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The Trunk
Read the pageturning Korean feminist thriller for fans of KIM JIYOUNG BORN 1982 and CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN – soon to be a major Netflix Original TV Series starring Gong Yoo from SQUID GAMES and Seo Hyun-jin
Meet Noh thirty years old, with five wedding rings so far, and she’s never once been in love.
When Inji takes a job at Wedding & Life, the popular matchmaking service, she never imagines role will be with NM, their secretive marriage division that rents out ‘field husbands and wives’ to their wealthiest clientele for a limited time. Just like a real marriage, Inji's assignments involve a wedding, some sex and a bit of housework, there is even a special helpline in case of any DV. It's all tailored exactly to the client’s desires - no legal battles, no fights, no emotional baggage.
In no way is Inji interested in finding real love, despite everyone trying to convince her otherwise- her brazen neighbour Granny, her flirtatious best friend Shi-jeong, and her failed blind date, Tae-seong.
Then one of Inji's old husbands, a mysterious high-profile music producer, requests her back for another year. Soon Inji’s own dark past will begin to unravel – as well as the sinister underbelly of the NM’s management team, who will stop at nothing to preserve their reputation - and that of their clients.
Meet Noh thirty years old, with five wedding rings so far, and she’s never once been in love.
When Inji takes a job at Wedding & Life, the popular matchmaking service, she never imagines role will be with NM, their secretive marriage division that rents out ‘field husbands and wives’ to their wealthiest clientele for a limited time. Just like a real marriage, Inji's assignments involve a wedding, some sex and a bit of housework, there is even a special helpline in case of any DV. It's all tailored exactly to the client’s desires - no legal battles, no fights, no emotional baggage.
In no way is Inji interested in finding real love, despite everyone trying to convince her otherwise- her brazen neighbour Granny, her flirtatious best friend Shi-jeong, and her failed blind date, Tae-seong.
Then one of Inji's old husbands, a mysterious high-profile music producer, requests her back for another year. Soon Inji’s own dark past will begin to unravel – as well as the sinister underbelly of the NM’s management team, who will stop at nothing to preserve their reputation - and that of their clients.
- GenresFiction
304 pages, Hardcover
First published May 29, 2015
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September 8, 2024
The type of woman who wants to get married at least once. According to the gallery woman, that was the category I fell under. So, this was the world we lived in, one where even spouses could be rented. W&L charged NM members a high annual subscription and a matrimonial fee and, in return, offered them a selection of spouses. It was like the spouses were luxury personal items like a Dior perfume or a Birkin bag.
한번쯤 결혼해보고 싶은 여자. 그녀는 내가 그 범주에 속한다고 했다. 이제는 배우자도 임대하는 세상이 됐구나. 고액의 연회비와 혼인성사자금을 지불하는 회원들에게, 이런 아내는 어떠신가요? 하고 내미는 기호품이 된 기분이었다.
The Trunk (2024) is the English translation by the collective The KoLab of the 2015 novel 트렁크 by 김려령 (Kim Ryeo-ryeong), with a Netflix series based on the original due shortly.
The story behind the English translation is a fascinating one, prepared by a group of students in Australian universities as a colloborative exercise, rather than commissioned for publication. Those students led by Dr. Adam Zulawnik, at the University of Melbourne, and Yonjae Paik of the Australian National Univerisity, were Yoon-kyung Joo, Violet Reeves, Kiah Greenwood, Sunny Kandula, Cheyenne Lim, Keith Wong, Daniel Gage-Brown, Sneha Karri, Mimi Lee, Vienna Harkness, Injee Nam, Jamie Lim-Young, and Aditi Dubey (the latter of whom contributes an afterword).
I first came across the translation-in-progress via the website of the leading reviewer of Korean fiction in translation, Tony Malone, who reviewed on his blog and fed back on the first version of the translation, and whose contribution to the eventual publication of the novel is acknowledged by both Zulawnik and Paik in their respective afterwords.
It's a great initiative and hopefully not the last such one we will see.
The novel is narrated by Inji (인지), 29 years old and in her sixth year working as a FW (Field Wife) for NM (New Marriage) a elite, secretive division of the matchmaking company W&L (Wedding and Life) [the novel neatly skewering the corporate obsession with acronyms]. New Marriage takes matchmaking to a different level by providing temporary (typically 1 year) wives for clients who prefer to take a less conventional approach to matrimony, the marriage dissolved at the end of the contract with no need for a messy divorce.
Although as Inji's typically frank reaction when she is first approached to work in the division suggests, there is a potentially seedy side to the transaction:
Contract spouses—what on earth? I remember thinking. FWs were just escorts, but with insurance and a high salary. This was institutionalized prostitution. Fuck, why have I been picked for this? Is that the sort of impression I gave her? I even considered reaching out to a journalist friend of mine to say that I had discovered a juicy story. If the story got some attention, I could maybe even get a gig out of it. “Breaking news! A dark secret hidden under the promise of love! Matchmaking company revealed to be escort service!”
The UK blurb bills this as a 'feminist thriller' and, as with other reviewers, I have to say that it isn't that at all - it's more of a 'misogamistic melodrama', questioning the traditional institution of marriage (while pointing out the flaws of this rather radical alternative). And it's a topic which is key to South Korea's demographic crisis, with birth outside of wedlock (I use the old fashioned term deliberately given the context) is much lower than in most developed countries - e.g. from NPR, "Korea saw 2.5% of births outside marriage in 2020; the U.S., by comparison, recorded 40.5%."
The thriller label is particularly odd in that there isn't really one central driving plot strand, but rather several, most of which aren't really resolved:
- Inji's own developing thoughts as to whether she wants to stay working as a Field Wife, as she also navigates office politics;
- a co-field wife who has fallen pregnant during her marriage and wants to keep the child, even though her client husband doesn't;
- the unusual request of her latest 'the husband' (she doesn't refer to her clients by name in her own thoughts) that they renew the contract for another year;
- 'the husband's' rather secretive career as a music producer, working anonymously with an unnamed famous musician;
- 'Granny', Inji's neighbour, who is having a late-life fling with a toyboy, who seems to primarily use her to buy good from his pyramid marketing schemes;
- someone who Inji's friend introduces to her for a blind-date who turns into something of an obsessive stalker, not taking no for an answer and showering her with unrequested gifts of home made ddeok. And when the company have to intervene, this is turn leads to a story suggesting corruption and modern slavery within New Marriage which perhaps is the strand that the 'thriller' label is hinting at but actually feels rather incidental to the novel;
- Inji's relationship with her best friend from school days, and their memories of their mutual friend who died at their coming-of-age party;
- her relationship with her mother, including hints of a romantic relationship her mother vetoed as Inji's paramour was bisexual ("Well, I actually prefer it coming in the other way" is Inji's retort when her mother says his acts with other men are unnatural).
