The Disaster Tourist

I wish to thank Yun Ko-Eun, Serpent's Tail / Profile Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of The Disaster Tourist in exchange for an honest review.

This is an unusual and unique story, darkly entertaining and poignant in its portrayal of tourism and the damage it can cause to local populations. The protagonist Yona is a travel programmer with a Korean travel group offering packages to disaster zones. She endures sexually harassment in her work place perpetrated by her abusive boss Kim; as a consequence she feels mistreated and insecure and hence tenders her resignation. She is offered time off and a paid trip in exchange for her continued employment. Yona is not impressed by the tour as it fails to meet her expectations. On the return trip to Korea Yona becomes separated from the tour group and is forced to return to Mui where the tour occurred. There is a disturbing plan in progress which Yona becomes intrinsic involved in. 

There’s a lot going on in this short novel, it is a call for responsible ecologically sound tourism, an exposure of tolerated misogynistic behavior at corporate level and a comment on effects of climate change. Recommend.

The Disaster Tourist is a darkly funny novel about a company that arranges holidays to disaster sites. Yona has worked for years for Jungle, a travel company for package trips to disaster sites, but it seems like her job is less secure these days. When her boss behaves inappropriately towards her, she tries to quit, but the company makes her an offer to visit one of their destinations, report back on whether it is good enough, and not leave just yet. She goes to the remote desert island of Mui, where there's supposed to be a great sinkhole, but her and the other travellers are disappointed by the small scale of what they see. However, Yona starts to realise that there's a plan to make a much more impressive disaster occur, but she might be part of it.

This is a short, engaging novel that places a fed up employee in a strange unfolding situation and pokes fun at people who holiday in other people's disasters whilst also considering the environment and social impact of this. It is fast paced and easy to get into, and ironically could be quite a fun holiday read that still leaves you with things to think about. I found myself near the end imagining how it could be adapted into a film, with an extra layer of thought about voyeurism and disaster.

The Disaster Tourist combines dark and ridiculous with thought-provoking questions about the nature of disaster tourism, particularly in the wake of interest in places like Chernobyl.

The Disaster Tourist was a fascinating and thought-provoking read. As well as being an entertaining story, it also made me consider the nature of tourism and how what we see of a country as a tourist, especially on organised tours, is not always a true reflection of the place and its people. The book also raises moral and ethical questions relating to many current issues, as well as touching on other themes such as sexual harassment in the workplace. The Disaster Tourist is a well-written tale with a lot packed into its 190 pages and I am very glad I had the opportunity to read it. I recommend it to readers looking for a quick but thoughtful literary fiction read.

A unique read. Are you someone that travels to famous sites where murders or crimes have taken place? What about disaster zones? There are many agencies which offer Chernobyl tours for example and the one in this novel offers this and so much more.

Would you go? What if the disaster is not as bad as you thought or the area not as destroyed as you imagined. Would you complain? Would the tourist agency be tempted to make it worse just as some countries try to sweep problem areas under the carpet when royalty or celebrity visit?

There's a lot to like about this novel. Fascinating premise and so much story in so few words. It packs a punch.

REcommended.

I devoured this novel incredibly quickly and found myself left craving more, which definitely does not happen often. "The Disaster Tourist" reads in one sitting, it is a perfectly formed story, taut and well-paced, of human folly and greed; the use of a painfully real world concept to tell a biting satirical tale that feels worryingly plausible leaves the reader questioning their own thoughts and position in society.
I could not recommend this book enough.