This was my first time reading Korean literature book. It was amazing read. I felt that translation was a bit off at some point. Really fascinating plot and writing style. Loved the concept! Highly recommend!!!

Excellent writing, an enigmatic little book. It was sparse but also created visceral feelings through description and lucid writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ARC
4/5 stars

One Hundred Shadows is a captivating exploration of the human spirit amidst the shadows of a changing world. Set in a dilapidated industrial complex on the outskirts of Seoul, this Hwang Jungeun weaves together the lives of Eungyo and Mujae, two awkward, marginalized individuals struggling to find meaning and connection in a society driven by progress and materialism. Jungeun's writing possesses a haunting, poetic quality, plunging readers into a realm where shadows harbor enigmatic truths while blurring the lines between what is real and what is otherworldly. What sets One Hundred Shadows apart from other books is its ability to blend elements of magical realism with poignant social commentary. Jungeun delves deep into themes of identity, alienation, and the relentless pursuit of modernization at the expense of humanity. Highly recommended to anyone seeking a thought-provoking and immersive reading experience that makes you consider the deeper questions of life and existence.

I really enjoyed my first foray into Korean literature. I was definitely confused at times while reading but I enjoy being immersed in another world that is unfamiliar. Highly recommend!

*Advance copy provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.*

This is a love letter to people trying to survive and live their lives in a harsh and poor environment, created by human greed and advancement.

It was the comparison to Human Acts by Han Kang and The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa that drew me to this book, and I understand why it's being compared to them even if I didn't enjoy this as much. During the read I realized I've changed and do not like magical realism as much as I did earlier, and I particularly didn't do it justice by reading it as an ebook. The medium felt wrong for the story. There is a poetic feel to the language that needs more attention, maybe even to stop, reread and reflect. The pacing, language and translation was beautiful.

However, I don't see what the magical realism element – the shadows – were supposed to do for the story, what purpose they served, especially since this element takes such a little part. If this element was removed from the book and the story was only about these people lives, I think it would have made more of an impact on me. Instead I kept trying to understand why the shadows behaved the way they did and why they were different from our own.

This book is the perfect addition to your collection if you like literary fiction with vibes and no plot. Don't get me wrong, there's definitely a plot there, but for me personally, it got lost within the mundane lives of the characters. The story in itself is quite fragmented in the sense that you never know what to expect, and you never know when something will be brought back up again. A part of me was a little disappointed because the premise of your shadow rising and the eerie feeling that you're being watched at all times and your shadow will take advantage of your most vulnerable moments was so intriguing to me. It had so much potential to become something truly haunting and beautiful at the same time. I still enjoyed reading it and actually made my way through it very quickly. Maybe this is a book I will go back to in the future to dissect the plot and the characters more. As for right now, I am left feeling very confused and therefore find it very difficult to review this book. It was good, disappointing, intriguing and confusing all at the same time.

Rating: 3.5

This book feels like when you wake up early in the morning before anyone else is awake. That eerie silence alone in the dark before the day starts.

There is not a lot of action or plot, but instead this explores the mundanity of life and the human experience. The overall darkness that can feel overpowering in low moments as well as the glimpses of light we find through our connections with each other.

The magical-realism elements with the shadows rising were so intriguing and effective to the story-telling that I wished it would have been more of a focus.

One of those stories that sticks with you long after you put it down.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

"The essence of human life, if there is such a thing, is futility, that’s the way it’s always been and the way it always will be, and so there’s no call to make a fuss about it. That’s what I thought, anyway. But lately my thoughts have been somewhat different. . . . For instance, is it really so natural for an old woman to eke out a living by scavenging cardboard boxes? Is that part of the essence of human life? Is dying like that down to the individual, nothing to do with anyone else? And if it's not natural and inevitable, just sufficiently common to be accepted as such, isn't that futility even worse than if it was simply the essence of life?" —p. 139-140


One Hundred Shadows is a short, subtle, and symbolic novel set in a Seoul slum, where inhabitants struggle to earn a living. It follows Eungyo, a young woman working at an electronics repair shop located in a mega-building of mixed business and residential units. The buildings are targeted for demolition and redevelopment, and that economic undercurrent forms the backdrop for the simmering class tensions in the novel (which is inspired by the 2009 Yongsan Disaster). There's also an element of magical realism: in the slum, people's shadows have started to rise, become sentient, and lure people to disappear, typically when its owner has reached the peak of despair. It's a powerful image for the darkness and despair of living in poverty under a capitalist society, and how it can become all-encompassing.

The rest of the plot is fairly slice-of-life and follows Eungyo's budding relationship with Mujae, a young man who works in the same building. Their growing affection is always subtle in its expression, but tender nonetheless.