Many of these explore, in a very unsentimental fashion, various aspects of sexuality, relationships and marriage, and working culture, although others (e.g. the music story) appear to be pure distractions.
But perhaps the novel is oddly better for that - the messiness of the plot, and the lack of straightforward morals of the story reflecting the complexities and non-binary subtleties of modern-life. And this is a welcome anecdote, for my taste, to the trend of twee 'healing magical coffee-scented laundromat which sells books' genre that seem to have dominated Korean literature in translation in the last 12 months.
3.5 stars
한번쯤 결혼해보고 싶은 여자. 그녀는 내가 그 범주에 속한다고 했다. 이제는 배우자도 임대하는 세상이 됐구나. 고액의 연회비와 혼인성사자금을 지불하는 회원들에게, 이런 아내는 어떠신가요? 하고 내미는 기호품이 된 기분이었다.
The Trunk (2024) is the English translation by the collective The KoLab of the 2015 novel 트렁크 by 김려령 (Kim Ryeo-ryeong), with a Netflix series based on the original due shortly.
The story behind the English translation is a fascinating one, prepared by a group of students in Australian universities as a colloborative exercise, rather than commissioned for publication. Those students led by Dr. Adam Zulawnik, at the University of Melbourne, and Yonjae Paik of the Australian National Univerisity, were Yoon-kyung Joo, Violet Reeves, Kiah Greenwood, Sunny Kandula, Cheyenne Lim, Keith Wong, Daniel Gage-Brown, Sneha Karri, Mimi Lee, Vienna Harkness, Injee Nam, Jamie Lim-Young, and Aditi Dubey (the latter of whom contributes an afterword).
I first came across the translation-in-progress via the website of the leading reviewer of Korean fiction in translation, Tony Malone, who reviewed on his blog and fed back on the first version of the translation, and whose contribution to the eventual publication of the novel is acknowledged by both Zulawnik and Paik in their respective afterwords.
It's a great initiative and hopefully not the last such one we will see.
The novel is narrated by Inji (인지), 29 years old and in her sixth year working as a FW (Field Wife) for NM (New Marriage) a elite, secretive division of the matchmaking company W&L (Wedding and Life) [the novel neatly skewering the corporate obsession with acronyms]. New Marriage takes matchmaking to a different level by providing temporary (typically 1 year) wives for clients who prefer to take a less conventional approach to matrimony, the marriage dissolved at the end of the contract with no need for a messy divorce.
Although as Inji's typically frank reaction when she is first approached to work in the division suggests, there is a potentially seedy side to the transaction:
Contract spouses—what on earth? I remember thinking. FWs were just escorts, but with insurance and a high salary. This was institutionalized prostitution. Fuck, why have I been picked for this? Is that the sort of impression I gave her? I even considered reaching out to a journalist friend of mine to say that I had discovered a juicy story. If the story got some attention, I could maybe even get a gig out of it. “Breaking news! A dark secret hidden under the promise of love! Matchmaking company revealed to be escort service!”
The UK blurb bills this as a 'feminist thriller' and, as with other reviewers, I have to say that it isn't that at all - it's more of a 'misogamistic melodrama', questioning the traditional institution of marriage (while pointing out the flaws of this rather radical alternative). And it's a topic which is key to South Korea's demographic crisis, with birth outside of wedlock (I use the old fashioned term deliberately given the context) is much lower than in most developed countries - e.g. from NPR, "Korea saw 2.5% of births outside marriage in 2020; the U.S., by comparison, recorded 40.5%."
The thriller label is particularly odd in that there isn't really one central driving plot strand, but rather several, most of which aren't really resolved:
- Inji's own developing thoughts as to whether she wants to stay working as a Field Wife, as she also navigates office politics;
- a co-field wife who has fallen pregnant during her marriage and wants to keep the child, even though her client husband doesn't;
- the unusual request of her latest 'the husband' (she doesn't refer to her clients by name in her own thoughts) that they renew the contract for another year;
- 'the husband's' rather secretive career as a music producer, working anonymously with an unnamed famous musician;
- 'Granny', Inji's neighbour, who is having a late-life fling with a toyboy, who seems to primarily use her to buy good from his pyramid marketing schemes;
- someone who Inji's friend introduces to her for a blind-date who turns into something of an obsessive stalker, not taking no for an answer and showering her with unrequested gifts of home made ddeok. And when the company have to intervene, this is turn leads to a story suggesting corruption and modern slavery within New Marriage which perhaps is the strand that the 'thriller' label is hinting at but actually feels rather incidental to the novel;
- Inji's relationship with her best friend from school days, and their memories of their mutual friend who died at their coming-of-age party;
- her relationship with her mother, including hints of a romantic relationship her mother vetoed as Inji's paramour was bisexual ("Well, I actually prefer it coming in the other way" is Inji's retort when her mother says his acts with other men are unnatural).
Many of these explore, in a very unsentimental fashion, various aspects of sexuality, relationships and marriage, and working culture, although others (e.g. the music story) appear to be pure distractions.
But perhaps the novel is oddly better for that - the messiness of the plot, and the lack of straightforward morals of the story reflecting the complexities and non-binary subtleties of modern-life. And this is a welcome anecdote, for my taste, to the trend of twee 'healing magical coffee-scented laundromat which sells books' genre that seem to have dominated Korean literature in translation in the last 12 months.
3.5 stars
August 12, 2024
I had been carrying around this big trunk with me, cramming my life into it bit by bit, and it was time for me to throw it away.
I struggle with the blurb which describes this as a feminist thriller - or a thriller at all - and it's quite a stretch to liken this to The Handmaid's Tale though I can at least see the reasons for that comparison even if they don't immediately spring to my mind. Instead, I'd say this is a book which tackles head-on, and with some verve and humour, the idea of marital, sexual and gendered conformity in South Korean society and the impact of that on Inji, a 30 year old Korean woman.
There's definitely a quirky premise here with a 'marriage bureau' which offers up 'field wives' (or husbands though we don't see so much of that) i.e. wives rented on short fixed term contracts. In this way the book merges social criticism from different fields: sexuality, capitalism and precarity, though the latter is seen as a convenience rather than a way of excluding people from stability.
The first-person narrator, Inji, is one of those alienated young women in fiction who is trying to navigate a world that doesn't work for her benefit: 'to me, the entire world was a desert - a desert so arid that surviving it was a feat [...] I couldn't tell what the desert wanted from me, but I suspected it was obedience. What I wanted was just to be able to walk wherever I wanted, as far as I wanted, even if my feet started to sink into the sand.'
