I think this is mis-described as a feminist thriller...I kept thinking we were going to veer off into some gory murder at some point, but that never happened! Instead, it's more of a look at Korean marital, sexual and gender expectations. I found it quite a thoughtful story, though at times it was a little difficult to follow quite what was going on. The idea of the marriage agency was interesting, and I loved how Inji refers to her husband as 'the husband' throughout.
There are interesting strands of story - parts that were funny, with the Granny and the coffee machine, and parts that were moving, with Inji's two school friends and their history. There was a creepy guy, but I couldn't quite judge just how creepy he was meant to be (he didn't seem that awful to me), and what happens to him seems pretty horiffic...perhaps that was meant to be the thriller side of things.
I did enjoy it, for the most part, and I felt like it got more interesting as I went along. I mostly wanted to know a bit more...it felt like a glimpse into societal expectations in Korea which I don't know much about, but I felt I needed more information. But ultimately, I wasn't sure what the message of the book was, and the ending was just a little odd.
The translation, though, was very good - it felt very natural, and I was interested to read at the end that it had been done collaboratively which is an interesting idea.
Title: The Trunk
Author: Kim Ryeo-Ryeong
ISBN: 9781529949353
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