Love in the Big City
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- Create Date：2021-11-24 06:51:09
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Sang Young Park
- ISBN：1911284657
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Summary
A fresh and unique debut novel by the bestselling young star of Korean queer fiction。
Love in the Big City is an energetic， joyful， and moving novel that depicts both the glittering nighttime world of Seoul and the bleary-eyed morning-after。
Young is a cynical yet fun-loving Korean student who pinballs from home to class to the beds of recent Tinder matches。 He and Jaehee， his female best friend and roommate， frequent nearby bars where they suppress their anxieties about their love lives， families， and money with rounds of soju and freezer-chilled Marlboro Reds。 Yet in time even Jaehee settles down， leaving Young alone to care for his ailing mother and find companionship in his relationships with a series of men， including one whose handsomeness is matched by his coldness， and another who might end up being the great love of his life。
Love in the Big City is an energetic， joyful， and moving novel that depicts both the glittering nighttime world of Seoul and the bleary-eyed morning-after。
Young is a cynical yet fun-loving Korean student who pinballs from home to class to the beds of recent Tinder matches。 He and Jaehee， his female best friend and roommate， frequent nearby bars where they suppress their anxieties about their love lives， families， and money with rounds of soju and freezer-chilled Marlboro Reds。 Yet in time even Jaehee settles down， leaving Young alone to care for his ailing mother and find companionship in his relationships with a series of men， including one whose handsomeness is matched by his coldness， and another who might end up being the great love of his life。
Reviews
Alex Luceli Jiménez
，
this book was pretty good， but missing some sort of je ne sais quoi in my opinion。 i’m sure that it was the point， but it felt almost too disjointed sometimes。 and i really do love a good nonlinear narrative， it just didn’t completely make sense to me all the time/completely work for me！ the narrator was really fun， though。 i love reading about miserable people。 overall an enjoyable read， 4/5 stars！
Mitch Loflin
，
A perfect book。 Also the most times I’ve ever seen Kylie Minogue mentioned in fiction。 Loved every minute。 Perfect perfect book。 I laughed。 I cried， a number of times。 I sweat， I danced， I got a shot， I ate — and I had many epiphanies。
luce
，
3 ¼ stars Funny and all too real！ Review to come。
Kirsten Paoline König
，
'Het was de zomer van 2010。 Ik ging voor het eerst sinds ik uit militaire dienst was met verlof en leunde met mijn hoofd tegen het raam van de intercitybus。 Er gingen slechts drie dingen door mijn hoofd: iced americano， Kylie Minogue en seks。'。。Van een godvrezende moeder tot bosbessen en sigaretten in de vriezer en een soa met de naam Kylie: auteur Sang Young Park schetst in losse maar aaneengeregen verhalen een volwassen wordend liefdesleven in Korea。 Schrijnend pijnlijk， kwetsbaar en gevat teg 'Het was de zomer van 2010。 Ik ging voor het eerst sinds ik uit militaire dienst was met verlof en leunde met mijn hoofd tegen het raam van de intercitybus。 Er gingen slechts drie dingen door mijn hoofd: iced americano， Kylie Minogue en seks。'。。Van een godvrezende moeder tot bosbessen en sigaretten in de vriezer en een soa met de naam Kylie: auteur Sang Young Park schetst in losse maar aaneengeregen verhalen een volwassen wordend liefdesleven in Korea。 Schrijnend pijnlijk， kwetsbaar en gevat tegelijk - tegen het decor van het Olympisch park， een te krappe studio voor twee matrassen en steriele ziekenhuiskamers。。。'Als we bij hem thuis lagen te praten， had ik soms het gevoel dat ik in een Griekse tragedie of een absurdistisch toneelstuk was beland， of op zijn minst een film uit de jaren tachtig。 Ja， deels kwam het doordat hij het graag over existentiële vraagstukken of zijn kijk op het universum had， maar vooral kwam het doordat we formeel Koreaans gebruikten。 Ik vond het eigenlijk wel leuk， het was een aandoenlijke dynamiek。 Wat een idioot was ik toen。'。。'Liefde in de grote stad' is zowel teder als grofgebekt en laat het schuren waar zelfs de stervende Koreaanse moeder nooit kan begrijpen en vergeven dat haar zoon van mannen zal houden。 Dank， Mattho Mandersloot voor het zo fijn in het Nederlands leesbaar maken van deze Koreaanse， kaleidoscopische roman 🌙☁️ 。。。more
Daria
，
3。5/5
Jamice Robinson
，
With the title and the name of the book you would think this would be a fluffy read， maybe it resonate to a Sex in The City vibe。 What I wasn’t expecting was an emotional read。 The story is broken up in to different life periods of a man named Young。 The beginning he is very much into partying and having fun but as the story expands and he gets older， that’s when it gets interesting。 I’m never going to understand how it feels to be a gay man in South Korea， but the window Young provided was very With the title and the name of the book you would think this would be a fluffy read， maybe it resonate to a Sex in The City vibe。 What I wasn’t expecting was an emotional read。 The story is broken up in to different life periods of a man named Young。 The beginning he is very much into partying and having fun but as the story expands and he gets older， that’s when it gets interesting。 I’m never going to understand how it feels to be a gay man in South Korea， but the window Young provided was very emotional and sometimes quite depressing but it was such a good story。 I really hope more of the authors books are translated in the future。 。。。more
Kim Nguyen
，
