Name: nina 's review of Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park
Item: Love in the Big City
Rating: 5
Author: nina

Sang Young Park

Young flippert zwischen Bude, Hörsaal und den Betten seiner letzten Tinder-Matches hin und her. Er studiert in Seoul, zusammen mit Jaehee, seiner BFF und Mitbewohnerin, zieht er durch die glitzernden Bars und queeren Clubs der Stadt. Mit noch einem Glas Soju in der Hand und eisgekühlten Marlboro Reds zwischen den Lippen beschwören sie die Euphorie, jede Nacht. Gegen die Ängste, gegen die Liebe, gegen die Ansprüche der Familie und die Not mit dem Geld. Doch als auch Jaehee endlich ankommen will, bleibt Young allein zurück im Partymodus. Mit seiner altgewordenen Mutter, mit dutzenden Liebhabern, von denen kaum einer seinen Namen kennt, mit der Leidenschaft fürs Schreiben und einer Frage: Ist in diesem Land für einen wie mich überhaupt eine Zukunft vorgesehen? Kann ich sie erreichen?

Love in the Big City ist eine Heldengeschichte von gewaltiger Zärtlichkeit und Lässigkeit. Sang Young Park erzählt von Chaos, Freude, Leichtigkeit des Jungseins, und seinen schmerzhaften Grenzen, in einer Gesellschaft, deren Vergangenheit trotz allem Blitzen, Blinken, Träumen seltsam mächtig bleibt … Das Kultbuch aus Südkorea, Porträt einer Generation, Psychogramm eines faszinierenden Landes.

Love in the Big City

대도시의 사랑법

A funny, transporting, surprising, and poignant novel that was one of the highest-selling debuts of recent years in Korea, Love in the Big City tells the story of a young gay man searching for happiness in the lonely city of Seoul Love in the Big City is the English-language debut of Sang Young Park, one of Korea’s most exciting young writers. A runaway bestseller, the novel hit the top five lists of all the major bookstores, went into twenty-six printings, and was praised for its unique literary voice and perspective. It is now poised to capture a worldwide readership. Young is a cynical yet fun-loving Korean student who pinballs from home to class to the beds of recent Tinder matches. He and Jaehee, his female best friend and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their anxieties about their love lives, families, and money with rounds of soju and ice-cold Marlboro Reds that they keep in their freezer. Yet over time, even Jaehee leaves Young to settle down, leaving him alone to care for his ailing mother and to find companionship in his relationships with a series of men, including one whose handsomeness is matched by his coldness, and another who might end up being the great love of his life. A brilliantly written novel that takes us into the glittering nighttime of Seoul and the bleary-eyed morning after with both humor and emotion, Love in the Big City is a wry portrait of millennial loneliness as well as the abundant joys of queer life.

Rain still falls during the late rainy season, as do tears even when it's too late.

Jaehee, who had taught me that every season is its own beautiful moment.

If, at first, I felt guilty about wasting my life away, I soon came to think, Well, whatever. Let's see how far my money goes, let's go as far as life will take me.

Because, whatever it was or wasn't, you were you.

A fresh and unique debut novel by the bestselling young star of Korean queer fiction.

"Love in the Big City" is an energetic, joyful, and moving novel that depicts both the glittering nighttime world of Seoul and the bleary-eyed morning-after. 

Young is a cynical yet fun-loving Korean student who pinballs from home to class to the beds of recent Tinder matches. He and Jaehee, his female best friend and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they suppress their anxieties about their love lives, families, and money with rounds of soju and freezer-chilled Marlboro Reds. Yet in time even Jaehee settles down, leaving Young alone to care for his ailing mother and find companionship in his relationships with a series of men, including one whose handsomeness is matched by his coldness, and another who might end up being the great love of his life.

franz

"A passion for loving Jesus, for throwing oneself wholly into the act of living. That was, perhaps, the feeling I had toward my guy at one time, a feeling of giving myself up to something, an energy I was never a minute away from; perhaps it was something close to religion. To let oneself fall into complete darkness, a kind of faith."

A funny, transporting, surprising, and poignant novel that was one of the highest selling debuts of recent years in Korea, Love in the Big City tells the story of a young gay man searching for happiness in the lonely city of Seoul

I don’t think there’s a love that is more unknown and striking to people like the love of their mother’s. 

“That the person I thought I knew best just because we had blood ties could actually be the most mysterious and unknown. That there were times in life when you just have to stop holding on. And that was why the only thing I could do now was to cease all thinking, to simply watch her as she smiled and attached meanings to silly things like the rising and setting of the sun. All I could do was await her death. And hope that she would die without having known.” 

“She had always been that kind of person. Someone who knew everything, who saw through everything.” 

“I’m not happy about the saury. I like the universe that is you.” 

Helen 

I used to feel like l’d been given the whole world when I held him.

