Kim Jiyun "Yeonnam-dong’s Smiley Laundromat"
Weaker compared to other healing fiction. The stories are more flimsy, though they still tug at the heartstrings because they touch on painful, familiar topics - just in very simple, almost too simple, words.
Everything revolves around an interesting setting: a laundromat near Hongdae and a notebook kept there, which gradually turns into a place where strangers meet and communicate through written messages.
The first novella follows an elderly widower whose life now consists of a greedy and petty son and daughter-in-law, a beloved dog, a house full of memories of his late wife, and an unexpected encounter with a mother on the brink of depression, in desperate need of understanding, support, and a kind word.
The second story is about an insecure assistant to a writer, who has spent over five years waiting for her own success, sacrificing her youth and personal life along the way. One day, in the laundromat notebook, she comes across a struggling aspiring musician complaining about his lack of success. She leaves a request under his message, asking him to perform a song - which leads to an unexpected outcome. Now the musician wants to meet his muse.
The third story tells of a young student with a broken heart, and her attempts to find the inner strength that will help her move forward in life.
The fourth novella reveals the origins of the fateful notebook and its owner, and brings all the characters together in a single, shared moment.
The final part returns to the petty son from the first story - struggling to make ends meet, yet genuinely trying to do his best for his family. Will he reconcile with his father? And what is the real root of their conflict?
The first and last chapters felt the most realistic and human to me - family relationships, the generational gap, the unwillingness to listen or understand, paired with the desperate need to be heard and understood.
I can’t recommend this book. It felt overly banal, and I couldn’t find any charm in that simplicity - only irritation, the kind that makes you think, “And what exactly are you trying to feed me here?”
There are much stronger examples within the healing literature genre. This simple, straightforward book might work for a middle- or high-school teenager, but not for an adult reader.