Welcome back to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, a book you may recognise from a few weeks ago. I finished reading it a few hours ago, and I couldn’t think of a better review post to write up than the review this brilliant book deserves to have. Everything I said in my initial reaction to the novel is correct, but I have been pleasantly surprised and comforted while reading this, so let me share some thoughts with you all.

This book’s messages and themes are so wholesome and therapeutic that you cannot go ten pages without feeling something. Chapter by chapter, you will be slapped in the face by all the emotions – heartbreak, happiness, anxiousness, empathy, anger, sorrow, and so many more – and by the end of each short lesson when that little image of the woman walking her dog waddles on by you will be left speechless. You may even thank the little doggo for allowing you to confront these themes and ideas in such a safe and understanding space.

The characters are so effortlessly and tragically human that every exchange of dialogue and action they do feels like it has been lifted from everyday life. An anxious bookshop owner trying to find happiness in her life. A barista crushed by societal and parental pressure to succeed. A young boy without any joys or plans and a mother who doesn’t want her young son at home doing nothing. A working wife with marital issues. A woman, sick of being unappreciated at work, finding solace in meditation and knitting. A stoic company worker who blogs about poor grammar and editing mistakes in books. There are many more people we come across, but these faces are the ones we get to see handle these life challenges and questions – what am I doing? Is it enough? Are my passions and dreams worthy of being pursued? Is working toward happiness more important than enjoying life in the now?

As a 300 novel, Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop feels like the perfect read. You could digest it in short bursts by reading a few chapters here and there. You could inhale it all in one sitting during an afternoon of mindful reading. You could do it in halves and annotate as you go along. I will warn you, you’ll need an array of stationery for this one because almost every encounter and line is worthy of underlining or highlighting. Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop is neither too long nor too short, and the text is so easy to take in. There’s no flowery language complicating the simple messages for consumption.

There were many times when I thought that this book was certainly worth reading and worth buying and keeping for years to come. I’m not usually one for getting a few chapters in and thinking this is getting added to the purchases list. I made an exception for this one because it seriously couldn’t be faulted. The characters are lovely and rich and authentic, the setting is magical and immersive, and the stories of each character feel so real and relatable. You cannot go wrong with this one.

Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop needs to be added to your TBR lists. Add it to your library requests, write it into your journals or diaries, or type it into a notion board. Whatever you use for noting your next reads, get this book down. You will not regret it one bit.