Table for one is an interesting mix of short stories concerned with modern life in Korea. They are quirky, often slightly off beat and unashamedly following their characters onto weird paths. I am thankful for receiving a review copy via Netgalley, but found myself left a bit cold.

All of these characters are completly obsessive about something. They flee their lifes by concentrating on bugs, dreams, invaders... whatever. But while I often found it interesting in the beginning, these stories stayed out their welcome. The point - at least the point I got - was hammered home. Over and over. Not sure there was more than one point at all. These stories were, at the same time, too weird and not weird enough. Yet, of course, I had favorites as well as stories I just wanted to end.


I really liked:

Invader Graphic Is about a finance guy who slipps further and further into his fascination with invader graphics popping up all over the world, until he can think about nothing else. It is equally about the woman who, living from free products in a shopping mall, makes him up.

Piercing is a story about... well, infected piercings, loss, and insanity.

Don't Cry, Hongdo concentrates on a child narrator, whose mother it waging a war against unhealthy foods, people with hats and other dangers to society.

I kinda liked, but was not completely convinced by:

Table for One. Here, a woman takes a course to learn how to eat alone in restaurants, thereby finding that she actually just wanted to find other people who do not want to eat alone. Interesting concept, but it dragged on and seemed very... artificial.

Sweet Escape is about a guy preparing for his first great overseas adventure with his wife, who, while preparing for its, becomes preoccupied with Bedbugs. His fixation with the little buggers is shared by his flat and becomes more and more debilitating.

Iceland follows a person who becomes convinced that Iceland is the perfect country for them. They get together with other Iceland-aficinados, and yet ever quite seem to be able to leave their Korean lifes.


I really disliked:

Hyeonmong Park's Hall of Dreams is ridiculous, a very long story about a guy selling dreams he dreams for people (weird) who loses the ability to dream (also weird.)

Roadkill is the tale of a vending machine guy caught at a motel, unable to escape.

Time Capsule 1994 is telling us about a prematurly dug up time capsule, and something that should not be in it.

All in all, I am not angry to have read this collection, but it has left suprising little impact on me.

Table for One (4 stars)
We start the story with a person eating a meal alone. It took me a very long time to wander into an eatery by myself and have a meal. I have done it a few times in the years since I first tried it, and I always (Always!) have a book with me for company. I have never tried the actions discussed in this story, but I can see how a course to train people to eat alone in restaurants would be something that would work. It’s a simple premise deftly executed.

Sweet Escape (3 stars)
I liked this story even if I felt it was a little too long. If it had been shorter, I would have definitely rated it higher. A man is planning a trip, and he has free time. This leads him into researching bedbugs, among other things, and the chaos does not end with just one man’s obsession.

Invader Graphic (4 stars)
This plot begins innocuously, with our protagonist wanting to avoid her parents and write. We have a list of all the small ways she not only saves money but also earns in free goods as she spends her day in the mall among a few other places. It feels good until she has competition.


Hyeonmong Park’s Hall of Dreams(4 stars)
I was not sure what I’d think of this story when I started it. It’s an odd concept but I’m this day and age of social media, one that would work well. It’s a man who dreams dreams for others. The market is not saturated when the plot begins but people start to catch on to the idea itself and things change quite quickly. The concept itself would make a good talking point in a book club.


Roadkill (3 stars)
Although there are morals that can be got out of this story, it took its time getting there. A man walks into a motel to do his job but ends up stuck in a never ending loop that gets increasingly tough to deal with.


Time Capsule 1994 (2 stars)
I didn’t get this plot. There’s a blank cd which was not catalogued when a time capsule was sealed and this leads to some head scratching.


Iceland (5 stars)
This was my favourite story in the book. A man matches with Iceland better than his own country online. This leads him to join a fan club of sorts which discusses all about Iceland. The kind of people he meets ( and becomes) was fascinating to me for some strange reason.


Piercing ( 2 stars)
A couple who aren’t good for each other turn out to be worse for others!


