This book is genuinely a confusing one, and if I'm honest, I think it might be a case of mislabelling its genres. It's marketed as a 'Korean Feminist Thriller', but does it actually conform to any of those labels? It's more of a literary domestic novel in its execution, utilised mostly to discuss the nature of marriage in Korea, and genre labels aside, doesn't quite have the bite I'd like to see from a novel discussing misogyny in modern Korea. Also in its marketing is its mention of a comp to KIM JIYOUNG, BORN 1981, which in contrast, makes for a very effective and almost visceral discussion of the topic. Misogyny is rife in South Korea, but unlike KIM JIYOUNG, THE TRUNK doesn't dive into this: it makes a bit of a splash, but there isn't the level of depth that would have really boosted it narratively.

For a first-person narrative, it's quite difficult to get the hang of protagonist Noh. We do get access to her interior dialogue, but in many cases, she's very unresponsive to things happening around her, and discusses events and situations through a detached, almost cold perspective. Unlike CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN, another title in THE TRUNK's list of comps, it's unclear whether this is a deliberate narrative choice, a translation hiccup, or something else entirely. The text was translated by a range of translators in conjunction with a university in Australia, and while this is an interesting idea for a translation, it might be a contributing reason behind the text's difficulty to get a handle on. If I'm honest, I wonder why such titles as KIM JIYOUNG, CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN and YELLOWFACE were picked as this title's comps, since from a surface level, it's difficult to work out what they all have in common with the novel - unless, of course, thought went as far as picking texts with Asian women in them which have happened to sell well among Western audiences.

Subplots which would otherwise be compelling are never given time to breathe, and are firmly relegated to the role of subplot. Alongside a potential human trafficking operation organised by NM, the mysterious company Noh works for, there are also discussions of Noh's complex relationships with her mother - which are told to us entirely through Noh's cold, detached narration, which comes across as more factual than personal - and even the suicide of one of Noh's friends as a teenager doesn't get the page-time or focus it deserves, which gives the novel the strange impression of having wildly weird priorities. The closest it comes to the 'feminist thriller' angle as mentioned in its blurb is the subplot in which an obsessive man, hinted to have incel-ish tendencies, begins to stalk Noh, but with the detached narration at hand, we never get the sense that Noh is in any real danger, but instead an onlooker who is perfectly passive, no matter how often she swears in her inner dialogue. While it would be possible to comment on the literary symbology at work in the novel - for instance, the coffee machine in Noh's apartment becomes a symbol of a home life which has its inconveniences but is still grounding and comforting, while her job-husband's recording studio acts as an almost Bluebeard-esque hidden space in their marital home, noting how even in a paid marriage, it is not perfect and the two keep secrets from one another - but as a free-standing novel, THE TRUNK is one which can't quite work out which genre it's situated in, nor what it wants to be narratively.

Thank you to Doubleday for an eArc in exchange for an honest review. THE TRUNK was released in the UK on the 7th of October, so remember to support your brick-and-mortar bookshops, especially indies!

Many thanks to Transworld for an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Originally written in 2015, this new translation is being followed by a Netflix adaptation this year.
It was only upon completing the novel that I found out that this was translated by a group of people - Paik Yonjae, Aditi Dubey and Adam Zulawnik. This was translated seamlessly, ad it never felt like multiple voices or translations. That was really impressive.

Our main character Noh Inji works as a 'Field Wife' and is hired to be married by a previous spouse. The blurb talks about how her past starts to unravel, but I didn't feel the sense of urgency I was expecting from the blurb. Wit regards to the company itself, there was reveals, but sometimes, I felt that they fell flat.

I would say that this is a feminist book. There are themes of going against the grain of traditional roles and being in charge of your own life, but I don't feel like it was quite the thriller I was expecting. I just wanted more.

Looking forward to the adaptation and seeing how this translates to screen.

