I really enjoyed these short stories! Not all to the same extent but even the, let's say "least good" ones, were still very interesting to read. I'd say my favorites were the first five. But overall this was one of the best collections I've read in a long while and I will definitely be reading more from the author.

Thank you NetGalley and Columbia University Press for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Table for One" by Yun Ko-eun, translated by Lizzie Buehler, is a Korean short story collection. It features nine distinct genre-bending stories that are unique and unsettling, and sometimes comedic. My favorite stories from the collection are "Sweet Escape," "Invader Graphic," "Roadkill," and "don't Cry, hongdo."

In "Sweet Escape," an unemployed man becomes obsessed with bed bugs. In "Invader Graphic," a freeloader kleptomaniac amateur writer takes advantage of the spaces around her. "Roadkill" features a vending machine manager who gets stranded at a claustrophobic hotel during a seemingly never-ending blizzard (this one has Cronenberg written all over it, imo). In "don't Cry, hongdo," a fourth-grade girl tries to set up her organic food-loving mother with her bachelor homeroom teacher.

The other stories in the collection, "Table for One," "Hyeonmong Park's Hall of Dreams" (comparisons to Satoshi Kon/Junji Ito), "Time Capsule 1994," "Iceland," and "Piercing," were also strong, but they didn't grab my attention as much as the ones mentioned above. At times, I found some of these stories to be a little dry (perhaps due to the translation?) and slow-moving. However, all the stories were unique and dark while balancing a sort of uncanny humor. Even though the short stories were steeped in Korean social commentary, I was still able to draw parallels to Western sociopolitical and socioeconomic dynamics, giving credence to the author's ability to transcend cultural boundaries with her exploration of ubiquitous themes and issues.

Thank you to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first time reading a short story collection and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was very thought provoking and I would definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed the first story, it was odd and whimsy, but with real commentary that I personally related to. There were a few stories that I really enjoyed for the same reasons, but others fell a little short or didn't do it for me. I also enjoyed the bits of connections that I spotted in some of the stories. It is typical of collections that some will work and others won't for different readers, but this is a well-crafted short story collection and I would recommend it!

Table For One is a collection of indelible short stories by contemporary South Korean author Yun Ko-eun. Her fiction is bursting with images that toe the line between realism and the fantastic, and her characters are quirky, lonely, hopeless, sad, isolated... unique, just like her stories. There are some that I enjoyed reading more than others, the titular one being my absolute favorite, but overall they are all pretty good! I would recommend this book if you enjoy literary translated fiction and characters finding themselves in surreal situations.
4 stars.

* I'd like to thank Yun Ko-eun, Columbia University Press and NetGalley for providing this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I love these types of stories where it´s unhinged and funny at the same time, a sort of chaotic feeling but making sense at the same time. I think my favorite ones were Iceland and Table for one, but overall it was a solid read and will check it out other works by the same author !!

As with most collections of short stories, Table for One has its moments. I enjoyed the stories that relied more on the absurd rather than the surreal - the latter suffers from endings that fall flat after slowly constructing a weird plot and trying to tie everything up pretty fast (think Iceland vs Roadkill or Table for One vs Hall of Dreams).

— 3.5 stars ✰

In a series of short stories, Yun Ko-eun examines solitary city dwellers and highlights their sense of isolation stemming from Korean urban culture, particularly focusing on characters being driven to obsession by their segregation from society. Preoccupied with their lone state, these characters often find themselves feeling increasingly alienated from others around them, focusing on random concepts like bedbugs to give their life meaning. There is often a strong theme of music and rhythm permeating these stories, the writer does a compelling job when it comes to descriptions, seamlessly blending together genres such as thriller, horror, magical realism and fiction, whilst also merging together two completely different concepts, and yet somehow this whole kaleidoscope seems to work. As an example, there is an idea presented in the first story that each type of food (sushi, steak..) has its own chewing rhythm, which can relate to different types of classical dance music (waltz, tango..).

