... intoxicating ... Watching Young drift in and out of such love, always finding something valuable, even life-altering, to hold onto, is one of the book’s most notable pleasures ... In Park’s hands, Young is loud and obnoxious, insufferable and magnetic, messy and wise. The prose, translated by Anton Hur, reads like an iPhone screen, vibrant and addictive. What a joy it is to see such a profound exploration of contemporary queer life — its traumas and its ecstasies throbbing in harmony. It’s a shimmering addition to the recent genre of novels chronicling queer millennial malaise ... dazzling.
Translated by Anton Hur with startling immediacy, Park's English language debut...captures the ambiguous landscape inhabited by South Korean gays, of being both visible and unacknowledged ... Park's novel can be read as an anthropological approach to Seoulite queer lives in the 21st century ... By invoking these specific locations, Park—who calls himself a 'citizen-writer'—has poetically mapped out a normalizing zone for his gay protagonists so they can overcome the dichotomy between safety and exposure, public and private.
On this messy and moving journey, Park weaves in social and political commentary, from LGBTQ+ rights and abortion access, to class dynamics and gender roles in contemporary Seoul ... Anton Hur’s gorgeous translation captures the wit and bite of Park’s voice, which cuts through the novel’s romantic tenor like a blade. A runaway bestseller in South Korea, Love in the Big City is destined to be a global, queer cult classic. This is a bold, sparkling novel that encompasses what it feels like to be young and in love with life itself, surrounded by strangers and yet completely, wrenchingly alone.
South Korean readers have devoured Park’s work, a necessary, exciting addition to Korean literature, making him a national bestseller in his home country. There’s a generosity and biting humor that imbues his stories, with glittering descriptions that render our food-and-drink-obsessed culture in liquid-crystal high definition ... Despite the heavy subject matter – in addition to abortion, Park writes about HIV, a parent’s declining health, and a series of devastating heartbreaks – the book is buoyed by wit served at the hard-and-fast pace of the K-pop dance hits that Young loves so dearly. Hur, the book’s translator, manages to preserve that rhythm in English through a flawless, breezy millennial vernacular that veers artfully between slang like 'dickmatized' and poetic ruminations on 'the taste of the universe' within the span of a single chapter. The delicious, unbridled joy in Park’s depiction of queer Korean life is revolutionary and fun as hell to read ... But Love in the Big City’s real effect was how it intensified my yearning to return to Seoul. At a time when international travel is ill-advised or all-out barred (South Korea still requires U.S. travelers to quarantine to prevent the spread of covid-19, with some exceptions, and neighboring Japan just closed its borders to foreign visitors), I wish I could sit over a table of burbling stews with treasured old friends whom I haven’t seen since the pandemic began, revisiting all the desires and ambitions that we once craved. For now, settling into the pages of Love in the Big City feels as close as I can get.
... a lightly comical and insightful tale of a man, now in his 30s, who cares for his highly religious, strong-willed, but frail mother as she battles cancer; Young meanwhile seeks to better understand himself and to trust others enough to find happiness in life ... Centering on relationships (or the lack thereof), this work offers readers honest characterizations of flawed individuals from different walks of life who are all looking to find contentment regardless of their circumstances. Park’s writing is introspective and relatable, and the broad-ranging themes make this a good candidate for book group discussions.
Self-described queer Korean translator Hur empathically delivers Park’s affecting English-language debut to Western audiences. A best-seller in Korea for being a significant (and rare!) gay novel, Park’s lost-love(s) narrative is also a universal literary beacon for readers of all backgrounds.
The novel skips freely around in time, lending it a sense of propulsion and instability that feels entirely intentional. It’s anchored, however, by the narrator’s irresistible voice, which alternates between earnest, heartfelt emotion and likable wryness...The prose is dense with fine-grained characterization ... Despite an ending that drags just a bit, this book will sweep readers up in its sheer longing ... An addictive, profound novel.
... stunning ... The strength of the narrator, notably his flexibility of voice and expansiveness, carries the narrative to great heights, making this a standout among queer literature. Brilliant, glowing, and fun, Hur’s translation succeeds in bringing Park’s effervescent voice to English-reading audiences.
