I wrote this words for another book: It made me smile, cry, think about life and what really matters. A multilayered story that talks about serious topics in a light way
Loved it
The same for this one
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Marigold Mind Laundry is the first novel by best-selling Korean author, Jung-eun Yun. It was translated by Shanna Tan. The woman who calls herself Jieun arrives in the village of Marigold and finds it so lovely that she sets up a mind laundry where most encounters with customers go something like this: drink the soothing tea, put on the white T-shirt, think of the memories causing you pain, or the wrinkles you want ironed out of them, wash those memory stains out of the T-shirt, hang it up to dry. And the fee? Pay it forward to someone else having a hard time.

Jieun is not at all what she seems, having come from a peaceful place where the villagers possess wonderful powers. Naive of her own, unusually double, powers, she dreamt her parents dead, was overcome with grief, and got stuck in a relentless cycle of rebirths, in a body that would never become old. Her ability to empathise and heal, she has used many times, but has forgotten what she overheard her parents saying: that she needs to hone this power before tapping into her power to make dreams come true. Might this one be her final life?

Thirty-three-year-old Yoo Jaeha and his best friend since they were very young, Lee Yeonhee happen to witness the laundry building manifest itself from nothing, and are her first customers. Jaeha wants to lose the memories of childhood loneliness, wishing for a life reset. Yeonhee wants to remove the painful memories of her two-timing boyfriend, but not the love they shared before that.

Eunbyul is a twenty-three-year-old Instagram influencer whose promotions have backfired. After her latest suicide attempt, she finds herself in Marigold, where Jieun’s soothing tea makes her amenable to the idea of erasing her influencer memories, while her advice on making genuine friends falls on fertile ground.

Jaeha’s close friend, Hae-in, orphaned at an early age but influenced by his mother’s photography and his father’s music, strikes Jieun as a good listener. He’s not asking for anything to be erased, but rather offering her his support. She does tell him “Capture it with your eyes and keep it in your heart. True beauty can’t be preserved within a frame. Pictures are lovely, but if it’s a moment to be cherished forever, you won’t want to miss anything. Be present – wholly, unreservedly – and remember it with your heart.”

Jaeha begged Jieun to allow his mother, Ms Yeonja to visit. Her difficult childhood and single motherhood have given her a singular talent: “Because of my life experiences, I can better empathize with what others are going through” and asks only that Jieun smooth out the creases and make the memories less painful to recall”.

Bullied during his childhood, deliveryman Kim Yeonghui has become obsessive about punctuality, wearing two watches which he constantly consults. His request: “wipe away the part of me that thinks everything is my fault, that I’m only at peace if I’m being validated by others, and the obsession I have with time because of my family” and he muses “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could forecast the weather in our lives too?”

Of his talent for poetry, he observes “what really hits me is how you can always rewrite if you make a mistake. It’s easy, especially when I use a pencil. I can just erase it or cross it out. It’ll leave some marks, for sure, but they’re proof that I’ve given thought to something, and I like that” which Jieun believes has parallels in life.

Jieun herself sees that “Whenever she got the slightest taste of a happy, ordinary life, she’d flee to her next life. I don’t deserve happiness yet, she reminded herself” but comes to realise that while “She’d thought she was the one healing others, but in fact, they were also comforting her and becoming part of her life, too.”

While there is plenty of wisdom and insight about life in this little volume, it is probably best read in small doses as otherwise the overdose of life advice will lead to sentimentality fatigue. Of the many Asian magical realism self-healing books currently about, this one doesn’t stand out.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Random House UK.

The first few chapters are so confusing, but it gets better at the end. I think Marigold Mind Laundry is what now people say as "healing fiction" with a "cozy, magical realism fantasy(?)" the premise is cute and self-helpy, but I personally think it could be much better executed.

However, my problem is with the fantasy elements. It felt forced and not helping at all, bcs it's there out of nowhere with no clear power limit and no better explanation how the magic works. What kind of two powers??? The magical training school???? Where did her mom come from????? Need to be elaborated. Then she's gone to live for thousands of years(?) nothing changes (?) or she just came to modern world??? Give us context and cause and effect and anything. It's way too fast and confusing.

I personally think the premise still works without the fantasy element. Make it healing literally fictional, where she lost her parents, make a launderette, have people come and tell the story and take lessons and help herself while she tries to help people????

What I enjoy the most is the parts where our FMC, Jieun, met someone else and the guest gets to tell her their story. It was neatly written as we also got to see their background. Some of them even get better characters depth than the main characters.

There are a lot of quotable sentences and many people might find solace among the lines.

It means to be a heartwarming and see a better perspective through all of your struggles. And it did in a way.

If you're into light fantasy element with healing fiction, and gets to read mini short stories inside the novel, you will love this.

