대불호텔의 유령

This novel starts out with: "이것은 소설이다. 소설에 불과하다."

Which makes you think you are in for a gothic horror, and you are (kind of) (for a bit). But actually what this novel turned out to be was a matroyshka doll of stories about stories.

About the stories people tell about their lives, others and the past. The way we choose to ardently believe some things but are inherently suspicious of others. And in each of the layers of the story the author is talking about how we are in some way always victims of our own emotions and the stories we tell ourselves about our lives.

Some quotes:

"이제 나는 진실에 관심이 없었다. 애초, 진실에 누가 관심을 갖는가? 중요한 것은 이야기일 뿐이다."

"저와 같은 사람들…고향이 없지만 고향을 그리워하는 사람들. 고향이 없기에 고향을 만들어야 하는 사람들."

While I personally enjoyed this it was very trippy, especially in the middle before the whole structure started to come together and I don't think it would appeal to most people. The language itself isn’t that difficult (maybe a lot of long sentences?) but the plot is purposefully strange and confusing for the majority of the book. Maybe one worth checking out for people who enjoy meta storytelling or non-linear plots.