Don’t Cry, Hongdo (4 stars)
Although I probably would come under the crowd if mothers in this story who try to force organic and better snacks for the children in and around school, I couldn’t but enjoy the way the story unfolded. A child is narrating her life in school with a mother who is very health conscious and single, both of which she wants to do something about.

Some of the stories could have been shorter, but on the whole it was a satisfying collection. I had not realised when I started this book that I’d read another of the author’s works before – The Disaster Tourist. That book was odd and interesting just like this one. It’s hard to place this collection under any particular genre but it is one I would highly recommend to people who like short stories.

The translation was seamless, I did not feel like I was reading a book written originally in a different language at any point!

I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

As with all short story collections there were ones I really enjoyed and ones I didn't vibe with. I really like the story of the woman using the freebies at the mall only to have her system destroyed and the story about selling dreams. Translated works can sometimes feel choppy but I felt like this was smooth and surreal.

A short story anthology that talks about society and human isolation. Some are very interesting and some are a bit boring (according to my taste/mood).
All are well written and well translated.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Table for One - Yun Ko-eun
I found Table for One to be a really enjoyeable read. It is a collection of nine short stories that range from taking classes that teach you how to eat alone to a time capsule being dug up before it‘s time.
I enjoyed how varied the stories were, and how unique the ideas behind them were. I did find the stories to be a little too long for me and found that they began to drag a little in the middle. I do prefer short stories that are significantly shorter. Although, the writing did keep me going, I found it very engaging and thought that it flowed really well.
I think you would enjoy this book if, like me, you enjoy reading in depth analysis of the smaller things in life. Also a great read if you enjoy strange stories and translated fiction.

this book of short stories unfortunately wasn’t my cup of tea. Whilst I really enjoyed the first story ‘table for one’, I lost quite a bit of interest for the following 8 stories and found myself wanting to skip parts. Although I struggled, I do think this is a very good debut, and is translated exceptionally well.

Table for One is a collection of short stories with dark humor and introspective take. It explores societal pressures, the search for meaning, and the modern loneliness.

Some of the stories were a miss for me but the others are 'strange' fun read!

Thank you to Columbia University Press for the early access!

Table for One is a book that's as weird as it is funny, with nine stories that take you on a wild ride through some really strange places. Yun Ko-eun has a knack for turning everyday scenarios into something completely out there, which makes the book engaging but also a bit of a mixed bag.

The stories range from a woman learning to enjoy eating alone to a guy dealing with a bedbug nightmare, and even a character who wears other people's pajamas to dream their dreams. It's not your typical collection of stories, and while some of them hit the mark and made me think, others were just too out there or fell flat.

Overall, if you like your books to be a bit quirky and don't mind a bit of absurdity, you might get a kick out of this. But if you prefer something a bit more straightforward, this might not be for you.

Table for One opens with a curious scene: a woman is dining alone.

“The woman drinks half a glass of soju for every three pork wraps, using both hands to have a quiet meal. Flipping meat with tongs, cutting it with scissors, grabbing it with chopsticks, putting it in her mouth with her hands—a typical way to eat. Even so, she feels uncomfortable, trapped by the gazes of those around her. The table, covered with one set of silver ware, is like a boxing ring. The woman sits alone and faces the fluttering stares. The curious spectators throw a left hook, a right hook—the woman’s only way to defend herself is steadfast eating.”

The woman turns out to be taking classes to feel comfortable eating alone in public. It’s that uncomfortable feeling you have too, when you do so, just … more so. The lives and reactions of the characters in this collection are mostly like this: it’s the mundane and quotidian, taken to a slightly surreal extreme.

Take the man in Sweet Escape who starts off worrying about bedbugs when he and his wife take a trip to Europe—but then he starts to feel imperilled when he gets back home and there’s an invasion in his own neighbourhood. Fortunately for his neighbours, and unfortunately for his wife, he is well-prepared. But where’s the line between a normal reaction to a threat, and obsession? Yun Ko-eun messes with the reader.