Thank you for the arc in exchange for honest review 🫶🏾 ✨

I wanted to love this book SO so badly but unfortunately it just didn’t hit the mark for me. It started off with a really interesting premise but as the book went on it felt more and more clunky and disjointed. There were so many potentially lovely moments that could have been so poignant but the delivery was often rushed and I just felt that as a reader I didn’t have time to digest what was said before things moved along. There was too much disconnect and too many missed opportunities for me to have truly enjoyed this book. ✨ Thank you Doubleday for a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review (sorry it wasn’t more positive!)✨

A whimsical and delightful read; it reminded me of What you are looking for is in the library in the best way possible!

Such a feel-good, lighthearted and yet heartwrenching novel! I usually don't like novels with a didactic tone that act like that adult in your life who shakes their finger in your face telling you what you should or shouldn't do in life, but thankfully this novel was nothing like that.

Each story of each person who found themselves at Marigold Mind Laundry had me wish I always carried a handkerchief with me. I loved how most of the characters were interconnected and how each helped our protagonist also sort of 'cleanse' her own mind. Reading this book truly feels like a rollercoaster ride, by the end of which you also leave some of your heavy feelings behind (or at least, are more ready to do it than before).

I loved this fantastical take on cleansing away bad experiences and giving people the hope and aspiration to move on in life. I loved it as an allegory of the counselling process, where every step Jieun takes is a step on the road to self-actualisation. In the village of Marigold Jieun opens her ‘mind laundry’ where people come to wash away the painful experiences lodged in their hearts. Through the laundry process she transfers the stains to a t-shirt transforming them into beautiful red flowers,
We meet five of Jieun's customers, a frustrated filmmaker; a tortured social-media influencer; a distraught mother who discovered her husband had another family; a young woman cheated on by her lover, and Yeonghui, a victim of bullying, he’s working as a delivery man trying to escape his pain in a busy routine..
I’m all about looking into the positives in life and tapping into the everyday magic. So this was a joy for me. Jieun has known sadness, having had many lives she has been haunted by the loss of her parents. So, she knows what her clients are going through. Of course, there are always difficult, even devastating parts of life and the author doesn’t just gloss over them. There’s no toxic positivity here. There’s acknowledgment that pain and sadness are an important part of life. They can be a catalyst for change and growth, but it’s important to prioritise moving forward and not dwelling on the pain. I loved how the author showed the effect of helping others on Jieun. She cries tears that are petals of her client’s pain. This is a positive and light read with some really profound life lessons. I loved the style of it and it’s inherent hopefulness.

2.5

‘The Marigold Mind Laundry’ poses the idea of what our lives could be like if we could wash away the stains of our lives - the bad memories, experiences, and let downs, all magicked away with detergent.

Our main character, Jieun, has spent many lifetimes trying to find her way back to her parents, and the magical world that she was born in. She deducts, however, that she is on her last life, and ends up opening a mind laundry - a place where people can come and erase their most painful memories, if they so wish. It’s a wondrous place, and many different characters flock to it.

I loved the way this book started - I almost wish that we stayed enveloped in that magical world, but sadly, that was not to be, and we drift further and further away from it, as we meet the various customers that become apart of Jieun’s life.

Honestly it’s…fine? I think this is one of those books that could be life changing if it comes to you at the right moment in your life. Otherwise, it might just feel a tad overly sentimental and preachy. It’s sweet book, but one that is doubtful to leave its mark, especially when the market is starting to feel so saturated by this kind of book.

Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.

I loved the concept of the Mind Laundry and meeting different people and hearing their stories. However, I had high expectations of this novel and it didn't quite hit the mark for me. There were some great quotes, but I generally found it a bit clichéd.

Marigold Mind Laundry was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Yun's prose is undeniably beautiful, painting vivid images and evoking a sense of melancholy that lingers long after the final page. The concept of a laundromat for memories is intriguing, and there were moments of genuine emotional depth. However, the story felt a bit fragmented, jumping between different characters and timelines without a clear sense of cohesion. I also found some of the symbolism a bit heavy-handed at times. It's a thought-provoking read, but it didn't quite fully capture my heart.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book.

This review has been long due. I thoroughly enjoyed read this book. The concept is quite interesting and it makes you yearn for something like this to happen in real life as well.

It is a about a laundry that launders your heartbreaks and scars. It was the ability of the protagonist to heal your heart from something that happened in your past and the whole idea is intriguing to say the least. There is also an element of time travel and being reborn at a desired time and place and to understand the real meaning behind this power given to her.

The slow process of her understanding and accepting it was quite well-written. The lessons and wisdom she showers on the people who come to the laundry were beautiful. It does get a little preachy at times but it is still not overly done.

Overall, it was a heartwarming read. I still haven’t bought its physical copy but it is on my wish-list.