The contract marriage is a recurring trope underpinning numerous K-drama romances from classics like Because This is My First Life to more recent offerings like Love in Contract. But Kim Ryeo-ryeong’s play on the contract relationship marks a major departure from the standard formula - which invariably results in a blissful love match. Instead, Kim gives us Noh Inji, a woman with a unusual job. Inji’s employed by New Marriage the secret division of a large match-making agency. Inji’s a Field Wife contracted out as a short-term partner for client husbands. She’s paid to fulfil her client husbands’ requests from general domestic to sexual services. Inji’s rapidly approaching 30, increasingly disillusioned about her life and the lives of those around her: her close friend Shi-jeong’s passions always seem to fizzle out; her neighbour Granny’s being strung along by a younger man who just wants her money; and Inji’s recent blind date shows all the signs of becoming her stalker. Inji’s latest husband is a repeat contract, frustratingly self-absorbed and sexually inept. His assessment of his earlier, traditional marriage reinforces her sense that relationships are bound to end in dissatisfaction, if not all-out disaster.

Inji’s character was initially inspired by Kim’s interest in examining sex work from a neutral perspective, neither condemnatory nor celebratory. But Kim’s narrative contains a broader, semi-satirical examination of contemporary Korean society from declining birth rates to gendered violence. Originally published in 2015, Kim’s clearly building on concepts of the Sampo generation, perceived as abandoning traditional goals from childbirth to marriage, partly for social and partly for economic reasons. In Inji’s circles even those who still hanker after these things are unable to meet their needs. Sometimes because they simply can’t afford to. Sometimes because they’re unable to make or sustain meaningful bonds – like many of Inji’s clients for whom wives are a commodity and marriage purely transactional. But for women there’s the added threat of exploitation or male brutality.

Kim’s story contains a variety of highly-promising elements, I particularly liked her portrayal of world-weary, cynical Inji. But I found Kim’s underlying cultural analysis slightly muddled perhaps because she’s trying to cover too much here. Alongside her marriage critique, there are numerous reflections on romance versus obsession; and love as destructive force demonstrated through the death by suicide of Inji’s former classmate. This, in turn, opens up a discussion of queer culture in Korea, from homophobia to biphobia to repressed desires. It’s clear Kim means to be inclusive but her positive intentions don’t always yield positive results: her representation of queer existence leans towards uncomfortable stereotypes and ‘bury your gays’ storylines. In addition, Kim adds in commentary on the suffocating nature of nuclear families from relentless parental expectations to pressures on women like Granny to sacrifice themselves for their feckless adult children.

Kim ties many of these themes together through Inji’s trunk, carted between work and home, it’s a signifier of Inji’s rootlessness but equally symbolises emotional baggage and feelings of confinement. Yet it also holds out the possibility of escape, of packing up and leaving everything else behind her. But in Kim’s scenario individuals aren’t in control, Inji’s budding plans for a different future might easily be thwarted by unexpected “misfortune” – like the stalker who’s disrupted her everyday routines. Ultimately, I’m not sure all Kim’s pieces fit together to form a coherent whole, and aspects didn’t work for me at all. But I still found this intriguing, inventive and compelling enough to make it a worthwhile read. Translated by The Kolab.

Rating: 3/3.5

A contract wife, a novel questioning the institution of marriage. Interesting premise and social commentary, but hard to keep up with the narration.

Noh Inji is the main character in “The Trunk” - she is an employee at Wedding & Life.- a matchmaking service that provides people with fake wives and husbands. We find out about her life through her voice. She’s always had doubts about her job but events on her current assignment lead her to question it further.

It’s difficult to describe the plot of this book further as the most interesting parts are the set up, the dialogue and the little instances that Noh Inji details. It’s a really fascinating tale that is part satire and part thriller and I will soon be seeking out the Netflix show that it has inspired.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

"Korean feminist thriller for fans of KIM JIYOUNG BORN 1982, CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN and YELLOWFACE."

This book is not that. 'Thriller' is the wrong term for this book. This is not some revved-up story about a woman surviving a horrific event. This is a social commentary on marriage and the relationships between women and the wrong kind of men - conmen, stalkers, abusers etc. Inji's relationship with relationships is painful and interesting to read. She's not raging war on it; she's exhausted from it all. Her desire, or lack of it, to be married is contrasted as she compares the people in her life and her own contract marriages. Most of the men she deals with are foul but accurate representations of the men women avoid. After all, they wouldn't be signing up for contract marriages if they didn't have a fault that kept women falling for them organically.

There is a lot in this book about society's obsession with marriage and how it can put women in bad situations. And also about how it leaves women vulnerable to people who abuse the system. That's why it's feminist. But thriller? No, it's not a thriller.

