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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
medium-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:
Yes
Yeah, I liked this book. I bought it because I could tell it would align with my interests. I enjoy anything that is slightly speculative fiction, a little off from the norm. It had the vibe of cute X files. It discusses lots of odd stories of odd people and eventually gets to the meaninglessness of it all. The hardest part of the book to get past was that everything is fictional. At times I want to tell someone about some statistics in the book about how many people have crocodiles hiding under their bed and the percentage who end up dying from those crocodiles. But it's not true. Maybe it's true. It really doesn't matter; I think that's the point of the book. The ending caught me off guard. It took a more realistic approach. I think it is meant to act as a comparison to the made-up parts, as they are both equally absurd. I also like the writing style as it is translated from Korean. I enjoy translated books as the English is more straightforward. Overall I knew I would like it before buying it, and I did like it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
reflective
medium-paced
I actually really enjoyed a big chunk of this book.
The book is largely set up as a collection of short stories, all quirky and unusual and... sometimes a bit disturbing. These stories, I think, are great. Short stories are so well-suited to the absurd, and this book is exactly that.
And I wish it had stayed a short story collection. They really do stand so well by themselves. But at some point, we are introduced to a narrator of some kind—a main character who ties all the stories together for us. A fairly unlikely character who, I must admit, I truly did not enjoy reading about and had no emotional investment in. And so, the book uncomfortably sits in a grey area between short story collection and short novel. It makes the book feel a little disjointed and unpolished.
The low rating, however, is pretty much entirely due to the ending.
There was an escalation. I did not expect this escalation. I did not enjoy this escalation.
A curious and peculiar book with great ideas... but didn't stick the landing.
The book is largely set up as a collection of short stories, all quirky and unusual and... sometimes a bit disturbing. These stories, I think, are great. Short stories are so well-suited to the absurd, and this book is exactly that.
And I wish it had stayed a short story collection. They really do stand so well by themselves. But at some point, we are introduced to a narrator of some kind—a main character who ties all the stories together for us. A fairly unlikely character who, I must admit, I truly did not enjoy reading about and had no emotional investment in. And so, the book uncomfortably sits in a grey area between short story collection and short novel. It makes the book feel a little disjointed and unpolished.
The low rating, however, is pretty much entirely due to the ending.
A curious and peculiar book with great ideas... but didn't stick the landing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Fatphobia, Torture
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Sexism, Suicide
Did not like the main character - got bored
The Cabinet by Un-su Kim is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in late August.
Short stories put to paper by a second-person narrator, Deokgeun, who works alongside a Dr Kwon and writes in a Roald Dahl, 'Isn't that remarkable' kind of way of qualitative interviews that he sometimes takes as an appointment setter before being seen by the doctor. Otherwise, he muses over the odd things that happen in his own life and that of his girlfriend, Jeong-eun. It's very easy to lose yourself in the imaginatively absurd details of each story to the point that some aspects seem plausible.
Short stories put to paper by a second-person narrator, Deokgeun, who works alongside a Dr Kwon and writes in a Roald Dahl, 'Isn't that remarkable' kind of way of qualitative interviews that he sometimes takes as an appointment setter before being seen by the doctor. Otherwise, he muses over the odd things that happen in his own life and that of his girlfriend, Jeong-eun. It's very easy to lose yourself in the imaginatively absurd details of each story to the point that some aspects seem plausible.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No