Shanna Tan

Kim Jiyun

*THE HEARTWARMING KOREAN BESTSELLER*

*A new book from Shanna Tan, translator of Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop*

Situated at the heart of a rapidly gentrifying district of Seoul, the Yeonnam-dong Smiley Laundromat is a place where the extraordinary stories of ordinary residents unfold.

It is already a haven of tranquility and reflection for locals, but when someone leaves a notebook behind, the laundromat becomes a place that brings people together. One by one, customers start jotting down candid diary entries, opening their hearts and inviting acts of kindness from neighbours who were once just faces in the crowd.

But there is more to the diary than first appears, and before long the laundromat's regulars are teaming up to solve a mystery and help the notebook's former owner find peace.

A heartwarming, healing debut that instantly captured the hearts of Korean readers, this is a novel about the preciousness of human relationships and the power of solidarity in a world that is increasingly cold, fast-paced and virtual.



Yeonnam-dong's Smiley Laundromat

Lindy

I'd like to recommend keeping a potted plant. Touch the soil, give it some sunshine, water it. As you're taking care of it, enjoy some fresh air yourself. Sometimes I wonder if the plants are taking care of me instead, because I feel so much happier being out in the garden.

Be the tree with the straightest branches, the sturdiest trunk. Remember, whether it's a raging typhoon or a light storm, once you've survived them they're all just the winds of the past.

Parents have an uncanny ability to know when their children are having a hard time. Just by glancing at their back, the way they stoop, they can tell if something's bothering their child. Parents always know.

Yeonnam-dong's Smiley Laundromat quotes

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