With issues here of mental health, of queerness, of intergenerational conflict, and of monetisation of private life, there's a lot of interesting things going on. Inji, inevitably, has a tense relationship with her mother for reasons not made clear until the end, and we follow her through two 'field marriages' as well as a back story about two women with whom she's close.
It's an intriguing narrative though the pacing can feel a little off. The story doesn't quite fix to the scenario promised in the blurb and is actually more interesting than the corporate secrets thriller plot promised (though there is a bit of that as well). As with some other Korean fiction, there's something a little elusive and hazy about the story, almost as if it was originally bolder but then became diluted.
Nevertheless, this is an absorbing and consistently fascinating short novel that tackles its themes in a quasi figurative way that worked well for me.
It's also worth noting that this was translated as part of a group translation project which renders the story seamlessly in smooth English - a great initiative!
Many thanks to Transworld for an ARC via NetGalley
September 4, 2024
The Trunk is marketed as a Korean feminist thriller. Part of me agrees with 'thriller' being its genre, but I don't think it fully fits the bill. This is a book with a quirky plot, likeable characters, and feminist to the tee. The social commentary paired up with the quirky story was a perfect combination.
I recommend this book to readers who like:
✅ Women calling men out on their BS.
✅ Women supporting women. “Your burden is as heavy as mine.”
✅ Women who are annoyed at ✨men✨. I'm not talking about ALL men but: Men who tell women they need to be skinny and pretty while they do nothing to take care of themselves; men who have never married who think unmarried women are a waste of space; divorced men who think divorced women are too used up; men who harass; men who stalk; men who isolate women; men who use women for sex; old men who only want pretty young women; men who only want women as furniture (as long as they cook); men who interrupt you when you talk to speak about their shit constantly; men who don’t understand the word ‘no’; con men after women’s money; lost fathers who only show up when they need cash; men who stay with their wives out of duty but ignore them; men who mistreat and insult their mothers (while still using their money); ETC.
(My highlights were when Kim Ryeo-ryeong had the main character whine about men try sexy stuff they had seen in porn and it doesn't work out, but they keep going with the “You like that, yeah?” No we don’t. Hilarious).
Anyways, onto the review. This is such a good book. You know I’m liking a book when it takes me ages to finish, I was just dragging it so it wouldn’t end.
The Trunk follows Noh Inji, an employee at NM. NM, or New Marriages, is a sub-company of a dating company that pairs up men and women. NM, instead of dating, pairs up individuals with a wife/husband for a set period of time. Not everyone gets to be a wife or husband for NM, it’s quite difficult, and you can only reject a potential partner three times or else you get fired.
After a particularly shitty husband (I almost PUKED reading about him), Inji says no to two similar men. Meaning that she can’t really say no anymore if she wants to keep her job. Luckily for her, she gets a husband whose only particularity is that he likes buying alcohol when he’s drunk. We follow Inji as she works but also as she deals with her life: her work colleagues at NM, her LOVELY neighbor Granny (I LOVE GRANNY SO MUCH) and best friend, her tteok-obsessed stalker, and so forth.
The novel that ensues is mesmerizing. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s such a peculiar story because of the whole NM business, but if you look beyond it, it’s just so empowering. Women are always told we find ourselves in X or Y situations because we dress some way or we don’t say no. In this book, Inji screams at men who act ‘like men’ and where does that get her? Nowhere. Because men don’t understand the word ‘no.' This book is just perfect for any woman who is tired of being told how to look, how to act, how good men are, how we’re at fault. It’s very feminist and it focuses a lot on how tiring it is to be a woman in a man's world, with men telling you how it is, etc. It enraged me, it made me laugh, it was everything.
I wouldn't call this a book about 'female rage,' but it certainly is a 'I'm so tired of this shit' type of book. Beyond this, I LOVED the appreciation and reverence for female friendship and support. The inclusion of LGBTQIA+ in Korea (including asexuality!) it was just so to the point and fun to read. This book just had everything and it was so funny.
Also, THE ENDING. Oh my God. I SCREAMED.
Five stars. If Kim Ryeo-ryeong and I had drinks together, we’d end the night as besties.
PS. As I read this, I was like "tteok guy and I would be perfect for each other, I love tteok so much." I'll never look at tteok the same way.
Bits I highlighted:
If you don't have a job, just stay at home and pound your 'tteok' in since, yeah? The handmade way. ***🚨 Free Korean Lesson: 떡치다 (tteokchida) means 'pounding rice cakes' in Korean but it's also used for 'fucking' because it looks like you're inserting something into another something (and because of the texture of tteok lol). 10/10 sentence, I laughed.
--
By all means, sell everything else, but can we leave human beings out of it? We all feel the same pain.
--
"People don't repay favors to nice people. They only do that for people they're scared of. Nice people? You thank them with words. Scary people? They're the ones you work hard to pay back."
--
'Excuse me, sir, I'm sorry but this position is just not working. You're going to break my spine. I've bent so far back it feels like my ribs are going to poke out of my skin.' He didn't realize how weird those positions looked in real life. I wasn't some kind of acrobat.
--
"Don't underestimate the contents in your fridge. There are lots of objects out there that are better than your husband."
*I received this ARC for free, this hasn’t impacted my review.
I recommend this book to readers who like:
✅ Women calling men out on their BS.
✅ Women supporting women. “Your burden is as heavy as mine.”
✅ Women who are annoyed at ✨men✨. I'm not talking about ALL men but: Men who tell women they need to be skinny and pretty while they do nothing to take care of themselves; men who have never married who think unmarried women are a waste of space; divorced men who think divorced women are too used up; men who harass; men who stalk; men who isolate women; men who use women for sex; old men who only want pretty young women; men who only want women as furniture (as long as they cook); men who interrupt you when you talk to speak about their shit constantly; men who don’t understand the word ‘no’; con men after women’s money; lost fathers who only show up when they need cash; men who stay with their wives out of duty but ignore them; men who mistreat and insult their mothers (while still using their money); ETC.
(My highlights were when Kim Ryeo-ryeong had the main character whine about men try sexy stuff they had seen in porn and it doesn't work out, but they keep going with the “You like that, yeah?” No we don’t. Hilarious).
Anyways, onto the review. This is such a good book. You know I’m liking a book when it takes me ages to finish, I was just dragging it so it wouldn’t end.
The Trunk follows Noh Inji, an employee at NM. NM, or New Marriages, is a sub-company of a dating company that pairs up men and women. NM, instead of dating, pairs up individuals with a wife/husband for a set period of time. Not everyone gets to be a wife or husband for NM, it’s quite difficult, and you can only reject a potential partner three times or else you get fired.
