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A review by serinas
One Hundred Shadows by Hwang Jungeun
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I got this ARC for free in exchange for an honest review.
The storytelling and writing style are very unique. I imagine it won't be a good book to everyone, but I enjoyed it. It's philosophical and questions humanity and what we know - what are shadows, what's a slum, what is poverty? One Hundred Shadows makes you think about life and what you know, and it's a short book and easy to get into as well. It's also a book about love in the early stages, and how it may develop into something deeper. Truly beautiful work.
The writing style is similar to The vegetarian (by Han Kang) and Murakami, so if you like any of their work you'll likely enjoy One Hundred Shadows.
Still, I was kind of disappointed that we didn't get to know more about the shadows - it was mostly dumped on the reader at the start of the book and soon forgotten. But... I think that was the point as well. The shadows are a part of their life and has been for a long time, and after some time you take the shadows for granted and don't pay any attention to them. Like, I don't think about my shadow regularly. It's also a metaphor, or at least I think so, and then it makes sense why they suddenly aren't mentioned anymore.
The storytelling and writing style are very unique. I imagine it won't be a good book to everyone, but I enjoyed it. It's philosophical and questions humanity and what we know - what are shadows, what's a slum, what is poverty? One Hundred Shadows makes you think about life and what you know, and it's a short book and easy to get into as well. It's also a book about love in the early stages, and how it may develop into something deeper. Truly beautiful work.
The writing style is similar to The vegetarian (by Han Kang) and Murakami, so if you like any of their work you'll likely enjoy One Hundred Shadows.
Still, I was kind of disappointed that we didn't get to know more about the shadows - it was mostly dumped on the reader at the start of the book and soon forgotten. But... I think that was the point as well. The shadows are a part of their life and has been for a long time, and after some time you take the shadows for granted and don't pay any attention to them. Like, I don't think about my shadow regularly. It's also a metaphor, or at least I think so, and then it makes sense why they suddenly aren't mentioned anymore.