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pocketsknight's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book was about a young woman in her first job and her various adventures during the first year she was employed at “Dallergut Dream Department Store”.
Despite this being the main theme of the book, I don't believe anyone having worked any sort of corporate job would find this book relatable: Everything about the industry -from the department store itself to the dream making industry- seems to be made from a child’s understanding of how they work. The CEO of the company -a very important and recognized company, the book tells us!- conducts every interview himself and works at the front desk. The company itself is entirely included in one building, and doesn’t appear to have any offshots. There are less than 10 managers for the entire company.
I cannot tell if the “Penny world” is so unrealistic on purpose, both to remind us of a dream and as a contrast to the small snippets of the “real world” that we see (as those do tend to be rather glum, even as they are the only places where the book feel truly realistic). But if that is the case, then I don’t think the “Penny world” is dreamlike ENOUGH. By which I mean weird and lacking in internal logic. If it is supposed to mimic dreams then it mimics, again, a child’s conception of them.
Also, WHAT exactly the “Penny world” is is unclear to me. I don’t think all of this is happening inside of a different dream world, as the beginning tells us that this is all happening in a regular town. Except an amnesiac, corporeal version of people that are currently asleep will show up every day? (LITERAL day! Penny works during the day, and they seem to be getting quite a lot of people during that time. Maybe Penny isn’t supposed to be Korean. After all, every client we know by name is Korean, time zones could be coming into play.)
This would not normally bother me, because a lack of logical sense in a book about DREAMS, famously nonsensical experiences, should be a feature rather than a bug. Except they do try to give it logic! It is, in fact, the very first thing that this book does!!!
Is this just supposed to happen in a fantasy world? Where, again, no one awake seems concerned by the fact that they are sleepwalking somewhere every night?
I liked that this book didn’t shy away from Penny’s flaws. I think this was the only interesting thing about our otherwise perfectly “average-woman in her first job” protagonist. Then again, they were very average flaws.
The other characters of the cast were weirder, but I unfortunately didn’t find *them* more interesting. Like many things in this book, they felt like crayon drawings of people rather than, well, actual people.
The dreams this book talks about are certainly interesting, but they are carefully constructed creations meant to help or please people. They hold little relation to real life dreams, which are chaotical remixes by our brains of what we experienced during the day. I think dreams, real dreams, are very interesting! I think trying to make a story structure with the structure of a dream in mind ALSO sounds very interesting! I am disappointed, because this book really wasn’t about dreams in the end, and I would have really liked for it to be.
There was nothing horribly offensive about this book, I had some satisfaction reading it. It's just that I don’t think it was particularly good, or particularly interesting.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism
jayisreading's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
2.5
When I first heard about this novel, I was rather intrigued by the premise: a department store where you can purchase dreams? I figured there would be more to it than that, but I was taken to the idea and looked forward to picking it up. Unfortunately, I found myself disappointed by the overall execution of the novel. There was very little plot (if at all), and Lee seemed more keen on crafting a novel that was more driven by “vibes” than anything. While I’m not one to entirely hate books that aren’t as clear about what direction they’re going, I do want to go somewhere… and that just doesn’t happen in this novel. In addition to the near-absent plot, the characters were incredibly flat and underdeveloped. I think the lack of character development was what really disappointed me, because if there isn’t going to be much of a plot, at least do something interesting with the characters, especially the protagonist (Penny). I didn’t even like or dislike Penny, because there just wasn’t much to her character for me to hold onto.
There were passing moments when something interesting came up, whether it be the type of dream that was discussed or a character actually had something worthwhile to say, but none of these ever panned out in a way that left an impression on me. Furthermore, I felt that there were instances when the author was a little too flippant about serious matters that could have been addressed with more time and grace.
Overall, I think this novel might appeal to some who are looking for something that fits the “feel good” vibe (and there have been a fair number of contemporary works by Japanese and Korean authors that encompass this). However, I feel that no amount of coziness that this novel exudes can hide the fact that there’s a lot left to be desired.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Grief
Minor: Ableism and Suicidal thoughts
hereticburger's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
A nightmare where dreams have fiscal value.
-Ableist.
-No plot.
-Flat characters.
-The author has evidently never had trauma based dreams.
-Absolutely frightening in how it misses the obvious intriguing, interesting possibilities of the basic conceit.
H O T G A R B A G E
-Ableist.
-No plot.
-Flat characters.
-The author has evidently never had trauma based dreams.
-Absolutely frightening in how it misses the obvious intriguing, interesting possibilities of the basic conceit.
H O T G A R B A G E
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism
issymaae's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism, Chronic illness, and Suicidal thoughts
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
I read this in one sitting, and think this would do well if optioned and adapted for tv (either as a made-for-tv film or a limited series). It is pretty low-stakes, but still grapples with grief, loss, and universal feelings of loneliness, sadness, and searching for meaning. Learning about how the department store operates was fascinating and I kept thinking people would love seeing this as a cozy, whimsical, and comforting lil tv series or film.
I read this in one sitting, and think this would do well if optioned and adapted for tv (either as a made-for-tv film or a limited series). It is pretty low-stakes, but still grapples with grief, loss, and universal feelings of loneliness, sadness, and searching for meaning. Learning about how the department store operates was fascinating and I kept thinking people would love seeing this as a cozy, whimsical, and comforting lil tv series or film.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
kirstym25's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Ableism and Chronic illness
rieviolet's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I am in a bit of a reading slump and really struggling to find books that can really capture my attention. I picked up this book looking for a quick and enjoyable read and that's what I got, no more and no less.
The magical aspects of the novel are what I appreciated the most, I think that the world-building is quite interesting and unique.
I have to say that I was not particularly captured by the writing style, it was readable enough but quite plain.
Also, the story is structured in a sort of episodic narrative so some subplots were more interesting, while others fell a bit flat for me. I think that towards the end the tone might have gotten a little too saccharine for my cold heart and the ending was a bit abrupt.
The magical aspects of the novel are what I appreciated the most, I think that the world-building is quite interesting and unique.
I have to say that I was not particularly captured by the writing style, it was readable enough but quite plain.
Also, the story is structured in a sort of episodic narrative so some subplots were more interesting, while others fell a bit flat for me. I think that towards the end the tone might have gotten a little too saccharine for my cold heart and the ending was a bit abrupt.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Death, and Suicidal thoughts