After a particularly shitty husband (I almost PUKED reading about him), Inji says no to two similar men. Meaning that she can’t really say no anymore if she wants to keep her job. Luckily for her, she gets a husband whose only particularity is that he likes buying alcohol when he’s drunk. We follow Inji as she works but also as she deals with her life: her work colleagues at NM, her LOVELY neighbor Granny (I LOVE GRANNY SO MUCH) and best friend, her tteok-obsessed stalker, and so forth.
The novel that ensues is mesmerizing. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s such a peculiar story because of the whole NM business, but if you look beyond it, it’s just so empowering. Women are always told we find ourselves in X or Y situations because we dress some way or we don’t say no. In this book, Inji screams at men who act ‘like men’ and where does that get her? Nowhere. Because men don’t understand the word ‘no.' This book is just perfect for any woman who is tired of being told how to look, how to act, how good men are, how we’re at fault. It’s very feminist and it focuses a lot on how tiring it is to be a woman in a man's world, with men telling you how it is, etc. It enraged me, it made me laugh, it was everything.
I wouldn't call this a book about 'female rage,' but it certainly is a 'I'm so tired of this shit' type of book. Beyond this, I LOVED the appreciation and reverence for female friendship and support. The inclusion of LGBTQIA+ in Korea (including asexuality!) it was just so to the point and fun to read. This book just had everything and it was so funny.
Also, THE ENDING. Oh my God. I SCREAMED.
Five stars. If Kim Ryeo-ryeong and I had drinks together, we’d end the night as besties.
PS. As I read this, I was like "tteok guy and I would be perfect for each other, I love tteok so much." I'll never look at tteok the same way.
Bits I highlighted:
If you don't have a job, just stay at home and pound your 'tteok' in since, yeah? The handmade way. ***🚨 Free Korean Lesson: 떡치다 (tteokchida) means 'pounding rice cakes' in Korean but it's also used for 'fucking' because it looks like you're inserting something into another something (and because of the texture of tteok lol). 10/10 sentence, I laughed.
--
By all means, sell everything else, but can we leave human beings out of it? We all feel the same pain.
--
"People don't repay favors to nice people. They only do that for people they're scared of. Nice people? You thank them with words. Scary people? They're the ones you work hard to pay back."
--
'Excuse me, sir, I'm sorry but this position is just not working. You're going to break my spine. I've bent so far back it feels like my ribs are going to poke out of my skin.' He didn't realize how weird those positions looked in real life. I wasn't some kind of acrobat.
--
"Don't underestimate the contents in your fridge. There are lots of objects out there that are better than your husband."
*I received this ARC for free, this hasn’t impacted my review.
August 16, 2024
The Trunk is a novel about a woman who works as a 'Field Wife', a hired out temporary spouse for the rich, and what happens when one of her previous husbands hires her for another year of marriage. Inji took a job at matchmaking service Wedding & Life's secret division, in which people can pay for a field spouse to have a fixed term marriage with, when she didn't know what to do with her life, and now she's had five of these husbands. The most recent husband wants another year with her, and soon various people in her life, and secrets from the past, start to appear, in this satirical novel that explores modern marriage, sexuality, and gender expectations in South Korea.
This novel wasn't what I was expecting from how it is presented, as it is marketed as a feminist thriller, and between that and the title, I was expecting the protagonist to be involved in something like murder. Actually, the book is more about ideas of love and marriage, queerness and the space for people's lives and relationships to be more fluid, with a plot that is more focused on the protagonist's relationships to other people and things in the past that have impacted those relationships. There are some thriller-like elements—like her finding more shady stuff out about the company she works for, or the guy who won't stop pursuing her, or the mystery of how her schoolfriend died—but the book is really more meditative and character-focused, with a lot of satire as well, rather than a thrilling page turner.
The first half of the book focuses on Inji's work in the company and some of the people in her life, like her closest friend and the old granny who lives by her, and all of the characters are given a lot of quirks to explore how people's lives aren't straightforward. There's also her current husband, a rich music producer she has avoided finding out much about, and a guy who has started turning up at her work, demanding to know why she's not interested in him, and both of these two seem like something dramatic is going to happen, but then the second half of the book tells more of the story of her and her best friend, and their other friend who died after Coming of Age Day. as well as Inji's revelations about a manager at her company. This all makes it quite a varied novel, but I enjoyed that it wasn't a straightforward thriller, and instead questioned a lot of things about relationships, sex, and love that people tend to expect.
This novel wasn't what I was expecting from how it is presented, as it is marketed as a feminist thriller, and between that and the title, I was expecting the protagonist to be involved in something like murder. Actually, the book is more about ideas of love and marriage, queerness and the space for people's lives and relationships to be more fluid, with a plot that is more focused on the protagonist's relationships to other people and things in the past that have impacted those relationships. There are some thriller-like elements—like her finding more shady stuff out about the company she works for, or the guy who won't stop pursuing her, or the mystery of how her schoolfriend died—but the book is really more meditative and character-focused, with a lot of satire as well, rather than a thrilling page turner.
The first half of the book focuses on Inji's work in the company and some of the people in her life, like her closest friend and the old granny who lives by her, and all of the characters are given a lot of quirks to explore how people's lives aren't straightforward. There's also her current husband, a rich music producer she has avoided finding out much about, and a guy who has started turning up at her work, demanding to know why she's not interested in him, and both of these two seem like something dramatic is going to happen, but then the second half of the book tells more of the story of her and her best friend, and their other friend who died after Coming of Age Day. as well as Inji's revelations about a manager at her company. This all makes it quite a varied novel, but I enjoyed that it wasn't a straightforward thriller, and instead questioned a lot of things about relationships, sex, and love that people tend to expect.
September 21, 2024
"For us, love was only permitted within the constraints of a contract and a fixed term. Accidents happened when you mistakenly assumed that you were somehow special. To our clients, we were all the same."
Inji Noh works as a "Field Wife" for a secretive matchmaking agency called 'Weddings & Life', which offers fixed-term marriages for the elite. After five marriages, her ex-husband, a wealthy music producer, requests her again. Inji soon finds herself uncovering dark secrets about her past and the agency.
One major frustration was that 'The Trunk' isn't a thriller, but more of a dystopian commentary on marriage, mental health, and sexuality. While the plot builds toward a suspenseful conclusion, the ending felt rushed and left me confused.
The concept of a professional marriage service was intriguing, but I wished it had been explored further. Inji's character, filled with cynicism and anger, didn’t quite tap into the deeper emotional journey I was hoping for, and many character interactions felt flat. I was really hoping for female rage and anger but sadly it wasn't there.