Considering that this is a debut, it is a very strong one.

Table for one = 4 stars

It centres around a shy office worker as she attends a course designed to build her confidence and teach her to enjoy her solidarity as she lunches. I think many readers would be able to relate to this main character, who constantly seeks approval and thus picks lunch spots further away from the office, in hopes to avoid her colleagues seeing her all by herself. Something about this story felt so familiar and yet the concept of loneliness and self-confidence was explored in an incredibly unique way. I really loved this story.

Sweet escape = 3.5 stars

Not my favourite of the batch but still a very strong contender. Here we explore the life of a man becoming madly obsessed with bedbugs. We follow him from the very beginning, when he only just hears this notion mentioned in the news, until they are effectively the only thing at the forefront of his mind. Even though this story focuses around bedbugs as the main theme, it was executed so well that I really got to feel the emotions of the narrator.

Invader graphic = 3.75 stars

Narrated by a woman who spends most of her time in a shopping mall trying to live entirely of free products, we get to see her writing her novel camped out in the bathrooms. We got glimpses of both the woman’s life and the life of the main character in her story, which was an interesting writing concept. As the shopping mall transitions into a more capitalist state, the narrator finds herself now having to provide a receipt in order to sit in cafes and being kicked out by cleaners who spot her staying in one s

Hyeonmong Park's Hall of Dreams = 2.5 stars

Initially, the concept of this was very intriguing, but I felt like it was another story exploring the theme of obsession and I grew a little bored of it. Yet, the sense of the characters lives getting out of hand almost reminded me of the nature of Junji Ito’s horror mangas.

Roadkill = 5 stars

This story was by far my favourite one, having read it a few days ago, I still find myself thinking about it as I go about my day-to-day tasks. A man finds himself in an isolated motel, which seems to have a large selection of vending machines, yet he never runs into other visitors. As it happens, he finds himself snowed in and has to figure out what to do next. In a blend of horror and thriller, this story had me on the edge of my seat.

Time capsule 1994 = 3.25 stars

The concept of this story was so interesting and it was a nice spin to tell it from the perspective of an unlikeable main character. Again, it did explore the concept of obsession and paranoia, but didn’t feel too repetitive.

Iceland = 3.75

As someone who is a fan of the post-rock band Sigur Rós, I enjoyed a whole story based around a protagonist, who is dissatisfied with life becoming increasingly obsessed with Iceland after undertaking a country compatibility quiz.

Piercing = 4.5

This story was so good and I loved how disturbing this felt. Essentially, we follow a man who has separated from his wife. He takes consolation in piercings even though they cause him profound pain and discomfort, which could be an interesting psychological angle to explore. The author brushes over the idea that pain may be a way for him to justify his trauma related to the passing away of his dog, but the interpretation if very much left to the reader.

Don’t Cry, Hongdo = 3 stars

As one of the longest stories in the collection, ‘Don’t cry Hongdo’ is a coming of age tale told through the perspective of a schoolgirl. As the craze for organic food takes off around her, she finds her school implementing a vast array of new rules and standards, which banishes the snack vendors outside her school gates that she has become so accustomed to. This story felt very much like a reflection of society.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for providing me with early access!

First of all, the cover intrigued me; a zebra having a meal, obviously I had to read the description. I find myself attracted to east Asian literature, they have an element of normal, everyday, monotonous life with a surrealist element. This book focuses more on loneliness and obsession.
I found that it was dragging after the first couple of stories, which made it difficult to finish but I persevered.

Yun Ko-eun's "Table for One" translated by Lizzie Buehler is a thought-provoking short story collection that delves into the complexities of solitude and self-discovery. Ko-eun weaves tales that resonate with the nuances of human experience, exploring the often-overlooked moments of isolation. Each story is a literary gem, offering a glimpse into the lives of characters navigating loneliness, introspection, and the search for connection. The author's prose is both elegant and haunting, capturing the essence of solitude in a way that lingers in the reader's mind. "Table for One" is a captivating exploration of the human condition, skillfully crafted with sensitivity and insight.

