Author: Kim Jiyun
Translated by: Shanna Tan
Publisher: MacLehose Press, 2024
Original title: 연남동 빙굴빙굴 빨래방, 2023
Link to online store *
Situated in a rapidly gentrifying district of Seoul, Yeonnam-Dong’s Smiley Laundromat is a place where the extraordinary stories of ordinary residents unfold. Furnished with a coffee machine, a full bookshelf, and warm lighting, it is a haven from the world for many locals.
And when a notebook is left behind there, it becomes a place that brings people together. One by one, customers start jotting down candid diary entries, opening their hearts and inviting acts of kindness from neighbours who were once just faces in the crowd.
But there is darker story behind the notebook, and before long the laundromat’s regulars are teaming up to solve the mystery and put the world to rights.
Instantly capturing the hearts of Korean readers, this is a novel about the preciousness of human relationships and the power of solidarity in a world that is increasingly cold, fast-paced, and virtual.
Source: publisher’s website
External links:
- Review by Paul Fulcher (PF rating:
). - Review by Tony Malone.
- Entry on Goodreads.com.
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