The Trunk is an interesting concept that shows Noh Inji working as a field wife at an exclusive matchmaking company named Wedding & Life.

At Wedding & Life Inji takes on a new assignment which sees her matched up with a former husband who happens to be part of the elite clientele.

This book is described as a thriller but it didn't really give me the vibes of one, it did however have a lot of social commentary.

I really liked the characters of Inji and Granny but I didn't really feel like a lot happened in the book and personally I felt the second half of the book was a bit disconnected to the first.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc.

If I'm honest, 100% in and I still don't understand why this is called 'The Trunk' (is there a translation issue somewhere)? However, that's pretty much my only issue (although I also wouldn't call this a thriller).

Set in an alternate (although not unrealistic) Seoul, Inji works at a company that provides men and women short-term marriages (without the divorce, commitment etc). Unfortunately, whilst this may be useful to some, and seems good in theory, it ends up being incredibly exploititive - especially for the female workers.

The book also covers themes of: stalking and violence against women, anti-LGBT (incl biphobia and anti lesbian) sentiment, abuse of power from older men and the unfortunate women who contribute to this, and religious/charity corruption - all of which are real issues in South Korea. Whilst this wasn't what I anticipated, I would highly recommend and am looking forward to watching the Netflix series.

"For us, love was only permitted within the constraints of a contract and a fixed term. Accidents happened when you mistakenly assumed that you were somehow special. To our clients, we were all the same."

Inji Noh has been working as a 'Field Wife' for a secretive and exclusive matcmaking agency for the rich and wealthy, called 'Weddings & Life'. The company provides its clients with a professional, fixed term marriage service and by the end of the contract the marriage is dissolved without any fuss. Having worked there for over six years, Inji has already been married 5 times. Whilst repeated requests for the same 'Field Wife/Husband' are rare, her last ex-husband, a rich music producer, has requested her again. Soon, Inji finds herself in a lucrative position of unraveling some dark secrets about her own past and the dangers of her company.

One of my biggest frustrations is when the blurb doesn't match the contents of the book. 'The Trunk' is definitely not a thriller, but more of a dystopian piece with social commentary on marriage, mental health, and sexuality. The story seemed to build towards a suspenseful conclusion, and I was holding my breath for a dramatic, gory twist, but the ending felt rushed and left me a bit confused. It lacked the impact I was anticipating, and while there were moments of intrigue, the ending felt underwhelming.

The concept of a professional marriage service for the elite was a very interesting plot device—one that I wished the author had explored further. I enjoyed learning about the darker, almost clinical side of the business; those parts were gripping and had great potential. However, this intriguing aspect was soon pushed aside in favor of character arcs that didn’t develop as much as I had hoped.

Inji is a character full of cynicism, anger, and disappointment about where her life is headed, but her emotions never quite tapped into the deeper sense of female rage and drive for change that I expected. Many of her interactions with other characters—her mother, her "husband," Kim, and the Director—had a lot of potential to turn into something more dynamic or intense, but they fizzled out, leaving the relationships feeling somewhat flat. Even the big confession that was meant to be impactful came across as a bit forced.

I think the biggest issue was the translation, where much of the nuance seemed to be lost. At times, it felt disjointed, and I was often confused about who was speaking or whether events were happening in the past or present. This disrupted the flow and affected my overall enjoyment, making it hard to stay engaged. Unfortunately, I struggled to keep going, so I can't rate this higher than a 2.

Not so much of a thriller in my estimation, but more into general fiction. Nonetheless it's an intriguing read with a great primary female lead. Interesting to see this novel translate to screen. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

The Trunk by Kim Ryeo-ryeong, known for her incisive social commentary, delves into South Korea's elite matchmaking industry. Translated into English for the first time, the novel centers on Noh Inji, a 30-year-old employee of a clandestine marriage service. Here, wealthy clients hire "field spouses" for temporary marriages. Having participated in several such marriages, Inji has remained emotionally detached, until a former "husband," a music producer, requests a second contract, leading to unexpected revelations about both Inji and the company.

