A review by ursulamonarch
City of Ash and Red by Pyun Hye-young

I’m pretty sure I didn’t get this book. I started reading it based on its pandemic setting and description of being kafkaesque. I guess these are both accurate, but the main thread I see in reviews is that it’s disgusting. I thought it was pretty gross in multiple ways (somehow one can only be told about smells so many times, but the monkey tail was terribly indelible), but the potential moral decrepitude of the main character was truly unpleasant and made me consider giving up on the book. I probably would have had it been longer.

Anyway, I can’t even decide if I liked this or not. The writing and translation seemed strong, and the atmosphere really got into my head. But I’m not sure what to make of the rats, the different languages/countries, or anything.