A significant issue was the translation, which seemed to lose nuance and disrupt the flow, making it hard to stay engaged. Unfortunately, I struggled to keep going, so I can't rate this higher than a 2.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for a review!
September 3, 2024
This is a great example of how important a translator is. Doesn't matter how good the story is, if the voice isn't consistent and well developed, the book makes no sense and nuance is lost. So many parts of this were clunky and missing context or tension. The whole storyline reflecting on her relationship with her mother felt pointless, the nothing-ness of the friendship with Kim, the weird confession that didn't develop and the heinous nature of the dating organisation never coming to any resolution just left me so underwhelmed by what promised to be such an interesting book.
September 16, 2024
Pretty strong premise, the main character works as a ‘field wife’ which is alike a hired spouse for the rich, with its complex contract and obligations. This concept caught my interest and I was optimistic that I would enjoy it as seemed reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale, or a futuristic John Marrs esque storyline. I was, however, a little disappointed in delivery and it didn’t capture and hold my interest quite as much as it had promised. I can’t quite put my finger on why, maybe it was lost a little (literally) in translation. The feel for the individual characters wasn’t a hundred percent there and they didn’t gel for me. Definitely worth a go though, still captured my imagination and was food for thought.
September 22, 2024
The Trunk is an interesting concept that shows Noh Inji working as a field wife at an exclusive matchmaking company named Wedding & Life.
At Wedding & Life Inji takes on a new assignment which sees her matched up with a former husband who happens to be part of the elite clientele.
This book is described as a thriller but it didn't really give me the vibes of one, it did however have a lot of social commentary.
I really liked the characters of Inji and Granny but I didn't really feel like a lot happened in the book and personally I felt the second half of the book was a bit disconnected to the first.
Thank you to Netgalley for the arc.
At Wedding & Life Inji takes on a new assignment which sees her matched up with a former husband who happens to be part of the elite clientele.
This book is described as a thriller but it didn't really give me the vibes of one, it did however have a lot of social commentary.
I really liked the characters of Inji and Granny but I didn't really feel like a lot happened in the book and personally I felt the second half of the book was a bit disconnected to the first.
Thank you to Netgalley for the arc.
September 1, 2024
Finished this one now! It’s a Korean feminist satire soon to be a Netflix TV serie (marketed as thriller, but I think that’s a stretch). A bit elusive and I am not sure what it wanted to say in the end, but I enjoyed its exploration of marriage, mental health, gender and sexual orientation. I’d definitely watch the Netflix show! 3.5-4 🌟
September 1, 2024
This is my first Korean novel read and the translation has been done extremely well.
However - I feel the blurb versus the content do not marry up. I was expecting as per the description "a feminist thriller", but instead would describe this as a slow burn literary fiction.
The concept of the marriage agency is a unique and interesting one, if this had been written differently I think that would have captured my attention and made it a very unique and clever concept and novel.
Perhaps I was just expecting different content from the blurb and it isn't the type of read I usually gravitate towards and love. That been said it is very very well written and I learnt a lot both from the novel, immersed within Korean culture and from the translator's notes regarding the declining fertility rate in Korea. I will give the upcoming Netflix adaption a watch and see if it is better on screen. 3 🌟
Thank you Penguin Random House UK via NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
However - I feel the blurb versus the content do not marry up. I was expecting as per the description "a feminist thriller", but instead would describe this as a slow burn literary fiction.
The concept of the marriage agency is a unique and interesting one, if this had been written differently I think that would have captured my attention and made it a very unique and clever concept and novel.
Perhaps I was just expecting different content from the blurb and it isn't the type of read I usually gravitate towards and love. That been said it is very very well written and I learnt a lot both from the novel, immersed within Korean culture and from the translator's notes regarding the declining fertility rate in Korea. I will give the upcoming Netflix adaption a watch and see if it is better on screen. 3 🌟
Thank you Penguin Random House UK via NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Want to read
August 13, 2024RTC
Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday from Transworld Publisher, Random House UKfor providing copy of this ebook. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Expecting release date : 17 October 2024
Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday from Transworld Publisher, Random House UKfor providing copy of this ebook. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Expecting release date : 17 October 2024
September 28, 2024
The Trunk is the first Korean title by Kim Ryeo-Ryeong, translated from Korean to English by Paik Yonjae, Aditi Dubey and Adam Zulawnik. It has recently gained popularity after a series adaptation, starring Seon Hyun-li and Gong Yu, was announced to be released by Netflix in the autumn of 2024. I honestly had no idea this translation was coming out in the upcoming month, so I read the summary and was directly hooked by just that little paragraph. I was also intrigued by the title, which clearly didn't seem to have any relation with that blurb. So, I wanted to know more, and NetGalley and Doubleday UK (a division of Penguin Random House UK) gave me this opportunity.
Inji is a field wife at NM, a division of Wedding&Life, an agency which allows their clients to hire agents and spend one year in a marriage contract together. For her, it is her escape, a way to stay out of her mom's way and live without attachments. When a previous husband asks to renew their marriage for another year, Inji is annoyed; she usually avoids such a situation, preferring to restart from zero, with no traces of her previous marriage contract. Then her life gets complicated: this uptight and sticky person, Om Tae-song, keeps bringing her tteok cakes and annoying her. Yet, getting these little threads of life entangled, Inji might just end up confronted with her very truth, and all the things she buried deep behind in her past.
I honestly REALLY enjoyed this novel; each chapter has a new hook to keep you 100% involved in the story. I have to say that, at first, I was a bit lost because I'd read the series's synopsis before reading the blurb, and the two are so distinct from each other that I thought the timing of the storyline was a bit off. But now that I have re-read the blurb, I do think that the line is perfect and keeps you with a clear structure to the very end. The plot is nothing special, but mixed with a lot of complicated connections to the other characters, sex, and a dark atmosphere overshadowing the whole story, Kim succeeded in creating something unique. It reminded me a lot about the vibes of Park Chan-Wook's Decision To Leave (2022). So if you liked this movie, make sure to pick this book up at your local bookstore.
Inji is such a special female lead that you want to know more about her. I think she has a very modern perspective on love insofar as she realises its implications and comes to flee a life like her mother had—being stuck at home and pretending not to be sick when she was. She wants freedom, the possibility to be versatile in her body and her life, to push her boundaries further whenever she feels like it, while also being able to stop people from getting her to do things she doesn't want. At the same time, however, she is really empathetic with her husband and with Om Tae-Song, whom she despises.
Her husband is quite a caricature of patriarchy and what it means to be a man in Korea (and the world, really): he is driven by his (sexual) impulses, uses her as an object to fulfil them while watching porn together, and is an isolated person with a very close circle of friends (whom he enjoys manipulating). In her marriage with him, Inji demonstrates what it's like to navigate such a relationship while striving to remain herself, not to be crushed by a partner.