I used to feel that l'd been given the whole world when I held you. 

I think that's why I was so terrible to you. I was scared. I wanted to keep you in my tiny soy-sauce dish of a world forever.

Inkmelt

i can never move on from their story one of my favorite books and shows ever just so so so special to me 😔💔

nina 

I have never met a character as raw and real as Young. Seeing how he refuses to let his trauma define him and facing life as how queer people have been doing for years: with humor and companionship. Yet all the pain seeps into him and creates cracks where he is yet to see, or perhaps he can see them clearly but refuses to make them the centerpiece of his life. To love as a queer person is to sacrifice, to endure, and to yearn in a way that is sacred, different, special. I hope we can all someday be happy, and lanters packed with all our love, all our wishes floats freely, boldly, lighting up the night sky.

deniz

I feel bad for Young, but also, sometimes he really kind of auto sabotages himself, with Jae Hee, Gyu-ho and work/life. I do get why he broke up with Gyu-ho, and the strength he needed to do that, but it somehow also made me sad for both of them. 

That aside, I really liked the book and how it talked about topics like “Kylie”, how it was part of him, but not who he was. Also, his experiences and obstacles he faced for being a gay man are talked about in a very interesting way. 

Denisse Garcia Ramírez 

I feel bad for Young, but also, sometimes he really kind of auto sabotages himself, with Jae Hee, Gyu-ho and work/life. I do get why he broke up with Gyu-ho, and the strength he needed to do that, but it somehow also made me sad for both of them. 

That aside, I really liked the book and how it talked about topics like “Kylie”, how it was part of him, but not who he was. Also, his experiences and obstacles he faced for being a gay man are talked about in a very interesting way. 

Perfect realistic ending too

Didn't really expect anything when I read it, I liked the blurbs so I queued for it on Libby and when I finally could read it, it blew me away. About a gay man and his story about the relationships he's ever had and how he's only truly loved one person afterwards. Exploration about HIV and how characters navigate their lives with it which affects not only their relationship but also just everything.... It's funny and a really light and easy read, but also so gut wrenching. Not a big fan of the stylization of the writing? But I think I'm getting used to it because many Asian literatures are styled like that. Good read still.

🦌

you know what, i will curl up in my bed and think about this until i fall asleep, maybe i'll still wonder about this in the morning, or over the next few days, and what if i reminisce a scene every once in a while? i guess that's nice. i don't ever want to stray away from the memories of getting into young's life.

Maria

there really isn't much of substance to this book, the translation is very clunky and kind of takes you out of the text, and the content itself.. well there's not much going on to be quite honest. the flow is kind of off, to the point where i felt like i was just sitting in a cafe accidentally overhearing someone's personal tirade instead of reading a book. there was some interesting stuff about friendship and the very toxic and complicated relationship the main character had with his mother, but even then, the execution leaves much to be desired.

the first chapter aka the Jaehee story was so funny and so touching, aku langsung suka banget. that line where she bought blueberry after knowing that Young likes them… i want what they have. 

and then the story got a little bit grim, and more emotional after that chapter. karakter Young ini juga semakin dewasa, dan diceritain gimana hubungan romansa (dan hubungan dengan mamanya) dia seiring bertambahnya usia. somehow narasinya jadi beda banget dari bab pertama yang mana dia masih zaman kuliah. di bab kedua dan seterusnya si Young lebih reflektif tapi gak terlalu banyak gaya sarkas dan sassy yang kentara sekali di bab pertama. seakan-akan kita ikut merasakan si Young yang juga semakin dewasa. 

saking beda gaya narasi dan karakter yang dia temui, aku sampe ngira kalau ini adalah buku short stories dan bukan novel 😂 meskipun detail detail yang si tokoh utama ini sama dan berkesinambungan. baru aku yakin kalau ini novel pas bab ketiga.

aku juga ngerasa kalau ceritanya personal banget sampai aku yakin kalau sebenernya ini sangat amat terinspirasi dari kisah nyata—alias retelling in some kind of way. apalagi pas baca translator note yang menekankan kalau cerita Young adalah cerita dia juga, how they inhabited the same landscape and urged the translator to translate it in English. and even though I am not queer, I can feel that crack where loneliness would creep it in your life every now and then, especially in a big city.

fatru tamzil

I get why some people say that reading this book makes them feels melancholic, it left me feel melancholic, too. It is such a honest and raw story of Queer experience in South Korea, that I couldn't have but feel drawn into it, inserting myself in the character's shoes and seeing myself in his. 

It is a coming-of-age story, but instead of telling it in a heartwarming tone, it tells the story in melancholic, sometimes gritty tone. The narration didn't tone down any hardship felt by the protagonist, nor that it concealed his needs to be loved and be accepted, his longing for love. 

