One Hundred Shadows

Book Title: One Hundred Shadows

Author: Hwang Jungeun

Date Started: May 2nd 2020

Date Completed: May 4th 2020

Genres: Contemporary, Magical Realism

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

I read Kong's Garden, a short story by Hwang, a few months ago and was curious to read one of her novels. It was a quick read, but one I wish I could've read sitting under a tree in summer. It washes over you in a sort of daze like summer sunlight.

One Hundred Shadows reminded me why I love magical realism so much - and, probably, why other some people don't. It's a heightened reality, there's no clear ending, and you can lose yourself in applying metaphors and trying to make sense of the magical elements. Really, you have to let go of complete understanding and let yourself feel it out without having control over it; then it gets its way under your skin and stays there. I'll probably remember it more in glimmers than a whole story, but that's how these kinds of narratives are put together and why they feel so visceral for me.

These themes of class and society, tradition and youth, are so prevalent in Korean art. I've come across it in literature, film, music again and again - but they always find new ways to explore it. There're parts where I don't even think it's consciously investigated by the storyteller, it's just a big part of their culture and the way their relationships with other people build. It's one of the wonderful things art and the gift of translation can do: it can make you feel closer to the culture and start to build bridges to real understanding.

My one complaint about the book was that it was so short! I could've read it in one sitting if I didn't want to spin it out more. In all fairness, it suited the story and the style very well, but I still wanted more of it at the end.