The following is from Hwang Bo-Reum’s debut novel, Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop . Hwang Bo-reum wrote several essay collections: I Read Every Day, I Tried Kickboxing for the First Time and This Distance is Perfect. Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop has sold over 150,000 copies in Korea and been sold into 9 territories. Before running the bookshop, Yeongju had never considered whether she was suitable to be a bookseller. She thought, rather naively, that anyone who loves books could be one. It was only when she started her own bookshop that she realized she had a serious shortcoming. She fumbled questions such as ‘Which book is good?’ and ‘What’s an interesting book?’ Once, she made a complete fool of herself when a man in his late forties sought her recommendation for a book. “ The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is really interesting,” she enthused. “Have you read it?” The man hung his head. “No, I haven’t.” “I’ve read it more than five times, I believe. It isn’t that interesting, not in a generic sense. You know how some books make you throw your head back in laughter, or dizzy with anticipation? This book isn’t interesting in that sort of way. I mean . . . it’s beyond the generic interesting. There’s no uh . . . climax or a central plot stitching the book together. The entire story follows a child’s thoughts and takes place over the span of a few days. That said, I mean . . . I still find this book interesting,” she finished pathetically. “What does the child think about?” The man looked so serious Yeongju felt a stab of nerves as she tried to explain. “It’s about how a child sees the world, his thoughts about schools, teachers, friends, parents.” The man furrowed his brows. “Will I also like this book?” She was stumped. Will he find it interesting? Why, of all books, did I recommend this? It must have shown on her face, for the man simply thanked her and walked away. Later, he approached the counter and bought […]
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