With Om Tae-Song, we experience men's obsessive tendency to overreact to women; I thought his character was interesting because, although he surely wasn't perfect, his deeds were at first well-intended; he simply wanted someone to love and who loved him in return, someone to offer gifts to, to share moments with. But his determination to do so reveals him as a psychopath. What I found really interesting is this overturn of the so-called "sex appeal". While he tries to seduce Inji, his efforts become a threat to her. Perhaps he felt endangered by patriarchy, and so that's why he pushed things too far? I don't know, but he made me think a lot about men's general efforts to approach women.
The story in itself, as I wrote already, was keeping me on edge; I think that's also due to the variety of themes that were brought up. Kim made a deep dive into social issues still pervading Korea today: LGBTQIA+ rights and perceptions by society, unemployment, financial and social-class gaps that are increasingly growing in the country, the rise of abandoned children, prostitution, etc. The list wouldn't be exhaustive enough, really, but we get the sense of spiralling down to more and more issues because of a systemic imbalance. I'll let you have a read to explore these thematic more thoroughly. The intricacies between all the narratives were so well tackled that, in the end, the full portrait of Korean society was rich and well rendered. It felt like a well-rounded plot, which I greatly appreciated.
For all those reasons, I will without a doubt recommend this book to my readers. I'm sure those who like to expand their knowledge about Korean society will find it riveting, and it will be very nice for them to access the novel after (or before) watching the series.
Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday UK for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Trunk!
Inji is a field wife at NM, a division of Wedding&Life, an agency which allows their clients to hire agents and spend one year in a marriage contract together. For her, it is her escape, a way to stay out of her mom's way and live without attachments. When a previous husband asks to renew their marriage for another year, Inji is annoyed; she usually avoids such a situation, preferring to restart from zero, with no traces of her previous marriage contract. Then her life gets complicated: this uptight and sticky person, Om Tae-song, keeps bringing her tteok cakes and annoying her. Yet, getting these little threads of life entangled, Inji might just end up confronted with her very truth, and all the things she buried deep behind in her past.
I honestly REALLY enjoyed this novel; each chapter has a new hook to keep you 100% involved in the story. I have to say that, at first, I was a bit lost because I'd read the series's synopsis before reading the blurb, and the two are so distinct from each other that I thought the timing of the storyline was a bit off. But now that I have re-read the blurb, I do think that the line is perfect and keeps you with a clear structure to the very end. The plot is nothing special, but mixed with a lot of complicated connections to the other characters, sex, and a dark atmosphere overshadowing the whole story, Kim succeeded in creating something unique. It reminded me a lot about the vibes of Park Chan-Wook's Decision To Leave (2022). So if you liked this movie, make sure to pick this book up at your local bookstore.
Inji is such a special female lead that you want to know more about her. I think she has a very modern perspective on love insofar as she realises its implications and comes to flee a life like her mother had—being stuck at home and pretending not to be sick when she was. She wants freedom, the possibility to be versatile in her body and her life, to push her boundaries further whenever she feels like it, while also being able to stop people from getting her to do things she doesn't want. At the same time, however, she is really empathetic with her husband and with Om Tae-Song, whom she despises.
Her husband is quite a caricature of patriarchy and what it means to be a man in Korea (and the world, really): he is driven by his (sexual) impulses, uses her as an object to fulfil them while watching porn together, and is an isolated person with a very close circle of friends (whom he enjoys manipulating). In her marriage with him, Inji demonstrates what it's like to navigate such a relationship while striving to remain herself, not to be crushed by a partner.
With Om Tae-Song, we experience men's obsessive tendency to overreact to women; I thought his character was interesting because, although he surely wasn't perfect, his deeds were at first well-intended; he simply wanted someone to love and who loved him in return, someone to offer gifts to, to share moments with. But his determination to do so reveals him as a psychopath. What I found really interesting is this overturn of the so-called "sex appeal". While he tries to seduce Inji, his efforts become a threat to her. Perhaps he felt endangered by patriarchy, and so that's why he pushed things too far? I don't know, but he made me think a lot about men's general efforts to approach women.
The story in itself, as I wrote already, was keeping me on edge; I think that's also due to the variety of themes that were brought up. Kim made a deep dive into social issues still pervading Korea today: LGBTQIA+ rights and perceptions by society, unemployment, financial and social-class gaps that are increasingly growing in the country, the rise of abandoned children, prostitution, etc. The list wouldn't be exhaustive enough, really, but we get the sense of spiralling down to more and more issues because of a systemic imbalance. I'll let you have a read to explore these thematic more thoroughly. The intricacies between all the narratives were so well tackled that, in the end, the full portrait of Korean society was rich and well rendered. It felt like a well-rounded plot, which I greatly appreciated.
For all those reasons, I will without a doubt recommend this book to my readers. I'm sure those who like to expand their knowledge about Korean society will find it riveting, and it will be very nice for them to access the novel after (or before) watching the series.
Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday UK for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Trunk!
September 16, 2024
The Trunk is a story about Inji Noh, a women who, approaching 30, must confront the things that have happened in her life to get her to her job at NM and find out what it is she needs to finally make her happy.
Or at least it’s meant to be, instead it’s the story of Inji, a caricature of a jaded 29 year old who spends 300 pages bemoaning the entire world and its happenings, but spends more time and mental energy thinking about the sex life of her elderly neighbour than fixing any of her life’s problems. She’s as shallow as the plot she’s in, and even more encumbered by clunky translations that beats you over the head with simple concepts to the point of frustration, literally repeating the same thoughts for paragraphs, any form of nuance being completely obliterated in the process.
The plot simply seems to happen around her, and the other characters are all more interesting and likeable than the protagonist. She comes across as uncaring to the point of nihilism , selfish, mean, and has the emotional depth of a teaspoon.
The plot gives more attention to said elderly neighbours’ sex life than with such serious topics taking up about 10 pages each, before swiftly being moved on from rather than being given the attention such topics deserve and seemed to have little impact on the main character despite their weight. One of these topics was literally followed by Inji's husband farting in bed, SFX and all, 2 pages after she's seen this truth that for most people would be traumatising, it was emotional whiplash of the worst kind that simply felt ridiculous considering what she had just seen. Its ending was as much of a let down as the rest of the book, and any ‘character development’, if it can be called that, simply seems to happen through well timed coincidences and for the sake of plot conveniences rather than being believable. Despite having finished the book, I am still confused as to what the point of the plot even was.
I could not, in good conscience, recommend this book.
