Readers are going to need to be very interested and/or knowledgable about Korean history or big fans of metafiction to appreciate this book. There are a lot of storylines and characters to follow, some more engaging than others. I did expand my decent knowledge of Korean history (while also having to verify what was true and what was not). I can appreciate what Park did with this book but it wasn't the right book for me.

A sprawling, unconventional novel that ties a dog-chewed manuscript read in pieces, the history of the Korean Provisional Government, a big brother tech company, and a Korean veteran science fiction writer.

In this kaleidoscopic narrative feat, Park weaves together historical fiction, metafiction, and an alternate reality to create something smart, bold, witty, and wildly original. This epic story will tempt you into Google rabbit holes, but no research is required for thorough enjoyment. I included this title in my fall reading guide.

This is the perfect book for someone like me who has ADHD and loves to explore a dizzying world within a world. I was hooked from the first page - love the many pop culture references that the author incorporates throughout. Reminiscent of Emily St. John Mandel's writing and other authors that take non-traditional approaches to narrative fiction.

This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley

Ed Park weaves together a story that features the experiences of the Korean diaspora of the future, a veteran of the Korean War, and an outline for a book that is the history of the Korean Provisional Government. It's a modern depiction of the many layers of the Korean experience and it can get uncomfortable at times as it deals with real-life historical implications and attitudes directed at Koreans over the years. The narrative benefits from this greatly as it doesn't shy away how those attitudes can play into today.

At times, the outline part felt a little bit dry as it was a very detailed outline, but I can say that I learned a lot about the KPG, which I had never heard of before, and the details used are not all historically accurate as far as I can tell, but they do help the story feel really and connected to the other two parts.

I recommend this to anyone interested in stories of Korean history and the diaspora. I do not recommend this to anyone who is adverse to reading long outlines.

I love the narrative within narrative writing of this book. Furthermore, it's so unapologetically "Asian." While I've read 100+ Asian lit this year, I adore that Park doesn't confine the story to the common Asian immigrant tropes. But instead spins an elaborate, complicated, and compelling tell of Korea's little-known history. SAME BED DIFFERENT DREAMS is unique, and while it might not be for everyone, it makes me so excited about what Asian lit could be when it's written for an Asian audicence!

Ed Park is a grand writer--"grand" in the sense that he's very good, and grand in the way of having big ideas. "Same Bed, Different Dreams" is a big book, spinning with ideas. The question is whether the book will fling you out of the pinwheel and hug you to its center.

Park sets a lot in motion--Korean history, a speculative fiction writer, 1950s science fiction, the march for Korean independence going back to the nineteenth century. His warmth as a writer pulls you in to each story and somehow manages to maintain your good will while moving you to another place, say from Buffalo to 19th century Korea. Is it chaotic? Yes. Is it meta? You bet.

I enjoyed "Same Bed, Different Dreams" intermittently The writing is so good and the structure is daring and fun to navigate, but it's too much. The reader goes through a lot and to what end? Park has obviously loved setting all these plates a-spinning, but I'd like to read something by him that allows for the reader to really indulge in the characters and settings he builds.

3.5 rounded up to four.

*DNF @ 30%

Book opens up with the air of someone who reads too much of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳 and writes for writers (and, to my surprise, found that he had written for the New Yorker on several occasions).

A shift occurs. Mixing Korean history recontextualized, historical fiction with sci fi elements that feels refreshing. I enjoyed this aspect at first because I feel like my APUSH textbook covered the Korean War in a single paragraph and the west has little to no knowledge of Korean history.

But then it devolved into pure confusion. There isn't enough to ground readers to understand the scope of what feels like a few different novels happening all at once (sentiments similar to that of The Fraud).

What you end up with is a bad magic trick, too technical in its execution with very little pay off. With little impression. So, for Ed Park, I suggest he review this scene here.

This novel is going to break the world apart. It's a wildly imaginative and VERY VERY VERY VERY cool ride that I simply could not put down. Recommending this to everyone!

"A wild, sweeping novel that imagines an alternate secret history of Korea and the traces it leaves on the present - loaded with assassins and mad poets, RPGs and slasher films, pop bands and the perils of social media

In 1919, far-flung patriots establish the Korean Provisional Government to protest the Japanese occupation of their country. This government-in-exile proves mostly symbolic, though, and after Japan's defeat in World War II, the KPG dissolves and civil war erupts, resulting in the tragic North-South split that remains today.

But what if the KPG still existed - now working toward a unified Korea, secretly pulling levers to further its aims? Same Bed Different Dreams weaves together three distinct narrative voices with an archive of mysterious images, and twists reality like a kaleidoscope. Korean history, American pop culture, and our tech-fraught lives come together in this extraordinary and unforgettable novel.

Soon Sheen, a former writer now employed by the tech behemoth GLOAT, comes into possession of an unfinished book seemingly authored by the KPG. The manuscript is a riveting revisionist history, connecting famous names and obscure bit players to the KPG's grand project - everyone from Syngman Rhee and architect-poet Yi Sang to Jack London and Marilyn Monroe. M*A*S*H is in here, too, as are the Moonies and a history of violence extending from the assassination of President McKinley to the Reagan-era downing of a passenger plane that puts the world on the brink of war.