This was a charming little book. The premise of a mind laundry is such a unique and intriguing idea it immediately drew me in, and our main character was tugging on my heartstrings from the very beginning. As you'll find with many books in the "healing-fiction" genre, Marigold Mind Laundry follows a variety of different characters as they experience emotional difficulties that lead them to meet our main character. I felt drawn to each of these characters and found myself invested in their healing as well as intrigued by the choices they made to deal with their pain. I do wish there was more exploration of the main character's powers, and a deeper look into the laundry itself, however, I found this to be very enjoyable and cosy. I think it's a great introduction to the genre.

The Marigold Mind Laundry is magical realism at its sweetest. Jieun, the owner of a laundromat that washes away painful memories, helps five customers heal while also confronting her own guilt and loss. The imagery of pain transforming into flower petals is both whimsical and deeply symbolic, while the themes of chosen family and healing add an emotional resonance that lingers.

That said, the story leans heavily into sentimentality, and some of the resolutions feel a touch too tidy to fully satisfy - afterall, we don't all have magic to solve our problems. Still, the book's magical charm, heartfelt characters, and uplifting message make it a thoroughly enjoyable and comforting read.

The Marigold Mind Laundry presents an intriguing concept: a service that promises to clean your mental slate and free you from past burdens. The idea is fascinating, and the book dives into questions about memory, identity, and the cost of forgetting with thought-provoking moments. The writing is stylish, with a melancholic edge that lingers after you finish reading.
Unfortunately, the narrative feels uneven. While the premise is strong, the story’s emotional impact is undercut by shallow character development, making it hard to empathize with their journeys. The pacing feels sluggish at times, and the ending lacks the punch the buildup seems to promise.

Despite its flaws, The Marigold Mind Laundry has moments of brilliance, and its central concept will resonate with readers interested in speculative fiction that leans philosophical. It’s a book I wanted to love but ultimately found more admirable than enjoyable.

This is very wholesome, featuring a magical launderette where you can wash away any stains on your heart. It's definitely a book that makes you think about what's really important in life, and to not hold onto things that don't serve you anymore or which are weighing you down. The plot, however, feels pretty thin - I was quite confused at times as to who was who, and it felt like this was more about the lesson of letting go than having any actual plotline. It was very sweet, just not anything particularly standout to me.

Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Two Stars

I honestly found the Marigold Mind Laungry a bit disappointing. I made it 53% of the way through before deciding it just wasn't for me. The sprinklings of magical realism could've elevated the story beyond its domestic setting, and the cast of characters could have been structured to build towards a resolution for the burnout everyone was feeling, but it decided to keep its cards pretty isolated for each person.

It feels quite reminiscent of the sub-genre I've seen a lot in Japanese literature where bookstores/libraries solve everyone's Capitalist twenty-first-century fatigue with life, right down the cyclical short-story structure. These sorts of stories always feel repetitive to me, and vary a lot in how emotionally intertwined the cast of characters are. Such nuance is needed for these books to pay off for me, and it just didn't quite catch it anywhere.

The translation does feel quite awkward, so might be the source of the challenge. I speak some Korean and can tell this is a very faithful translation, but creative license is so important to transpose stories into another language, literally and in spirit.

Korean whimsical cosy fantasy in miniature

With a tiny cast and a landscape that doesn't stray far from the eponymous laundry, this is a gentle and cosy fantasy that does exactly what it offers: an unassuming novel that's unruffled by world-building or earth shattering stakes, instead offering an antidote to episodic television or blockbuster movies.

The problems that customers bring to the laundry aren't too challenging, the stains they want to wash away won't change their lives fundamentally, and the emotional journeys of everyone, from the customers to the otherworldly Jieun, are enough to satisfy any reader.

This book took a long time to read, mainly because I couldn't fully connect with the story in general.

Marigold Mind Laundry is a nice book, it has important messages and also characters with a variety of conflicts and we can see how they resolve it once they come into contact with this store that promises to 'wash' or 'clean' those stains from life. I found this premise very interesting and it really is, the vision with which certain problems are faced seems most curious and also comforting to me.

However, I felt that I couldn't connect with their characters... their stories seemed interesting to me! But I didn't have that curiosity to know how it was going to end or what was going to happen to each one.

It is a reading that I recommend, for everything I said above. It is a good book, it has good things to take and reflect on.

Thank you very much Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the ARC I read through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The cover is what initially drew me in and then I read the premise, and knew it would be my kind of book.

I love books like Dallergut Dream Department and the Rainfall Market. These kinds of books are perfect for those that enjoy magical realism and reading about characters that grow and learn how to live.

This book confused me in the beginning because it’s told like one of those old stories where the characters don’t have names and a good bit of information is thrown at you but after awhile, I was able to get into it.

The protagonist has mysterious powers that she finds out about when she’s older so she has no control over them. When she accidentally wishes away her parents, her regret and pain are so strong that she vows that she will keep being reborn until she can get them back. Over time, she loses her love of life and only lives in despair. She eventually comes to run a magical laundromat that erases bad memories for people. As she meets these people, she starts to learn about herself and how she can heal.

I will buy it because it’s a beautiful story with wholesome characters and a cozy setting. Tysm for this read.