This is definitely not a thriller but it is a good read none the less. I think it is more what I would term dystopian/literary fiction. It is a simple premise in that people can basically hire people to be married to for a short period of time without having the commitment of marriage. This book explores a society where this is possible and the roles of men and women in relationships. This book has quite an edgy atmosphere.

The premise of The Trunk was very intriguing but it was also misleading. This isn’t a thriller, more a deep dive in to modern South Korea and their attitudes to relationships and marriage. It is a very hands off read, you aren’t allowed to feel much as the main character has such an unemotional attitude to life and her job as a field wife. The plot didn’t really go anywhere though I found it interesting to instant more about a culture I know next to nothing about. I suspect what Netflix will present will be very different to the novel, either funnier or more dramatic.

I found that I didn't like this book much. It felt like it was a little bit about nothing.
I think it's an interesting idea that didn't quite hit the mark for me.

I enjoyed this book, but I think the marketing really misled me - it's definitely not a thriller, and is more an exploration of gender and marriage in modern Korea. It's a connected set of storylines around an intriguing premise: spouses for hire. As the stories interlock, it explores a plethora of social issues, which left me genuinely unsure where things would end up (in a good way). I'd recommend this but not as a thriller.

What happened to me with this book is that many times I wondered what I was reading. That thing about it being a 'thriller' could be, but it's not well done, and it's a shame because it was a VERY interesting point in this novel. And I think it was pretty wasted.

The Trunk has several interesting points, but I feel like none of them were developed properly. I felt like everything was halfway done. The messages and reflections on feminism, marriage, sexuality, society in general... everything was left halfway. Nothing closed and everything was left in the air. He jumped from one thing to another, came and went, and in the end you felt like you didn't quite understand what you were reading.

There is going to be an adaptation starring Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun-jin (two great actors) and I think it would be a VERY interesting series/movie because they could close and express much better the ideas (very interesting, by the way) that we can read here but that They don't show themselves well.

The ending felt rushed, unclear, and left me with little pleasure. Many things were left open, few things really had the weight that I felt they should have. And yet, I think it is a novel that is interesting. That's why I'm very sad that I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Thank you very much Random House UK for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to reading this book, I like learning more about different cultures to mine and the "feminist satire" was very appealing. Sadly though, I found it really difficult to get into or care very much about what was happening. Having read the author's notes at the back about the translators, I feel awful saying this, but I was a bit put off by the stilted conversations and lack of nuance.
I noticed that it is going to be a netflix production and will definitely watch it as maybe, for me, it will work better visually.
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.

Even though not as strong as most Anglophone readers would have expected or liked in terms of its feminist radicalism, I thought it had a brilliant and interesting premise which did very well support and carry a great narrative - enough to make me want to read the original/KR text. In other words, I can't say I'm a fan of the translation work - to me, felt a bit scattered, disjointed and a bit lacking in elegance in terms of style and structure. To put simply, not enough for me to like it properly - I'd go as far as to say that it disrupted my flow and enjoyment of reading on and off. Although slightly irrelevant, I do wish the film adaptation will amplify the qualities of the narrative and text - like for instance : 'Kim Ji Young, Born 1982'. It would be a shame and a waste otherwise. Regardless of all of the above, I look forward to more English translation of Kim's books.

Decided to DNF this as at 60% I just don't feel that it's really going anywhere interesting. It's definitely not a thriller, but more an exploration of relationships, gender and societal expectations in Korea. It's an interesting concept but I'm already 60% of the way through and there's no tension or central thrust to the story. I would perhaps have liked this more if I hadn't been expecting a thriller.

The Trunk was an interesting look at a dystopian Korea in which the protagonist, Noh Inji, is essentially a wife for hire through a high-class agency. This alone was enough to intrigue me. There is a certain matter-of-factness to the narration which made it clear that Inji is fairly detached when it comes to her job and seemingly finds it quite easy to follow the somewhat impersonal and patriarchal rules set out by the agency.

Outside of her work life, Inji also allows us insight into her personal relationships and how an abrupt end to a past friendship may have led her to crave a life free of the bonds of love. At the same time, it seems that her work has heavily influenced this choice as it doesn't exactly set the best example for loving relationships.