The novel explores themes of societal expectations, the commodification of love, and the emptiness behind the pursuit of perfection. Through Inji's story, Kim critiques traditional gender roles and the pressures placed on individuals within South Korea’s upper-class circles. The narrative, laced with dark humor and tension, invites readers to question the value of love and personal choice in a world where even marriage is transactional.

With a sharp, engaging style, The Trunk offers a fresh and unsettling perspective on modern relationships and conformity, making it a compelling read for fans of novels like Convenience Store Woman or Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982.

I loved this book. I was so intrigued in the first few chapters about where it was going to go. I couldn’t put it down. Likeable characters and a great ‘field wife’ plot. Highly recommended if you like Korean translated fiction.

This is a good book about feminism in Korea. I enjoyed quite a lot about it and thought it approached it in a nuanced and loud way.

Pretty strong premise, the main character works as a ‘field wife’ which is alike a hired spouse for the rich, with its complex contract and obligations. This concept caught my interest and I was optimistic that I would enjoy it as seemed reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale, or a futuristic John Marrs esque storyline. I was, however, a little disappointed in delivery and it didn’t capture and hold my interest quite as much as it had promised. I can’t quite put my finger on why, maybe it was lost a little (literally) in translation. The feel for the individual characters wasn’t a hundred percent there and they didn’t gel for me. Definitely worth a go though, still captured my imagination and was food for thought.

I would describe this book as an 'everyday dystopian' story which explores attitudes to marriage, employment and sexuality. Essentially the main character, Inji, works as a wife who can be contracted for a year and who specifically sees herself as separate from a prostitute or sex worker but instead as someone doing drudge work at the start of her corporate career.

The reader joins the monotony of this type of life and it highlights the impossibility of falsifying a long term relationship like a marriage, particularly if there's no point in making memories for the future. This repetitive existence is interrupted by a friendly stalker who refuses to accept rejection and I saw as a sort of physical representation of Inji's conscience asking her why she was persisting with this uncanny existence.

Overall I wouldn't call this a thriller and there were sections of the book which I felt left too much unsaid but it was an interesting read to reflect on relationships and what people expect from them.

I think this is mis-described as a feminist thriller...I kept thinking we were going to veer off into some gory murder at some point, but that never happened! Instead, it's more of a look at Korean marital, sexual and gender expectations. I found it quite a thoughtful story, though at times it was a little difficult to follow quite what was going on. The idea of the marriage agency was interesting, and I loved how Inji refers to her husband as 'the husband' throughout.
There are interesting strands of story - parts that were funny, with the Granny and the coffee machine, and parts that were moving, with Inji's two school friends and their history. There was a creepy guy, but I couldn't quite judge just how creepy he was meant to be (he didn't seem that awful to me), and what happens to him seems pretty horiffic...perhaps that was meant to be the thriller side of things.
I did enjoy it, for the most part, and I felt like it got more interesting as I went along. I mostly wanted to know a bit more...it felt like a glimpse into societal expectations in Korea which I don't know much about, but I felt I needed more information. But ultimately, I wasn't sure what the message of the book was, and the ending was just a little odd.

The translation, though, was very good - it felt very natural, and I was interested to read at the end that it had been done collaboratively which is an interesting idea.

This is an unusual but very interesting book, difficult to describe.
Set in Korea, maybe in the future, in a society where people want the social acceptance of being married, but not the emotional entanglements.
So if you have enough money, you can join an organisation that will provide you with a Field Wife or Field Husband for a limited amount of time. You will marry, and then divorce at the end of the contract.
A successful Field Wife tells her story, on and off the job, with unexpected entanglements, as she discovers an unexpected darker side to the company she works for.
Well worth a read!

The Trunk by Kim Ryeo-ryeong #netgalley #netgalleyreview

Korean, feminist, slightly dystopian - we've seen it all before, right? In The Trunk, an agency lending spouses for contract hire is the new game in town. Although the spouses are expected to perform sexual duties, they're not sex workers. They are expected to provide an emotional connection (within the limits of their professional capacity), participate in social events, and make it feel like a real marriage. Although focused on the day to day of the office work of the agency and critical of corporate culture, the novel is more of an examination of 'traditional marriage' than a critique of capitalism.