Or at least it’s meant to be, instead it’s the story of Inji, a caricature of a jaded 29 year old who spends 300 pages bemoaning the entire world and its happenings, but spends more time and mental energy thinking about the sex life of her elderly neighbour than fixing any of her life’s problems. She’s as shallow as the plot she’s in, and even more encumbered by clunky translations that beats you over the head with simple concepts to the point of frustration, literally repeating the same thoughts for paragraphs, any form of nuance being completely obliterated in the process.
The plot simply seems to happen around her, and the other characters are all more interesting and likeable than the protagonist. She comes across as uncaring to the point of nihilism , selfish, mean, and has the emotional depth of a teaspoon.
The plot gives more attention to said elderly neighbours’ sex life than with such serious topics taking up about 10 pages each, before swiftly being moved on from rather than being given the attention such topics deserve and seemed to have little impact on the main character despite their weight. One of these topics was literally followed by Inji's husband farting in bed, SFX and all, 2 pages after she's seen this truth that for most people would be traumatising, it was emotional whiplash of the worst kind that simply felt ridiculous considering what she had just seen. Its ending was as much of a let down as the rest of the book, and any ‘character development’, if it can be called that, simply seems to happen through well timed coincidences and for the sake of plot conveniences rather than being believable. Despite having finished the book, I am still confused as to what the point of the plot even was.
I could not, in good conscience, recommend this book.
September 13, 2024
I think this is mis-described as a feminist thriller...I kept thinking we were going to veer off into some gory murder at some point, but that never happened! Instead, it's more of a look at Korean marital, sexual and gender expectations. I found it quite a thoughtful story, though at times it was a little difficult to follow quite what was going on. The idea of the marriage agency was interesting, and I loved how Inji refers to her husband as 'the husband' throughout.
There are interesting strands of story - parts that were funny, with the Granny and the coffee machine, and parts that were moving, with Inji's two school friends and their history. There was a creepy guy, but I couldn't quite judge just how creepy he was meant to be (he didn't seem that awful to me), and what happens to him seems pretty horiffic...perhaps that was meant to be the thriller side of things.
I did enjoy it, for the most part, and I felt like it got more interesting as I went along. I mostly wanted to know a bit more...it felt like a glimpse into societal expectations in Korea which I don't know much about, but I felt I needed more information. But ultimately, I wasn't sure what the message of the book was, and the ending was just a little odd.
The translation, though, was very good - it felt very natural, and I was interested to read at the end that it had been done collaboratively which is an interesting idea.
With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.
There are interesting strands of story - parts that were funny, with the Granny and the coffee machine, and parts that were moving, with Inji's two school friends and their history. There was a creepy guy, but I couldn't quite judge just how creepy he was meant to be (he didn't seem that awful to me), and what happens to him seems pretty horiffic...perhaps that was meant to be the thriller side of things.
I did enjoy it, for the most part, and I felt like it got more interesting as I went along. I mostly wanted to know a bit more...it felt like a glimpse into societal expectations in Korea which I don't know much about, but I felt I needed more information. But ultimately, I wasn't sure what the message of the book was, and the ending was just a little odd.
The translation, though, was very good - it felt very natural, and I was interested to read at the end that it had been done collaboratively which is an interesting idea.
With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.
August 2, 2024
Really interesting book full of social commentary, rich characters, immersive cultural references with under currents of satire wit.
Told in the first person POV we taken to strange saying agency in Korean. Thus begins a very unusual style of thriller.
I can only say I had vibes of The Handmaiden's Tale meets Convince Store Woman, it was strange but very interesting. There was a lot great one liners and some really insightful comments( the coffee machine being simple and Granny's views on love being stands out)
I don't always get these books in full but I always enjoy them there are so different from a lot books that make the same sort of social remarks in western culture they are really unique in style. It is scary tho that woman all over the world face the same sort of issues regardless.
This book is translated well, I did have google a few phrases and terms but in most it has transported into English well.
The plot keeps you interested and it makes you think.
Thank you for the ARC I found this a great read.
Please be sure to read the afterword it is great it explains how the book was translated, came about and talks about the hidden deeper messages of the book.
Am excited to see this on the screen in the autumn
August 25, 2024
The premise of The Trunk is intriguing but I wouldn't classify this as a feminist thriller at all.
Told through a first person narrative, The Trunk tells the story of Inji who works for the secret New Marriage (NM) department of W&L - a matchmaking company as a Field Wife (FW). First Wives take up a contractual marriage for a year. Inji's 'husband' renews their contract. He is a music producer and lives a quiet life. There is no sanctity in this sort of marriage.
The other characters add overall depth to the story. Granny, Inji's neighbour adds some humour by being obsessed with a young man. Inji's best friend Shi Jeong makes Inji question her sexuality. It is Inji's stalker Tae Seong that gives The Trunk a very dark side.
The Trunk is unconventional and offbeat and I do have to say that I did enjoy Inji's inner monologues and musings. I did feel that the ending was quite abrupt and lacked closure.
Kudos to the KoLab team behind the translation - a team effort by university students across Australia.
NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers provided me with this book in exchange for an honest review.
Told through a first person narrative, The Trunk tells the story of Inji who works for the secret New Marriage (NM) department of W&L - a matchmaking company as a Field Wife (FW). First Wives take up a contractual marriage for a year. Inji's 'husband' renews their contract. He is a music producer and lives a quiet life. There is no sanctity in this sort of marriage.
The other characters add overall depth to the story. Granny, Inji's neighbour adds some humour by being obsessed with a young man. Inji's best friend Shi Jeong makes Inji question her sexuality. It is Inji's stalker Tae Seong that gives The Trunk a very dark side.
The Trunk is unconventional and offbeat and I do have to say that I did enjoy Inji's inner monologues and musings. I did feel that the ending was quite abrupt and lacked closure.
Kudos to the KoLab team behind the translation - a team effort by university students across Australia.
NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers provided me with this book in exchange for an honest review.
August 29, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book! And just to preface, I agree with other reviewers- this is not the thriller you might expect from the summary, it’s quite calm with the thrills but nonetheless a great Korean translated fiction read.
We follow Inji, a 'Field Wife', working at the 'Wedding & Life' matchmaking service. Her job is to be someone's wife for a set period, depending on what the client has requested. Her latest husband decided to remarry her, a rare occurrence, and so we follow this narrative with interwoven scenes from her real life outside her work marriage. The other characters are quite distinct, and all have great personalities which makes the book both more convincing and enjoyable. Through the variety of quirky characters and bizarre situations we are invited to explore relationships, human emotion, sex, love, intimacy, and desire.
If you enjoy translated fiction by authors such as Cho Nam-ju, Elisa Shua Dusapin and Sayaka Murata, you will definitely enjoy this. I highly recommend!