I found this book to be rich with metaphor and symbolism, but I do wish it had been longer or had more of a culmination of either the shadow storyline or the demolition storyline. The novel straddles fantasy, class critique, and a kind of romance in equal parts, but I wish it had committed more to any of those lanes. For example, the quote that this review leads with is so powerful, but nothing really happens after this realization. For the novel to be inspired by the Yongsan Disaster, where residents of a building marked for redevelopment did protest and were brutalized and killed by the state, the novel ended a little too early for this inspiration to be fully realized. (Or maybe you fill in the blanks as a reader and understand the futility of fighting back?)

An interesting book.
The lack of quotation marks made it difficult to tell when a character was speaking or just in their mind. The story itself read as though it were in black and white, and was rather monotonous, but not exactly unpleasant. The concept of the shadows rising was very interesting, and a clear metaphor for depression (unless I am really off the mark on that). The writing was lyrical and the characters quite introspective and philosophical in their approach to even the most mundane of things, which added an air of hopefulness to the otherwise bleak atmosphere.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Was lucky to receive an ARC of this, however all opinions are my own.

This was a really lovely and unique reading experience that is honestly a bit hard to describe. It felt like this book was about nothing and everything at once. The prose is beautiful and poetic, and there a sort of calmness and serenity in the darkness of the writing that makes me feel like I'm walking alone on a foggy night. Quiet and dreamlike, yet eerie at the same time. It was truly special following these characters, and I loved the sort of insightful moments relating to poverty, class and exploitation.
One quote, in particular that really resonated with me was; "I wonder if they call this kind of place a slum, because if you called it someone's home or their livelihood that would make things awkward when it comes to tearing it down"

Overall, I highly recommend this, reading it was a truly unique experience. Unrelated to the quality of the book, I actually really loved the fact that it was so short - not because it couldn't have been longer, it absolutely could have in my opinion, but because I so rarely read short books and it was very refreshing.

Thank You Net Galley for the advanced reader copy of One Hundred Shadows!

Release Date: 8/20/24

Rating: 3.5

This short novela is a Korean translation of new adult magical realism.

'In a Seoul slum marked for demolition, residents’ shadows have begun to rise. No one knows how or why–but, they warn each other, do not follow your shadow if it wanders away.

As the landscape of their lives is torn apart, building by building, electronics-repair-shop employees Eungyo and Mujae can only watch as their community begins to fade. Their growing connection with one another provides solace, but against an uncaring ruling class and the inevitability of the rising shadows, their relationship may not be enough.'


The Shadows represent depression and despair. Once your shadow rises it's over for you. Don't follow your shadow. The characters witness and share stories of family and friends succumbing to their shadows. In the end you to decide if they succumbed to their shadow or persisted together.


This is a no plot just vibes story. The writing / translation is easy to follow and flows throughout the book. I really enjoyed the underlying meaning but I would have loved to see the outcome for the main protagonist and other characters we meet through the story.


#NetGalley
#OneHundredShadows
#2024Releases
#Novella
#NewAdult
#MagicalRealism

3.75 stars out of 5, rounded to 4.

"You always notice something more when it's gone."

One Hundred Shadows by Hwang Jungeun is a novella about change, loss, grief, debt, love, and life in a Seoul slum. This story creeps up on you slowly until you're suddenly surrounded, and then it ends just as quick.

The actual narrative is hard to explain. It's an eeror mirror of the world we live in, with one major change: your shadow is a thing to fear. And when it rises, it's unclear what comes next.

If you're a reader who needs things to be a little more clearly laid out, this might not be the book for you. I find myself in that camp more often than not, and while I enjoyed this novella, I found myself waiting for meaning to come. I got a glimpse of it, near the end, but it just as quickly darted away out of my grasp.

Thank you to Kensington Books/Erewhon Books and Netgalley for access to an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

One Hundred Shadows is a novella that portrays poverty in South Korea and the literal and figurative instability people there experience because of poverty. Shadows are a little bit supernatural in this world and the author seems to use them metaphorically to portray depression and suicidal ideation.

Unfortunately I didn’t think this was a successful story. The overall story is very disjointed, with side characters going on long tangents about their own lives and even people they’ve known who have “had their shadow rise”. There is no plot, and sometimes I don’t mind a plotless book as long as it has strong characters, and this had neither.

Sometimes there are very random moments that will take up time (and every word counts for a lot in a novella) but seem unnecessary to the plot, unless I just didn’t get it. For example, the few pages where they went on about hair whorls. Maybe that is due to the translation?

I thought this had potential and there were a few interesting lines here and there that almost made me want to sit and ponder them, but instead I just wanted to be done with this book.