From the acclaimed author of Personal Days, Same Bed Different Dreams is a raucously funny feat of imagination and a thrilling meld of history and fiction that pulls readers into another dimension - one in which utopia is possible."

Because who doesn't love alternative history?

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Random House for introducing me to one of my favorite new writers and a book that is just astonishing for what the author sets out to do, and more than delivers. Having so few bragging rights I am glad to be able to say, Same Bed, Different Dream, great book, read the advance copy, before the hype.

Christmas season in retail is a crazy time. Odd hours working, amateur customers looking for the perfect gift, days that will pass in seconds, and shifts that seem to last all week and more. My reading at this time of year is mostly familiar books, holiday books and old friends that I can reread and catch up with again. This December I know I will be rereading Same Bed, Different Dream by founding editor of The Believer Ed Park at least twice. Maybe three times. And coming away with a lot that I missed the second time, or fourth time. This novel is probably the best thing I have read this year, a book that continues to make me think and remember. A book that is challenging, confounding, but rewards the reader in ways that books haven't done in quite awhile. If one likes authors like Philip K. Dick and Kurt Vonnegut, both name checked, or Mark Leyner, Steve Erikson of D. Harlan Wilson, this is the book for you. If none of this authors strike a cord, read it anyway and be swallowed by the narrative.

There is a lot going on in this book, so I will give an overview of the plot. An author Soon Sheen once big on the scene in the early 2000's with a book that everyone was talking about until they weren't and the author couldn't writer anymore, is invited to meet a fellow Korean author, by Sheen's old friend, and agent. The party features a mix of up-and-comers that Soon knows, and brings him back in his thoughts to his writing days, before he married and began working for GLOAT, a huge tech company that has ties to everything. Sheen is given a copy of an unpublished work Same Bed, Different Dream which tells an alternate history of Korea through the 20th century, one that is both controlled, and overseen by a group who brings people together, and also kills people regularly. The book is told in a series of dreams, which include many dreamers in the mix, real characters, fictional characters from other media, and more. As Sheen reads other narratives are mixed in featuring game designers, science fiction writers, false Korean authors, the band Rush, and much more.

This book is so much, that I know I missed a lot in explaining. The science fiction stories, that become basis for a game, that gives rise to the company that becomes GLOAT. I can go on. This is an amazing book. A Philip K. Dick novel with a bit of James Michner in history, Vonnegut in characters, Bradbury in heart, and Harlan Ellison for reality, and power. There is a lot going on, but Ed Park is an excellent writer, able to balance everything, every character every idea, bring them all together and never ever get lost. There are so many moments of why is this here followed by, ohh I get to, snap there is is. Every character historical, fictional, dreamed seems so real, so important in ways they shouldn't be, and yet there they are. I wish I understood or knew the history of Korea more, because I am sure there is stuff I missed, as there are Easter Eggs hidden all over this book. A book that one savors and enjoys, not wanting to end, but at the end the last lines make one very envious, and a little tearful.

This book is really why I love reading. From the opening that set the time and place to the last words. I am not sure how Ed Park wrote this, or kept it all together. I hope the numerous podcasts and think pieces I hope will follow will go into this. This is a book that is all genres, and all wonderful. Buy it for oneself, but if one knows readers who love to be challenged, or fans of writers who are hard to catalog this book is for sure for them. One that I will happily reread, probably every year at Christmas, because this book was a real gift.

I so wanted to love this book. It has ingredients that appeal to me: a different time and place--here Korea--beginning in 1919, and in the US -- at various times including the assassination of President McKinley, much about Syngman Rhee and Philip Jaisohn, up to the present-day with techies, poets, an owner of nail salons, K-Pop and MORE. Touted as a work of imagination--clearly!

Consider:
"A wild, sweeping novel that imagines an alternate secret history of Korea and the traces it leaves on the present—loaded with assassins and mad poets, RPGs and slasher films, K-pop bands and the perils of social media.

In 1919, far-flung Korean patriots establish the Korean Provisional Government to protest the Japanese occupation of their country.... But what if the KPG still existed now, today—working toward a unified Korea, secretly harnessing the might of a giant tech company to further its aims? That’s the outrageous premise of Same Bed Different Dreams, which weaves together three distinct narrative voices and an archive of mysterious images and twists reality like a kaleidoscope, spinning Korean history, American pop culture, and our tech-fraught lives..."

A wide-ranging cast of characters--sometimes too confusing/complicated/choppy in its sprawl. I had a difficult time connecting--too much/not enough plot [as it often seemed disjointed as it jumped all over the place], too many bits and pieces. Weaves back and forth between times and places. BUT, to its credit--highly original!

What hooked me at the start was some of the language/descriptions and even some humor;
"dusk hung like velvet"
"chins so chiseled they could double as can openers"
"so muscular it looked like parts were inflated"

Nonetheless, not enough to really sustain my interest--which flagged so I plodded through it. I am giving it a three mostly because of its originality and writing, but cannot really recommend. Perhaps if it were way shorter [more than 500pp].