I really enjoyed this book! And just to preface, I agree with other reviewers- this is not the thriller you might expect from the summary, it’s quite calm with the thrills but nonetheless a great Korean translated fiction read.
We follow Inji, a 'Field Wife', working at the 'Wedding & Life' matchmaking service. Her job is to be someone's wife for a set period, depending on what the client has requested. Her latest husband decided to remarry her, a rare occurrence, and so we follow this narrative with interwoven scenes from her real life outside her work marriage. The other characters are quite distinct, and all have great personalities which makes the book both more convincing and enjoyable. Through the variety of quirky characters and bizarre situations we are invited to explore relationships, human emotion, sex, love, intimacy, and desire.
If you enjoy translated fiction by authors such as Cho Nam-ju, Elisa Shua Dusapin and Sayaka Murata, you will definitely enjoy this. I highly recommend!
August 20, 2024
I keep seeing The Trunk being promoted as a feminist thriller; however, I think if you go in expecting a thriller, you will be disappointed. I am calling it 'literary fiction' in this review, and I think that is a better classification; although, it doesn't fit 100% neatly into that genre either. Despite the possible mislabelling, it was a truly enjoyable read. I found the plot idea fascinating and got behind In-ji's narration right from the start. It was fun to follow her through the course of the novel, and her situation raised several thought-provoking questions. It may not have been quite what I'd expected from the blurb, but I was caught up in the tale throughout. I already had the forthcoming Netflix show on my to-watch list, and now I am even more excited for it, to see how they handle the adaptation. The prose was descriptive enough to paint the scene but was still easy, quick reading, and the pacing was nicely managed from start to finish. I am giving this one 4.5 stars.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 30, 2024
The Trunk is a book that explores the innovative concept of a matchmaking agency whose secret division offers a service of a very different kind: "field spouses" who perform wifely duties on a fixed term contract basis! This include everything from cooking to having sex with the employer.
Workers like Noh Inji undertake spousal responsibilities, according to their designated assignments, for varying periods of time. Inji has already done this several times before when she is summoned to resume her responsibilities with an earlier "husband". But this time around, things get rather more complicated...
This one is a thriller with a difference, written from a decidedly feminist perspective and satirizing the deeply- ingrained sexism in South Korean society. Worth checking out, the book gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Workers like Noh Inji undertake spousal responsibilities, according to their designated assignments, for varying periods of time. Inji has already done this several times before when she is summoned to resume her responsibilities with an earlier "husband". But this time around, things get rather more complicated...
This one is a thriller with a difference, written from a decidedly feminist perspective and satirizing the deeply- ingrained sexism in South Korean society. Worth checking out, the book gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
September 21, 2024
If I'm honest, 100% in and I still don't understand why this is called 'The Trunk' (is there a translation issue somewhere)? However, that's pretty much my only issue (although I also wouldn't call this a thriller).
Set in an alternate (although not unrealistic) Seoul, Inji works at a company that provides men and women short-term marriages (without the divorce, commitment etc). Unfortunately, whilst this may be useful to some, and seems good in theory, it ends up being incredibly exploititive - especially for the female workers.
The book also covers themes of: stalking and violence against women, anti-LGBT (incl biphobia and anti lesbian) sentiment, abuse of power from older men and the unfortunate women who contribute to this, and religious/charity corruption - all of which are real issues in South Korea. Whilst this wasn't what I anticipated, I would highly recommend and am looking forward to watching the Netflix series.
Set in an alternate (although not unrealistic) Seoul, Inji works at a company that provides men and women short-term marriages (without the divorce, commitment etc). Unfortunately, whilst this may be useful to some, and seems good in theory, it ends up being incredibly exploititive - especially for the female workers.
The book also covers themes of: stalking and violence against women, anti-LGBT (incl biphobia and anti lesbian) sentiment, abuse of power from older men and the unfortunate women who contribute to this, and religious/charity corruption - all of which are real issues in South Korea. Whilst this wasn't what I anticipated, I would highly recommend and am looking forward to watching the Netflix series.
September 24, 2024
I had high expectations for this book and sadly I don’t think it managed a safe landing.
One of the better translations I’ve read (I’m not a fan of how simple translations are and how they make a book seem reductive) but I wasn’t sure about what to take from the book? The premise is intriguing enough to have a strong plot (especially with the name TRUNK) but the book didn’t have any massive takeaways other than existential epiphanies surrounding love, life and having direction)
The main character had so much thoughts but rarely said it with chest! Like girl!!! Stand on business.
Wanted more especially with the ending but I am glad the story is over. So open to other interpretations and ideas!
One of the better translations I’ve read (I’m not a fan of how simple translations are and how they make a book seem reductive) but I wasn’t sure about what to take from the book? The premise is intriguing enough to have a strong plot (especially with the name TRUNK) but the book didn’t have any massive takeaways other than existential epiphanies surrounding love, life and having direction)
The main character had so much thoughts but rarely said it with chest! Like girl!!! Stand on business.
Wanted more especially with the ending but I am glad the story is over. So open to other interpretations and ideas!
September 2, 2024
2.5 stars
This started off very strong, but quickly got repetitive. The plot was interesting and creative, however I didn’t like any of the characters and found myself quickly frustrated with their actions. I wish there was more focus on the characterisation and their developments rather than the same repetitive plot.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #Trunk #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
This started off very strong, but quickly got repetitive. The plot was interesting and creative, however I didn’t like any of the characters and found myself quickly frustrated with their actions. I wish there was more focus on the characterisation and their developments rather than the same repetitive plot.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #Trunk #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
September 26, 2024
I was extremely excited to read this book but unfortunately I was quite disappointed by it. It is described to be a feminist thriller but it’s nowhere near a thriller. After a while it became quite repetitive. Despite being disappointed by it not being much of a thriller I still enjoyed it. It was a very easy read. I’m excited to see how they’ll adapt it into a Kdrama.
Thank you to NetGallery and Doubleday for sending me a proof copy!!
Thank you to NetGallery and Doubleday for sending me a proof copy!!
September 29, 2024
Inji is such a confident woman and I love myself confident women in thrillers. The whole concept of this novel is very new to me but in a great way, it was fascinating to read about. I would recommend this to people who want strong female protagonists.
November 18, 2023
gong yoo & seo hyun jin playing these character!??! 💆♂️😌🙉 i am seated
September 10, 2024
4.5 again
Thoroughly enjoyed this!
Thoroughly enjoyed this!
September 15, 2024
Hände absolut ingenting i denna, konstigt för det ska vara en thriller????
Read
September 22, 2024SUCH A GOOD READ
THE ENDING WHAAAAT
THE ENDING WHAAAAT
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