Thank you to NetGally and Kensington Books Erewhon for the chance to read an advance copy of One Hundred Shadows.

First released in 2016 by Tilted Access Press, I enjoyed this quick read by Hwang Jungeun. It was charming and gentle and sweet. I have to say that when it first began, I was certain I was hearing the story of two young boys and was thrown when it mentioned them being men. There was an honest naivete to their dialogue that didn't create an image of adults. As several imprints are doing, this story is written without quotation marks. Try as I might, I am not a fan of this approach. Not only does it often require extra alertness on the reader's part, it demands a certain clarity be maintained that seems to keep me as a reader at arm's length.

I enjoyed the book, it was atmospheric and the writing really gave a glimpse into the lives of the characters. I do feel like it could have possibly been longer, some things could’ve been explored further or in more detail, or maybe I just didn’t quite understand it.

3.5 rounded to 4.

This book follows Eungyo as they work in an old repair shop in a poor area. The people in the area—their shadows are rising. Which I took to mean they were no longer seeing that life had a meaning. I’m sure others’ analysis will difference from mine, but what I found most interesting is how people outside of these poor areas don’t see these people living in these areas as actual people, but pity them and want to remove the buildings and shops that they can afford to rent just so they can place a tiny park.

It was beautifully written and full of lyrical language. I will read again to try to get a better understanding of the underlying message.

I received an eArc from NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review.

The storytelling and writing style are very unique. I imagine it won't be a good book to everyone, but I enjoyed it. It's philosophical and questions humanity and what we know - what are shadows, what's a slum, what is poverty? One Hundred Shadows makes you think about life and what you know, and it's a short book and easy to get into as well. It's also a book about love in the early stages, and how it may develop into something deeper. Truly beautiful work.

The writing style is similar to The vegetarian (by Han Kang) and Murakami, so if you like any of their work you'll likely enjoy One Hundred Shadows.

Still, I was kind of disappointed that we didn't get to know more about the shadows - it was mostly dumped on the reader at the start of the book and soon forgotten. But... I think that was the point as well. The shadows are a part of their life and has been for a long time, and after some time you take the shadows for granted and don't pay any attention to them. Like, I don't think about my shadow regularly. It's also a metaphor, or at least I think so, and then it makes sense why they suddenly aren't mentioned anymore.

This was an interesting read; the cover is beautiful, and really caught my attention. The style of writing is really unique, and made it a bit difficult to follow initially. Once I got used to it, it had a really atmospheric feeling. The relationship between Mujae and Eungyo developed in a really unique way. It was clearly romantic, without being particularly intimate or affectionate. The length of this book was just right; long enough to contain substance without dragging. I appreciated the opportunity to read this book!

"One Hundred Shadows" presents itself as a short yet enthralling slice-of-life novel, certainly leaning more contemporary fiction with a touch of magical realism. In my experience with the book, the characters Eungyo and Mujae felt somewhat stiff and awkward, and their interactions seemed burdened by stilted dialogue. This aspect hindered my ability to form a strong connection with the characters, leaving room for improvement in terms of natural and engaging character dynamics. I think this is more of a result of translating conversation patterns to English and don't necessarily hold it against

On a positive note, the novel excels in crafting an exceptionally immersive background environment. The author skillfully paints a vivid picture of the surroundings, allowing me to feel truly present in the story's setting. The atmospheric elements contribute significantly to the overall tone, creating a palpable sense of place that enhances the reading experience.

The concept of shadows rising, while initially intriguing, left me yearning for more exploration. However, the symbolism of shadows as a metaphor for despair is executed with excellence. The shadows serve as a disorienting yet surreal vehicle for poignant commentary on the impacts of gentrification, offering valuable insights into the struggles of those marginalized and pushed out by societal changes.

In summary, "One Hundred Shadows" just lacks a solid plot, but makes up for it with the evocative surroundings. While the characters and their interactions may leave something to be desired, the almost tactile environment and the clever use of the shadow metaphor for social commentary make it a worthwhile read. The novel provides a unique perspective on the effects of gentrification and the challenges faced by those caught in its shadows. Not at all what I was expecting, but I'm glad to have taken the time.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy in exhange for this honest review.

First of all, thanks to Erewhon/Kensington Books and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of One Hundred Shadows. This novel is an English translation of a South Korean work, and it is wonderful. What I admire most about this novel is the way urban and magical realism are mixed. While it shows a glimpse into the lives of Eungyo and Mujae as they navigate the city they live in, the fantastical elements are placed in the background to enhance and give greater depth to the characters and the world they live in. The novel is a very unique and fun read that was a breeze. I will be seeking more novels that attempt something similar since I enjoyed One Hundred Shadows so much.