A lot of the characters for this novel has complicated relationship with the narrator and it was written really well. One of my friend said that it was like listening to your friend talking about his toxic boyfriend but still loving him. You really want to slap some sense into him but you know this lovesick person would not listen to you. 

On the other hand, his relationship with his mother was as complicated as his other relationship. I like the exploration of their story, of how a bond between a son and a mother loosened from familial bond into, like if I can say, a business-like relationship. The coping mechanism that the mother did strangely reminded me of my own mother, to the point I almost laughed. In-denial mothers unite, I guess. 

The issue with STIs was handled so delicately, and with so much respect. We did see how it bars him from many opportunities, but we also see how there is hope admist all the misery in his life, an order in the chaos, and I think that's what makes this book so good to read; our narrator longing for love was as much as his longing for hope. 

And that's the only thing he--and us as the readers--wanted.

farah farooq

y’all be lapping up anything korean. this was good times but overall it’s just a very mid book.

lili🎐

i couldn’t put the book down, i hate the ending so much (no i dont but WHY). I wish i could forget this book and read it again for the first time.

A book from a Korean author representing the unspoken and complicated moments of queer love. The struggles with choosing to love and the forcefulness of others’ love. I definitely cried on a bus ride while reading this. 

This queer book was beautiful. An enjoyable read, read this in like one-sitting and though it was not much of a page-turner, I still find myself getting too immersed with it. I feel like this is another 'no plot just vibe' type of book, but I enjoyed every second of it and I didn't even think that it was boring, not even for a second. This book felt so bleak, lonely, complex, and as a reader I found myself confused as well with how the narrator's twelve-years older boyfriend treated him, how the narrator feels lonely after a breakup with his most recent lover.

And as a sucker for love amidst small, simple mundane activities, I have to say that I love this particular scene so much. It truly warmed my heart when the narrator mentioned:

This was really freshing to me. I loved every second of it.

nindy

This queer book was beautiful. An enjoyable read, read this in like one-sitting and though it was not much of a page-turner, I still find myself getting too immersed with it. I feel like this is another 'no plot just vibe' type of book, but I enjoyed every second of it and I didn't even think that it was boring, not even for a second. This book felt so bleak, lonely, complex, and as a reader I found myself confused as well with how the narrator's twelve-years older boyfriend treated him, how the narrator feels lonely after a breakup with his most recent lover.


 Even after hating him so much I felt like killing him, I’d find myself turning back to Gyu-ho as if nothing had happened and saying things like “What are we having for dinner tomorrow?” or “Please don’t forget to buy trash bags tomorrow at the store.” Mostly we slept on our own beds but occasionally in the same one, not having sex but taking turns giving each other an arm-pillow, breathing in the scent of each other’s chests or armpits, slowly coming to believe that this was what it meant to love and be together. 


And as a sucker for love amidst small, simple mundane activities, I have to say that I love this particular scene so much. It truly warmed my heart when the narrator mentioned:


 We laughed at each other’s jokes, kissed, deboned fish for each other and placed the flesh on each other’s spoons, occasionally showered together (...) 


This was really freshing to me. I loved every second of it.

Frederik De Bosschere

Embarking on a tour of South Korea, I felt I needed to add some local literature to my diet. Being a sucker for career-starting coming-of-age novels (Bright Lights, Big City!), this book presented an ideal starting point for my journey. I felt the first part tried too hard to be cool (as opposed to BLBC, which just _is_). But as the stories went on, I did find I had become more invested in the protagonist. However, the intensity level of that investment never truly made it beyond ‘interesting’. Still, it’s a good read. (And for fellow travelers: reading this while in Seoul adds to the experience, for sure.)

Lauren B

3.5⭐ It took me a little bit of time to get to like Young's very judgemental and cynical personality. All the "partying, acohol and sex to avoid my insecurities" created a distance with this character and I had to look through all the self-destructive behaviours to really know him. Once I got over that, I realized that I could relate to many of the things he was going through. His emotions were so raw and so real, one cannot remain indifferent. It's a book that will keep you on your toes but it's definitely worth a read!

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KW Tan

surprisingly romantic at the very end, for such a bleak book, which was a pleasant but almost upsetting surprise, i don't know, that the narrator should still believe however furtively in love in some sense ahh idk

Kwan Ann Tan

Oh my gosh.... this really made me cry with the last section... I'm so emotional!!!

Josh Clement

In an unsuspecting and often very funny way, Young uses writing to inspect and observe his relationships and feelings. Or in his words 'to prove...that it was 100 percent real'. These are simple slices of life, getting an upgraded hotel room and rained on in Bangkok, eating sushi in bed, walking with your sick mum in the park, but written with real honesty and so much heart.

jiaqi kang

wow. just brilliant. so gripping and vivid from page 1 all the way through to the end. i feel honored to have been able to read this

Inkmelt &
Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park

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Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park