I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it. What I am saying is I have no idea what 'it' was.
For some reason, I think it's going to stick in my head for a bit, or I could be wrong?
Who knows.
3.5
P.s. no MC pregnancy tropes
The book blurb describes it as whimsical, funny, and satirical. However, it ended up being this bizarre combination of fantasy and body horror.
I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it. What I am saying is I have no idea what 'it' was.
For some reason, I think it's going to stick in my head for a bit, or I could be wrong?
Who knows.
3.5
P.s. no MC pregnancy tropes