The novel is about the specific experiences of the protagonist, a wife for hire, rather than an analysis of how the existence of such a service would reshape society. We follow a lively and cynical protagonist whose POV is captured in acerbic prose. There is very little plot. We observe the world through Inji's perspective, meeting her elderly neighbour obsessed with her younger lover who she basically pays for, her childhood best friend who changes hobbies every week and her client husband whose ex wife is still hung up on him. The two darker plot points are Inji's childhood friend's death, which still affects her, and a blind date, which turns into a stalker. Inji's dealing with the stalker, who she is repulsed by but who she still does not want to get inhumanely dealt with by the agency security provided me with most food for thought.

What I love about many translated literary-adjacent books (and Korean ones in particular) is that they feel less formulaic and MFAified to death than their Anglophone counterparts. I might be perplexed by some of the characters' choices and critical of some of the ideas discussed, but I enjoy that I am given the the freedom to engage with them without the author taking my hand and walking me through a predetermined 'message'.

Sounds like a cliche by now, but if you liked Kim Jiyoung Born 1982, this one is more interesting. It also reminded me of The Disaster Tourist, very underrated. Loved the prose, the themes discussed, and the protagonist. Definitely recommend.

Started quite strong but then it started to fall through. Quite repetitive and it is like it shifted towards the second half. The more I read it, the more I was thinking that would do better as a tv show... Well, it is now a tv show coming to Netflix so I think I might enjoy it more on screen than as a book. The concept is quite original and that is what interested me the most. I don't know if it is the story development, the translation or both that made this a bit of a weird one for me.

I am definitely going to add this to my class curriculum as it’s just got it all! I couldn’t put it down once I started it and read late into the night! I just know my student are going to love it as much as I did! I will be looking out for more work from this author! 100% recommend!

I’m really sorry but I just disliked this book so much. It just didn’t do anything for me. I made notes connection to the main character and for me, the story didn’t really go anywhere. I just found it very boring.

I’m sure others will love this book, but it just didn’t chime with me at all.

My thanks as ever to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Trunk is marketed as a Korean feminist thriller. Part of me agrees with 'thriller' being its genre, but I don't think it fully fits the bill. This is a book with a quirky plot, likeable characters, and feminist to the tee. The social commentary paired up with the quirky story was a perfect combination.

I recommend this book to readers who like:

✅ Women calling men out on their BS.
✅ Women supporting women. “Your burden is as heavy as mine.”
✅ Who are annoyed at ✨men✨. I'm not talking about ALL men but: Men who tell women they need to be skinny and pretty while they do nothing to take care of themselves; men who have never married who think unmarried women are a waste of space; divorced men who think divorced women are too used up; men who harass; men who stalk; men who isolate women; men who use women for sex; old men who only want pretty young women; men who only want women as furniture (as long as they cook); men who interrupt you when you talk to speak about their shit constantly; men who don’t understand the word ‘no’; con men after women’s money; lost fathers who only show up when they need cash; men who stay with their wives out of duty but ignore them; men who mistreat and insult their mothers (while still using their money); ETC.

(My highlights were when Kim Ryeo-ryeong had the main character whine about men try sexy stuff they had seen in porn and it doesn't work out, but they keep going with the “You like that, yeah?” No we don’t. Hilarious).

Anyways, onto the review. This is such a good book. You know I’m liking a book when it takes me ages to finish, I was just dragging it so it wouldn’t end.

The Trunk follows Noh Inji, an employee at NM. NM, or New Marriages, is a sub-company of a dating company that pairs up men and women. NM, instead of dating, pairs up individuals with a wife/husband for a set period of time. Not everyone gets to be a wife or husband for NM, it’s quite difficult, and you can only reject a potential partner three times or else you get fired.