A engrossing story that spans generations and has a sweeping worldview, but never loses sight of the details of each character's lives and where they stand in that world. This book will have cross-over appeal for both speculative fiction, historical fiction and literary fiction readers alike.

One of those books that feels impossible to give a star rating for.
This book is not for me. I am not the reader for this book. First, do we call it a book.? There are no plurals in Korean language. However, this is a books. Very early on I got the feeling the number of genres, settings, eras, narrators and shifts in style would be too hard to follow. I decided to try to let it flow over me, Jack Kerouac-style (also wondering if Mr. Park was on any mind-altering substances). Pulling some words from the book blurb itself: wild, outrageous premise, sprawling, and “…weaves together three distinct narrative voices and an archive of mysterious images and twists reality like a kaleidoscope..”. Yes, I agree, but very difficult to follow. Like playing Baduk with an expert and you don’t know any of the rules, and then the room changes and you have a different player? No, the room changes and you are now in a single person submersible at midnight zone. Is that an anglerfish? Fish, ish, sh. Are these metaphors confounded and confusing or enjoyable? If enjoyable, then check out this books where the metaphor is at a higher level.
For me, trying to let it flow didn’t work. Trying to attend closely didn’t work. Nonetheless I found enjoyable passages, some humorous, some poignant. I wish I could make it less difficult to get through. He started it in 2014. Maybe I’ll take several years to finish it as well.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park!

Incredibly creative, engrossing, mind-bending story. I can't wait to recommend this to everyone I've ever met.

One of the most creative books I have read. This mixture of history and sci-fi and works very well. I was immersed in this book and thought it was beautifully written.

Ed Park's "Same Bed Different Dreams" is an inventive and thought-provoking literary work that challenges the boundaries of reality and identity. Park's exploration of the protagonist's fragmented psyche is both captivating and disorienting, immersing readers in a world of dreams and memories. The book's nonlinear narrative adds to its allure, keeping readers engaged as they unravel the layers of the protagonist's mind. Park's prose is beautifully crafted, with each sentence carrying a weight of emotion and introspection. While some readers might find the ambiguity of the plot disconcerting, the novel's enigmatic nature is also its strength. "Same Bed Different Dreams" is a remarkable and imaginative journey that merits a 4 out of 5-star rating.

Same Bed, Different Dreams has a lot going for it: an imaginative, daring writer with a distinctive and original voice; a great premise (what if the Korean Provisional Government, established in 1919 to protest Japanese occupation, still existed?); wild characters including assassins, spies, a mysterious avant-garde novelist, American icons with surprising links to the KPG; the use of Korean words that echo the way Junot Díaz uses Dominicanisms whose meaning is revealed in context rather than explicit definition; the interweaving of history (extra points for a history little known to most Americans) and fiction; vivid situational depictions, and more. A lazy reviewer would probably use a well worn phrase like "dazzling prose." (btw, the novel is completely different from the K-Drama of the same name.) On those grounds I'd rate this novel a 5.
But...
Even though there was so much I liked about this novel, I had a hard time connecting with the characters and plot. Part of this was because there was so much going on it was hard to keep up (and I say this as someone who gets impatient when things are too slow). But the crucial issue was that Park doesn't spend enough time with any of the characters for readers to really relate to their emotions and care about what happens to them. I wanted to know more about the mysterious novelist whose lost and unfinished manuscript is a plot device; I also wanted to know what happened to the manuscript. I'd rate the novel a 2 based on these shortcomings.
If there were a half-star option I'd probably give this a 3.5. I'm rounding up to 4 and looking forward to Ed Park's next book which hopefully focuses more on connecting the reader with the characters.

Same Bed, Different Dreams is a story told in three parts all revolving, somehow, around Korean War—the Korean and international focus that arrived at the conflict, the effect of the war on those who survived it, its largely forgotten place in history. There is present-day Soon Sheen, who has given up his literary ambitions for a job at a tech megacompany. There is a fleet of characters populating a book-within-a-book that Soon reads in pieces, all working for or against the Korean Provisional Government (KPG), both as it is in history and how it might have been. And there is Parker Jotter, a former POW who spends the years after publishing a series of increasingly strange science-fiction pulp paperbacks that some fans believe contain secrets from his time in Korea.

The threads of each story flow, sometimes along each other and sometimes seemingly in completely independent directions that improbably come back to center. But they are united in two things: their focus on Korea during a formative and tumultuous time in the country's history, and in grief. There is grief for death and people lost to violence, of course, but there is also grief for relationships that might have been, and for a country that might have been. The worst thing that can happen to a revolutionary isn't their blood spilling, Same Bed tells us, but that blood-boiling ambition and conviction having nowhere to go and nothing to do.

As the narratives intertwine, answers and questions invariably pop up, not necessarily in the expected order. The end comes full circle in a way that feels both unexpected and inevitable. I'm glad Korea's history is getting such richly imagined literary treatment, and hope it doesn't get pigeonholed into a box for "Asian literature" or some other niche. The story might revolve around Korea, but the Korean diaspora is wide, and Korea isn't the only country that has been pushed and pulled across ideologies with violence—it's just more noticeable than most.