In another very cool story (my favourite), Roadkill, a salesman/vending machine operator gets caught up in a huge snowstorm, and takes refuge in a motel that grows increasingly creepy (a little like that fabled hotel in a sunny part of the US, perhaps). Most of the surrealism in the book seems to be packed into this one story. The best part is, although you can sort of see the ending coming, it’s super thrilling when it happens.

Other stories: a meta story (so many layers!) about an author, her protagonist, and invader graphics (and of course this one felt almost autobiographical); the one about the man who sells dreams, literally, until competition catches up with him; a story about a time capsule, which is possibly really about lost time and regret; Iceland, a story about escapism; one with a very unreliable narrator; and, finally, a story that perfectly captures the border between childhood and everything else.

I loved this collection, and wish I could read it again much more slowly. Yun Ko-eun has fantastic range and presents a delightfully weird perspective in her fiction, like a prism bending light and twisting reality just so. But don’t take my word for it: pick up this collection and read Roadkill first, and then enjoy all the rest on your morning commute (although the world may feel just that little bit stranger when you put the book down). Highly recommended.

Thank you to Columbia University Press and NetGalley for early access.

This book is a collection of short stories and the concept and stories were interesting it sometimes felt hard to push through the stories, but i liked how each story thematically gave the reader a feeling of loneliness and perhaps anxiety. The writing style was just not my personal cup of tea but I greatly admire it!

I’m a bit conflicted about this short story collection. On the one hand, I am grateful to the publisher for this opportunity to discover a new author and I was interested by almost all the stories. It took me a while but I did read the whole book till the end. On the other hand, I felt that most stories were dragging and as a result it was not a fun as it could have been.

As I’m thinking it over, it feels to me that each of the story has a very good idea at its core, quirky and unique, but the writer seems to take it on and on, and on, until the idea not only has run its full course, but way beyond. It would have been stronger if each story had been shorter.

Among those weird stories, a person enrolls into a course that teaches how to eat alone in a restaurant (social pressure is no joke in South Korea!), a man is obsessed by bedbugs, another gets obsessed by Iceland and joins a weird association on this country, a man gets stuck in a hotel where he had come to service a weird vending machine, a man works in a company that sells dreams for customers, a person lives by taking advantage of all the free amenities in department stores, cafés and such… You can get that each of those stories have slightly odd premises, and sometimes I didn’t get the point of it, although I was happy to be taken for a ride. The only story I chose to not follow was about infected piercings, I was totally grossed out.

The writing is straightforward, smoothly translated by Lizzie Buehler. If I have to find some common themes for all these stories, I would name loneliness and anxiety. The author has a great imagination, but the stories are still out of my comfort zone.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book for review consideration.

I had a hard time reading this. Interesting blend of stories, they just didn’t grasp my attention. I found myself skimming most of the time.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Columbia University Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review ‘Table for One.’ This collection of short stories by Yun Ko-Eun is a wonderfully intimate kaleidoscope of the human condition, with particular focus on how lonely a place the world can be. I really loved this selection, finding the stories to be an exploration of surrealism within very pedestrian settings which as a reader, made the tales more accessible despite their bizarre plots. I particularly loved ‘Bedbugs’ with it’s deep dive into paranoia and shared anxieties, taking something minimal and blowing it up to terrifying proportions to wonderful effect. This collection wasn’t necessarily a page tuner, but deeply engaging and highly rewarding, leaving a lasting impression well beyond the final page.

"Table for One" is an outstanding collection of stories, as good as any short stories I've read in the last few years. The stories feature characters out of step in modern Korea, trying to blend in, escape, or simply survive. The stories are a mix of comedy, pathos, and hope; the protagonists generally find some measure of accommodation with society and its demands; and none are totally defeated. The style (in translation) is matter-of-fact and straightforward, no matter how surreal the situation.

Highly recommended.

A collection of 9 short stories, reflecting life in contemporary South Korea. The stories are loosely thematic - our protagonists are often lonely and trying to find their place in society and life. There is a deep sense of dejection in nearly all stories, but despite this - they also have a glimmer of hope, and suggest there is a path to move forward, even if it's not what expectations might lead one to believe. Many of the stories are absurdist in nature, but this is done in such a creative way that it adds a lot to the quality of storytelling and messaging.