After a particularly shitty husband (I almost PUKED reading about him), Inji says no to two similar men. Meaning that she can’t really say no anymore if she wants to keep her job. Luckily for her, she gets a husband whose only particularity is that he likes buying alcohol when he’s drunk. We follow Inji as she works but also as she deals with her life: her work colleagues at NM, her LOVELY neighbor Granny (I LOVE GRANNY SO MUCH) and best friend, her tteok-obsessed stalker, and so forth.

The novel that ensues is mesmerizing. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s such a peculiar story because of the whole NM business, but if you look beyond it, it’s just so empowering. Women are always told we find ourselves in X or Y situations because we dress some way or we don’t say no. In this book, Inji screams at men who act ‘like men’ and where does that get her? Nowhere. Because men don’t understand the word ‘no.' This book is just perfect for any woman who is tired of being told how to look, how to act, how good men are, how we’re at fault. It’s very feminist and it focuses a lot on how tiring it is to be a woman in a man's world, with men telling you how it is, etc. It enraged me, it made me laugh, it was everything.

I wouldn't call this a book about 'female rage,' but it certainly is a 'I'm so tired of this shit' type of book. Beyond this, I LOVED the appreciation and reverence for female friendship and support. The inclusion of LGBTQIA+ in Korea (including asexuality!) it was just so to the point and fun to read. This book just had everything and it was so funny.

Also, THE ENDING. Oh my God. I SCREAMED.

Five stars. If Kim Ryeo-ryeong and I had drinks together, we’d end the night as besties.

PS. As I read this, I was like "tteok guy and I would be perfect for each other, I love tteok so much." I'll never look at tteok the same way.

I really enjoyed the premise & unique nature of this read. The Trunk follows Inji, a "wife-for-hire" who works at a secretive organisation, renting out spouses to Korea's elite clients. The unique array of characters w adds so much to the story, such as Inji's neighbour 'Granny' who is in love with a man half her age & Inji's best friend, who is making her question her sexuality whilst married.

I would say, however, that this story is not the thriller it was advertised as. I didn't fin many thriller elements at all, and I would definitely class this as more of a lit-fic!

This started off very strong, but quickly got repetitive. The plot was interesting and creative, however I didn’t like any of the characters and found myself quickly frustrated with their actions. I wish there was more focus on the characterisation and their developments rather than the same repetitive plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! And just to preface, I agree with other reviewers- this is not the thriller you might expect from the summary, it’s quite calm with the thrills but nonetheless a great Korean translated fiction read.

We follow Inji, a 'Field Wife', working at the 'Wedding & Life' matchmaking service. Her job is to be someone's wife for a set period, depending on what the client has requested. Her latest husband decided to remarry her, a rare occurrence, and so we follow this narrative with interwoven scenes from her real life outside her work marriage. The other characters are quite distinct, and all have great personalities which makes the book both more convincing and enjoyable. Through the variety of quirky characters and bizarre situations we are invited to explore relationships, human emotion, sex, love, intimacy, and desire.

If you enjoy translated fiction by authors such as Cho Nam-ju, Elisa Shua Dusapin and Sayaka Murata, you will definitely enjoy this. I highly recommend!

The premise of The Trunk is intriguing but I wouldn't classify this as a feminist thriller at all.

Told through a first person narrative, The Trunk tells the story of Inji who works for the secret New Marriage (NM) department of W&L - a matchmaking company as a Field Wife (FW). First Wives take up a contractual marriage for a year. Inji's 'husband' renews their contract. He is a music producer and lives a quiet life. There is no sanctity in this sort of marriage.

The other characters add overall depth to the story. Granny, Inji's neighbour adds some humour by being obsessed with a young man. Inji's best friend Shi Jeong makes Inji question her sexuality. It is Inji's stalker Tae Seong that gives The Trunk a very dark side.

The Trunk is unconventional and offbeat and I do have to say that I did enjoy Inji's inner monologues and musings. I did feel that the ending was quite abrupt and lacked closure.

Kudos to the KoLab team behind the translation - a team effort by university students across Australia.