Surreal collection of short stories: a class to learn how to eat at a restaurant alone, an obsession with bedbugs, dreams...Fun and thought provoking stories about urban life.

Terrible
Did not finish
I anticipated it to be a little different to what I would usually read but this genuinely just felt like babbling.
The book has various different short stories but I couldn’t bring my self to try any others and closed the book never to be read again.

This short story collection by South Korean author Yun Ko-eun covers a great variety of themes and genres, but it still manages to be coherent and cohesive until the very end. I enjoyed the stories, although not all of them reach the same degree of quality, in my opinion. The story I consider as the most interesting and accomplished is “Roadkill”, whose eerie atmosphere reminded me of Peter Cameron’s “What happens at night”, a novel I absolutely loved. Other stories are very deserving, such as the eponymous “Table for one”, and some other are less developed, as is the case with the time-capsule 1994 story. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this read and I think that Yun Ko-eun has something to say, and I’m looking forward to reading other works of hers.

•thanks to #netgalley for the #ARC in exchange for an honest review•

Table for One is a collection short stories that aims to demonstrate contemporary society’s messiness that sometimes difficult to believe that it’s real. Yun Ko Eun managed to play with this blurring realism and fantasy in some of her stories in this book. There is so much to be said about the world we live in today. Right off the bat, the first story will strike one of the biggest concern people have: loneliness, individuality, and solitude; how they differ from each other but intrinsically linked. I enjoyed the first story a lot. To me, it’s a solid start that introduced me to what I’m dealing with. The first story is about a woman office worker that attends a course outside work that she hopes can help her overcome the uneasiness of being excluded. As to not spoil further, this story ends with a deconstruction of the beginning of the story. The world building was established really well along with an engaging narrative from the main character. The main character was also developed nicely. It’s such a neat little story with layers social commentary.

Unfortunately, after that first story, the book started to drag for quite a while. I understand that the author is trying to write stories where the readers do not think that the curtains were not just blue. If anyone miss the humongous allegories presented in this book, then I’m at a loss of words. You don’t have to understand the true meaning of these stories that uses various symbolism, just that as long as you get the gist of it, this book isn’t so bad. But honestly, I wish the stories weren’t so convoluted with ideas and social commentaries that they lose touch in storytelling. A few of the stories feels like they are made after the author set a box containing the social commentaries she wanted to tell, so the worldbuilding is made to cross match those ideas rather than established to complement the plot and characters.
I did enjoy some of them more than the others. Like the one where the world commercialized dreams, and the last one with the pov from a kid living in a world of “organic” craze. I noticed that the ones that I like are the ones with well-rounded main characters. Their point of view are interesting enough for me to go on with the story, they have their unique individuality and distinct from other characters in the story. And those are the things to me that made them different from other stories that are more formulaic. I don’t think formulaic stories are always bad, just that I think even with formula there’s gotta be something different about how you presented them. Most of these stories incite grim after thoughts; they’re showing the readers repeatedly, look at our society bro, we’re doomed bro, fr this is the world we live in, ya see? I really don’t mind reading a book that has disheartening tone from start to finish. But to me this book does not have a singular core, like what one specific theme that connected all of these stories, so I am overwhelmed. Because it wants to reach topics as broad as it possibly can while applying a lot of symbolism, it’s a bit of a train wreck.

With that being said, I appreciate the amount of thoughts that must have been put into making this collection of short stories. After all Yun Ko Eun has created so many unique plots and worlds in this book that me as a reader may not encountered in any other place. The last story is probably one of the most nuanced and profound commentary on the complexities that children in the new generation faced while growing up in today’s world. It’s incredible. Here’s a great quote from that story:

“I’d realized that there weren’t many opportunities to talk about family at school, since we mostly gossiped about celebrities and clothing trends and dance moves. Kids spent the school day as fellow prisoners, and after class, we passed through the gates together, briefly making sugar candy and eating it before parting ways to our respective after-school tutoring programs. The next day, we’d convene at school and talk once again about celebrities and clothing and dances and teachers and the weird kids. At school and at home, I didn’t have the chance to talk about my dead father.”