There were enough nuggets of new information sprinkled throughout the novel to keep me hooked, the pace wasn't that of a fast-paced thriller but was nonetheless gripping. Ryeo-ryeong (and the translation team) did a great job of showing that despite Inji's insistence that she was emotionally closed off she did in fact have a soft side and strong moral values.

I am looking forward to watching the series and hope to read more by this author in future!

I was pleasantly surprised with this book! I went into it knowing about the adaptation and thought it best to create my own opinion of the book first before seeing what the excellent Korean entertainment industry did with it.

I liked the distance you felt between the self and the story. But I liked how suspense was created through this distance. The female lead helped create this atmosphere with their concerns and attitudes towards the male lead and their situation clawing at survival throughout the story.

However I did get the sense that I didn’t really know where it was going to go. For readers who have experienced distrust within relationships or domestic situations I would suggest giving this one a miss. The suspense and emptiness in some of the situations are rather uncomfortable on purpose but excellently crafted to do this on purpose. The show may adapt this in a more romantic sense but the underlying story is supposed to centre on how this is a job, not an actual relationship for the female lead.

Well crafted and an interesting read.(3.5stars)

This novel, translated from the Korean, is listed as a feminist thriller. I struggled with the idea of it being a thriller, but even so, the story itself was enthralling. Our main character Inji is a Field Wife at NM, an elite division of Wedding and Life. The clients can contract a 'wife' for a year and so Inji becomes a wife for a year at a time for whoever has signed the contract. A sort of rent-a-wife. For the clients, it works as they have either had marriages fail in the past, or they do not want to enter into a long-time commitment. For Inji, it gets her away from her mother and frees her from making attachment. It gives her a sort of freedom to push her body and boundaries in whichever direction she wants. Therefore when her last 'husband' want to renew for the contract for a further year, her initial reaction is to say no as she prefers to reset each time. However, she does say yes and starts a further year's 'marriage' to her previous husband. He is never named. He is a music producer and is sort of anonymous - we don't learn that much about him but we see him as someone driven by his impulses, acting out the porn that he gets Inji to watch with him. Inji does become more empathetic towards him, but what we see is how she lives in this 'marriage' and maintains her distance. But she also becomes the victim of a stalker who keeps turning up with food and the action taken by Wedding and Life when she reports him, shows a very different side to the company. Through the novel we learn of inji's past, her relationships with her friends and how her experiences over the past years are encouraging her to take stock of her life. This is a novel that covers so many topics - prostitution, trafficking, slavery, and love and marriage. I believe that this is now being turned into a Netflix series so that may be one to check out. A enthralling read even if I wouldn't class it as a thriller.

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and publisher.

Wow this book was wild! It was such a strange reading experience. It was almost mundane slice of life at times but it was so gripping and impossible to put down! This is a year in the life of a woman who works as a wife for hire. She works for an agency that provides contracted wives for people for whom traditional marriage wouldn’t quite work. During this year she finds her relationships changing, often being challenged. She has a year of discovery, facing up to truths about her past and historical friendships. Learning things she didn’t know before that changes how she feels about people in her life. We see this creeping into her thoughts and making her question her life and her job. A frightening experience with a stalker and learning secrets about the company she works for has her question everything.

People in this book are so multi-faceted. No-one is purely good or bad, people are selfish then kind, affectionate then cold. You can never be sure what the characters will do or what direction they are headed. It is absolutely fascinating.

This book was so interesting, it was intense, powerful and a great read.

I was expecting something different for sure. An actually mystery thriller. This was not it.

This book was a social commentary about life and marriage, from the point of view of Inji's, the mc. I requested this book because I was intrigued by the Field Spouses thing. However, the storytelling of the book is just not for me. It's rather slow too. I did think some parts were repetitive, then again it's following the mc, and her going through her days.

Having gone in thinking that this book is a thriller, I thought the characters were all rather strange. But now I think it might be just the way Inji had talked about them all.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book at 70%, as it really bored me.

Thank you to the publisher (Random House UK, Transworld) and NetGalley for providing me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC!

Although marketed as a thriller, I would definitely put this more towards the literary fiction category. I enjoyed this book, but I did struggle to connect with the characters and because I was expecting more of a thriller, I found it to fall a bit flat overall.