Ratings4
Average rating3.8
A funny, transporting, surprising, and poignant novel that was one of the highest-selling debuts of recent years in Korea, Love in the Big City tells the story of a young gay man searching for happiness in the lonely city of Seoul Love in the Big City is the English-language debut of Sang Young Park, one of Korea’s most exciting young writers. A runaway bestseller, the novel hit the top five lists of all the major bookstores, went into twenty-six printings, and was praised for its unique literary voice and perspective. It is now poised to capture a worldwide readership. Young is a cynical yet fun-loving Korean student who pinballs from home to class to the beds of recent Tinder matches. He and Jaehee, his female best friend and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their anxieties about their love lives, families, and money with rounds of soju and ice-cold Marlboro Reds that they keep in their freezer. Yet over time, even Jaehee leaves Young to settle down, leaving him alone to care for his ailing mother and to find companionship in his relationships with a series of men, including one whose handsomeness is matched by his coldness, and another who might end up being the great love of his life. A brilliantly written novel that takes us into the glittering nighttime of Seoul and the bleary-eyed morning after with both humor and emotion, Love in the Big City is a wry portrait of millennial loneliness as well as the abundant joys of queer life.
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Update in second paragraph*
I tried to like it and I wanted to like it since I heard so many good reviews on it but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I love the first section of the book where Young explores his friendship with Jaehee and the troubles she has been through after that I lost interest but pushed myself to reach the half way mark and made my decision not to finish.
22/02/23
Above is a review of my first attempt reading the book and two days ago I decided to give the book another try. My opinion has done a 180 and as I went on I fell in love with the book, I just wish Jaehee was in parts 2-4 a lot more.