RaveOpen Letters ReviewSara and Lejla act as foils for each other, and in this continually shifting relationship of opposites Bastašić excels at casting doubt on the veracity of Sara’s perspective ... Whose version of events is correct? Bastašić never lets us come to an answer, crafting a complex narrative that reveals how our twinned friendships and resentments shape us forever, regardless of their truth. The result is an unsettling and deeply engrossing novel that will appeal to anyone who has loved a friend deeply, believed in a specific story about their past, or sought to leave their homeland behind.
Yun Ko-Eun, Trans. by Lizzie Buehler
MixedOpen LettersPart black comedy, part thriller, The Disaster Tourist is most successful as a satire ... Yun Ko-eun excels at including small details that show how dehumanizing our search for adventure and exoticism can be ... Other aspects of The Disaster Tourist are less successful. Yona is a thinly developed character, with no personal attributes, interests, or motivations aside from keeping her job and escaping from her abusive boss, so it is difficult to feel invested in her fate or to take any interest in the moral dilemmas she faces. This significantly lowers the stakes for the thriller elements of the novel ... As a satire, The Disaster Tourist hits all the right notes, providing a biting critique of our hyper-connected and hyper-commodified society, but as a thriller, it fails to deliver.
