Literary Fiction Annotation: Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum
Title: Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop
Genre(s): Literary Fiction
Publication Date: February 20, 2024
Number of Pages: 301
Geographical Setting: Seoul, South Korea
Time Period: Presumably the present (not explicitly mentioned)
Plot Summary: Burned out from her corporate job, Yeongju abandons her old life to achieve her childhood dream of opening a bookshop. Despite not knowing how to run a business, Yeongju is determined to make the Hyunam-dong Bookshop a special place where customers can find books, comfort, and community. The story follows multiple characters whose lives are touched by the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, including Minjun, the bookshop's barista who wonders if his simple life is enough; Mincheol, a high school student who believes life is meaningless; Jungsuh, a woman who spends hours crocheting and knitting in the bookshop to calm her angry mind; and many others who push against society's expectations and forge their own paths forward.
Subject Headings:
Bookstores - Korea (South) - Seoul - Fiction
Bookstore owners - Fiction
Books and reading - Fiction
Interpersonal relations - Fiction
Self-actualization (Psychology) - Fiction
3 terms that best describe this book: Character-driven, heartwarming, thoughtful
Appeal:
Characterization: Wyatt and Saricks (2018) note that characters in Literary Fiction are "distinct and memorable; they are richly realized, specific, and 'of themselves'" (p. 84). Additionally, the relationships between characters "are particularly important... because they create the richness and dimension of the characterization that readers so enjoy" (p. 84). The main character of Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop is Yeongju, and the story of the bookshop is centered around her efforts to turn it into something special. I like to picture the story of the bookshop as a tree, and each character as a branch with a unique inner world that is touched and forever changed by the bookshop. As the bookshop grows, the characters grow, and their bonds strengthen.
Setting: The story primarily takes place in the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, which is brought to life with careful details that make the reader feel warm, cozy, and at peace:
"The place was spacious—big, in fact—for an independent bookshop, and the couple of chairs nestled among the bookshelves seemed to welcome customers to take their time to browse. Fully stocked shelves reaching all the way to the ceiling took up one third of the wall to the right while display racks aligned to the height of the shop windows flanked both sides of the entrance."
Pacing: Wyatt and Saricks (2018) note that the pacing of Literary Fiction novels is "almost never fast-paced" (p. 85) to allow readers to savor the language and style. The pacing of Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop is quite slow. The plot is not urgent, so readers can spend as much time as they'd like with each character. The slower pace is reminiscent of walking through a bookshop and stopping every now and then to briefly skim the books on the shelves.
3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors:
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Kawaguchi, T. (2015). Before the coffee gets cold. Hanover Square Press.
"At a century-old Tokyo coffee shop rumored to offer patrons the chance to travel back in time, four customers reevaluate their formative life choices" (Novelist).
Common Appeals: Character-driven, lyrical, cozy setting
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
Aoyama, M. (2023). What you are looking for is in the library. Hanover Square Press.
"What are you looking for? So asks Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian. For Sayuri Komachi is able to sense exactly what each visitor to her library is searching for and provide just the book recommendation to help them find it. A restless retail assistant looks to gain new skills, a mother tries to overcome demotion at work after maternity leave, a conscientious accountant yearns to open an antique store, a recently retired salaryman searches for newfound purpose. In Komachi’s unique book recommendations they will find just what they need to achieve their dreams. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is about the magic of libraries and the discovery of connection" (Novelist).
Common Appeals: Books and reading, heartwarming, character-driven
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
Yagisawa, S. (2023). Days at the Morisaki bookshop. HarperCollins Publishers.
"After a young Japanese woman’s life falls apart, she moves into a flat above her eccentric uncle’s bookshop, staying rent-free in exchange for working at the store and developing a passion for Japanese literature" (Novelist).
Common Appeals: Character-driven, leisurely paced, heartwarming, bookstores
3 Relevant Nonfiction Works and Authors:
Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out by Shannon Reed
Reed, S. (2024). Why we read: On bookworms, libraries, and just one more page before lights out. Harlequin Books.
"A humorous and incisive exploration of the joys of reading from a teacher, bibliophile and Thurber Prize finalist" (Novelist).
Common Appeals: Reflective, engaging, books and reading
In Praise of Good Bookstores by Jeff Deutsch
Deutsch, J. (2022). In praise of good bookstores. Princeton University Press.
"Books, even obscure ones, are readily available online in the age of digital retail. As bookstores attempt to find their identity in a new era, some have survived by selling everything from toys to socks, coffee to stationery. In this short book, Jeff Deutsch, the director of the Seminary Co-op Bookstores in Chicago, aims to make the case for the value of spaces devoted to books and the value of the time spent browsing their stacks. It is a defense of serious bookstores, but more importantly it is a paean to the spaces that support them; the experience of readers as they engage with the books, the stacks, and each other; and the particular community created by the presence of such an institution. Drawing on his lifelong experience as a bookseller and his particular experience at Sem Co-op, Deutsch aims, in a series of brief essays, to consider how concepts like space, time, abundance, measure, community, and reverence find expression in a good bookstore, and to show some ways in which the importance of the bookstore is both urgent and enduring" (Novelist).
Common Appeals: Engaging, reflective, bookstores
Lean Out: A Meditation on the Madness of Modern Life by Tara Henley
Henley, T. (2020). Lean out: A meditation on the madness of modern life. Random House.
"A deeply personal and informed reflection on the modern world--and why so many feel disillusioned by it" (Goodreads).
Common Appeals: Burnout, thought-provoking, engaging
I love the cover of this book! It would definitely catch my eye if I walked by it on the shelf. Your annotation has absolutely convinced me to add this to my TBR list. I love how you described the pacing of this novel to that of strolling through a bookstore. Sometimes I need a good book that allows me to slow down and enjoy it at a more leisurely pace.
ReplyDeleteI love that you included a personal disclaimer! This book sounds amazing and honestly so do all the readalikes. Killer job on this annotation!
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