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC to review this book.

Table for One (April 2024) is an upcoming collection of short stories by Yun Ko-eun, the author of The Disaster Tourist. It's translated by Lizzie Buehler, who had also translated her other title.

It has a total of 9 stories, of varied lengths. All of them are quirky, and the line between the fantastical and the realistic is a very thin one. A common element in all stories is a sense of isolation among city folks in the face of urbanisation and shifting lifestyles.

I thoroughly enjoyed all stories but the ones that really stand out are the title story and the last one titled Don't Cry, Hongdo. I've only found one story that seems rather weak but no less fun.

In Table for One, Inyoung is an office worker who enrols in a course on solo dining to learn how to eat alone without feeling embarrassed or awkward. There is an exam at the end of the course where students have to eat alone in ten establishments while being watched by examiners who are disguised as fellow diners or the staff. How many of us feel self-conscious about dining alone? I used to be, but not anymore.

Don't Cry, Hongdo is the longest story in this collection. Told from the perspective of a 10-year-old girl, it's about the organic food craze that has taken over the community. There are various snack vendors outside her school gates but the children's mothers are going all-out in declaring war on them. At the same time, Hongdo tries to set her mother up with a substitute teacher from her school, resulting in some comical moments.

A somewhat disturbing story is Sweet Escape, which centres around bedbugs. Yup, you read that right. LOL. The protagonist has lost his job and is planning a trip to Europe with his wife. He gets overly paranoid about the threat of bedbugs. When he returns to Korea after the trip, the bedbug hysteria has already spread in the country. Apparently this story was based on a real-life incident of bedbug outbreaks. Hmm.

This was a review copy from Columbia University Press via #NetGalley

Oh my, this was a delight to read from start to finish. It’s exactly my kind of humour, I love the quirky characters in each of the uniquely spun short stories. I read it with genuine glee on my face. I am now empowered to dine alone which is a great bonus after reading the initial story. I loved Table for One so much. Iceland was also a favourite of mine and Sweet Escape amused me no end. Hyeongmong Parks Hall of Dreams was also delightful. I just love whimsy reads and I feel light and airy after this short story collection.
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this. I look forward to reading more from Yun Ko-eun again. Such fun!

I loved the title story very much. Who knew that it was possible to write so compelling about the difficulties of dining alone and how to overcome them. A person so obsessed with eating alone that he doesn’t really address the problem that he likes being on his own!
Unfortunately the remaining stories did not hold my interest. The bed bug tale, although engaging was very uncomfortable to read and I spent a great deal of time scratching!

Mostly set in South Korea….
from an author to remember— and applaud!!

People do the most peculiar things— have peculiar circumstances — agonizing, and lugubrious distress —
These short stories (each) brought forth psychological barriers, and social barriers.
They’re unique, quirky, engaging stories showing how flaws are as beautiful as admirable qualities are…..
…..varied characters, fears, loneliness, insecurity, obsessions, geography, time, place, tones, culture, and physical structures….
Yun Ko-eun hits the emotional center with simplicity, intelligence with sweet surprising touches.

Wonderful & enjoyable!

the stories in this collection are delightful, not only are they wonderfully written but they also give us a glimpse into another culture, another way of thinking and being, with characters who worry about thins that may or may not occur to people from other countries. behind such apparent differences, however, these stories show our deep connection across culture and demonstrate our universal aspirations as well as fears.

An interesting premise for a book. The themes expressed within are loneliness, community, and how to exist in society when you feel like you are an outsider. While this book is set in South Korea, I think that many of the themes within this work are relevant to the modern human experience. Yun Ko-eun does an excellent job at crafting a story that lingers with you.

Many thanks to Columbia University Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this work.