The first story, "Table for One" (giving the book its name), talks about a woman who struggles to fit in, and to be comfortable with who she is. Through joining a course that teaches her how to eat alone, the routines she adopts slowly help her come out of her shell. Gently told, and with a tender protagonist - an emotive and hopeful story about introverts. 4/5.

The second story, "Sweet Escape", tells the story of a young man, who, having lost his job, is slowly sinking into despondence, driven by an uncontrollable fear of bedbugs. As reality forces him to confront his worst fears he also finds solace and calm through this process. A story about, essentially, how losing one's job can affect your psyche and motivations. It's also a fun story about bedbugs, and how society reacts to them! 5/5

The third story, "Invader Graphic", is about routine. Our narrator has her own, and, in turn, tells the story, where the protagonist has his own. Both struggle with society's expectations and the constant comparisons and competitiveness imposed on people. As the story progresses the story within a story follows the protagonist as his structured existence starts falling apart, and give rise to something better. At the same time, we learn more about the narrator, who, in defiance of societal norms, actually seems quite happy going to department stores. A story about following your own path in careful and subtle defiance, even if all there is to it is deciding to spend time in a department store. 5/5

The fourth story, "Hyeongmong Park's Hall of Dreams", tells the story of Hyeongmong, an entrepreneur, who decides to set up a business to sell dreams to busy people who don't have time to dream. The story follows the rise and fall of his business, but the main topic, in my view, is the commoditisation of hope and leisure in modern society, and how even the most beautiful of ideas can be corrupted by commerce. 5/5

The fifth story, "Roadkill", is my favourite. It is the most absurd, telling the story of a vending machine owner that, while servicing one of his machines in a remote hotel, gets stuck in same hotel due to a horrific snowstorm. As the days of his forced "imprisonment" extend, we see his buoyancy diminish, hope lost, and living space contract. A powerful analogy of what effects capitalist and consumerist society, whether knowingly or inadvertenly, has on the individual, and how, eventually, a person can become roadkill in the Kafkaesque struggle to live a normal life. 5/5+

The sixth story, "Time Capsule", tells the story of a time capsule that gets unearthed before its time due to corrosion, while the protagonist, responsible for cleaning and restoring it prior to reinterment, struggles with her own memories of her step daughter. A story about the artificiality of memory and the futility of objective memories, as well as their haunting nature, and power to influence the present. 5/5

In the seventh story, "Iceland", our protagonist is not happy, and looks for escape in her obsession with Iceland, which an online survey suggested she matches best with. The story follows her increasing fascination with Iceland, and the dangers and hopes this can lead to. 4/5

The eighth story, "Piercing", is the horror story in the bunch. It follows a man, who struggles to balance his natural docility with the need to rebel somehow. Being unemployed (and perhpas unemployable), and having divorced his wife, the protagonist seeks solace in inflicting pain upon himself, and in tiny glimpses of hope stemming from casual encounters with a local prostitute. Reminiscent in style of Ryu Murakami. 5/5

The ninth and last story, "Don't Cry, Hongdo", is told from the perspective of a 10 year old girl, who struggles to be a child in a world of adults who keep disappointing her. It's not a hopeless story, but it's a sad one, talking about how adult obsessions and preoccupations can affect and harm children. 5/5

Overall - this is an excellent story collection, and perhaps one of the best I've read in a long time. It's doesn't just offer an excellent glimpse of life in South Korea - it also reflects some of the sadness that afflicts Gen Z, and how, in some cases, hope can be found in simple quotidian things.

Highly recommend it to anyone interested in South Korea, or frankly what it means to be 10-30 year old in our contemporary world.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Read from April 4th, 2024 to April 8th, 2024. Written on April 9th, 2024.

DNF at 23%.

Unfortunately, this book did not do it for me. From the short stories dragging out more than I thought necessary, to the two ones I read just not being interesting enough to get me to continue reading, I had to DNF.

The writing was okay, a bit confusing at times but overall I could push through it. I think my main issue was actually the theme of the two stories I read. They were just not what I was expecting, I mean, a lot thing about bedbugs? Over 20 pages just talking about bedbugs? I can't do that, sorry. I do have to say, maybe later on I will pick this up again, but I am intrigued by the time capsule story from the synopsis. Hopefully, if I come across this book in the future, it will hype me up to try again. For now, I leave it at this.

Signing off,
B.

(Free ARC from NetGalley and Columbia University Press that I chose to review after reading)

This kindle version is extremely difficult to read. The formatting includes the publishing house's name every few pages in a font size four times bigger than the story font. There's random numbers scattered throughout the writing that don't make sense to the writing, so I assume these are some kind of improperly added code like the publishing house name. There's also weird page breaks and paragraphs breaking off into new lines where they shouldn't. It's unfortunate because the story holds my attention, and I'd like to understand more about our narrator and her desire to be able to eat alone. It's scary, I know! But I just can't get around the weird formatting. It's exhausting to try to read just because of the formatting.

I really enjoyed some of the stories in this collection. In the best way, it reminded me of Bora Chung's collections "Your Utopia" and a little "Cursed Bunny." The title story was the clear standout for me, "Table For One," it took on loneliness and isolation and office culture in a way I have never read before. The following story, "Sweet Escape" was my second favorite, it touches on anxiety and paranoia in a way that is almost too much but is still so intriguing. Some of the others fell flat for me, but all in all, her collection is worth picking up, even if you skip a story or two that doesn't compel you.

Table for One is a collection of 9 short stories, all based in South Korea. After each one, I had to stop and think through what I had just read. Most had an underlying theme of anxiety or obsession over a certain thing. Ranging from bedbugs to Iceland, and even dreams.

My favorite of the stories was “Roadkill” followed closely by “piercing”. The way these two stories resolved really stuck with me and had me second guessing everything I had read. While some of the stories in this book left me confused at the end, I thought these two wrapped themselves up nicely. They were both kind of gruesome, which did not bother me but if you are not into that, maybe skip this book.

I don’t think that this book is for everyone. I don’t even know if it is for me. It’s certainly strange and thought provoking, I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it. It was puzzling, and at times interesting. I’m glad that I read this book but I don’t think it’s something that I will read a second time.

Well, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this short story collection, but I was pleasantly surprised! Stories range from the not-so-graphic and odd (“Don’t Cry Hongdo”) to very graphic and very odd (“Piercing”), so there’s truly something for everyone in “Table for One” written by Yun Ko-eun and translated by Lizzie Buehler.

My favourite stories were “Table for One,” “Sweet Escape,” “Hyeongmong Parks Hall of Dreams,” “Roadkill,” “Iceland,” and “Piercing”, although I enjoyed every one of Ko-eun’s stories. Thematically, this collection is reminiscent of Bora Chung’s “Cursed Bunny” and Hilma Wolitzer’s “Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket” in which the characters are anxious and slightly unhinged as they try to navigate—at times—their unhappy lives. In terms of writing style, Ko-eun’s collection is similar to Chung’s and Sayaka Murata’s short story collection, “Life Ceremony”.

At times rooted in the real and at times rooted in the surreal, it’s easy to see why “Table for One” is so well-loved by reviewers: it’s a thoughtful and humorous meditation on contemporary Korean life for males and females of all ages.

If you’re a fan of short story collections, contemporary Korean literature, surreal and icky imagery, and insight to the anxieties that people in modern societies are experiencing, then I would highly recommend Yun Ko-eun’s short story collection! Furthermore, if you enjoy reading stories that are a bit odd and wacky but use the odd and wacky to convey important messages about everyday issues, then this could be a collection for you!

Many thanks to Columbia University Press and NetGalley for an ARC of “Table for One” written by Yun Ko-eun and translated by Lizzie Buehler in exchange for an honest review! It was an absolute pleasure to have the opportunity to review this new collection which is another demonstration of the incredible literary talent coming out of Korea!