This book is so brilliant， sharp， and funny。 I loved it so much I read it in a few hours， began re-reading it again， and then read the author’s novella online， The Tears of an Unknown Artist， Or Zaytun Pasta （also translated by Anton Hur）。 The book is split into four parts， each focused on the narrator’s loves and relationships throughout different periods of his life。 It’s hilarious， heartbreaking， energetic， and tender。 Friendships and relationships feel real—I particularly loved “Jaeho” and “ This book is so brilliant， sharp， and funny。 I loved it so much I read it in a few hours， began re-reading it again， and then read the author’s novella online， The Tears of an Unknown Artist， Or Zaytun Pasta （also translated by Anton Hur）。 The book is split into four parts， each focused on the narrator’s loves and relationships throughout different periods of his life。 It’s hilarious， heartbreaking， energetic， and tender。 Friendships and relationships feel real—I particularly loved “Jaeho” and “Jieun’s” youthful， chaotic antics in Part 1。 The narrator’s description of his friend cracked me up: “No one was better than her at bumbling through life’s most important decisions。” This was definitely one of my favorite reads of the year， and I hope we get to see more of his work translated into English in the near future。 。。。more
Linz
，
In ‘Liefde in de grote stad’ is de stem van Young， het hoofdpersonage， levendig en duidelijk aanwezig。 Hij voelt als een jeugdvriend die na jaren bij je aan tafel is aangeschoven om je bij te praten over alle liefdes van het afgelopen decennium。 Op het begin is het leuk， gezellig， en luister je nog aandachtig mee， maar na drie mislukte relaties met mannen die vervelend en oppervlakkig uit de verf komen， krijg je zin om het verhaal te onderbreken en over je eigen leven te vertellen。 Dit verhaal l In ‘Liefde in de grote stad’ is de stem van Young， het hoofdpersonage， levendig en duidelijk aanwezig。 Hij voelt als een jeugdvriend die na jaren bij je aan tafel is aangeschoven om je bij te praten over alle liefdes van het afgelopen decennium。 Op het begin is het leuk， gezellig， en luister je nog aandachtig mee， maar na drie mislukte relaties met mannen die vervelend en oppervlakkig uit de verf komen， krijg je zin om het verhaal te onderbreken en over je eigen leven te vertellen。 Dit verhaal leest makkelijk weg， maar het verrast niet。 。。。more
LKay
，
I really wanted to like this book but it just isn’t for me。 I’m finding the writing to be hard to follow and there doesn’t seem to be much of a plot。 It doesn’t seem to be going anywhere and I’m honestly pretty bored。
Lake Merritt
，
the narrator's voice is endearing in the book。 the vulnerable cuteness of the narrator is even more animated in the audio edition of the novel。 the performance of the Korean American actor Daniel Isaac is just adorable。 the narrative itself feels like a collection of cute， relaxed essays， commonly seen across East Asia， rather than an ambitious novel。 the narrator's voice is endearing in the book。 the vulnerable cuteness of the narrator is even more animated in the audio edition of the novel。 the performance of the Korean American actor Daniel Isaac is just adorable。 the narrative itself feels like a collection of cute， relaxed essays， commonly seen across East Asia， rather than an ambitious novel。 。。。more
willowdog
，
I wanted this to be so much more。 This story of gay life in Seoul of a writer who is trying to find his way is filled with stereotypes of what gay life is: the straight best friend woman， the seemingly endless nights at bars where any remembrance of what occurred is blurred by one's intoxication， the endless looking for hookups， the unsatisfactory family relationship。 The work is amusing， but I thought that it would give insight into Korean way of gay life and customs。 Is gay life the same stere I wanted this to be so much more。 This story of gay life in Seoul of a writer who is trying to find his way is filled with stereotypes of what gay life is: the straight best friend woman， the seemingly endless nights at bars where any remembrance of what occurred is blurred by one's intoxication， the endless looking for hookups， the unsatisfactory family relationship。 The work is amusing， but I thought that it would give insight into Korean way of gay life and customs。 Is gay life the same stereotypes no matter in what country we are？ Maybe that is the way it is。My thanks to Edelweiss/Above the Treeline for this free ebook in exchange for the unbiased review。 。。。more
Dana
，
Review to come。
Daniel
，
LOVE IN THE BIG CITY is an interesting look at life for a young， gay Korean man。 I enjoy media from other countries to see how we're alike and different。 While I have some similarities with the main character in this book， our lives look quite different。The prose in this book is fairly dry and light， which serves to emphasize the tongue-in-cheek sense of humor。 That aspect comes across strongly。 The darker and more emotional aspects， less so。 I wonder if this is intentional or cultural or a resu LOVE IN THE BIG CITY is an interesting look at life for a young， gay Korean man。 I enjoy media from other countries to see how we're alike and different。 While I have some similarities with the main character in this book， our lives look quite different。The prose in this book is fairly dry and light， which serves to emphasize the tongue-in-cheek sense of humor。 That aspect comes across strongly。 The darker and more emotional aspects， less so。 I wonder if this is intentional or cultural or a result of this being a translated work。 Similarly， it doesn't have much structure， which made it difficult for me to connect。That said， I'm grateful to have read this and gotten a glimpse into a life far different from my own。 。。。more
Patrick
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One of the most vibrant， emotionally resonant books I’ve read this year。 Brilliant！
Ilana
，
Lyrical and poetic
Laura Witjens
，
Ik weet t nog effe niet met dit boek。 Heb het gevoel dat ik 'm nog eens moet lezen。 Heeft mogelijk te maken met dat ik 'm voor het slapen las en wellicht te moe was。 Ik weet t nog effe niet met dit boek。 Heb het gevoel dat ik 'm nog eens moet lezen。 Heeft mogelijk te maken met dat ik 'm voor het slapen las en wellicht te moe was。 。。。more
Fernanda Granzotto
，
*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for review， all opinions are my own*2。5 starsThis is not a conventional book， it doesn't have a plot， I would say that here we have 4 stories about our protagonist's life， these 4 stories are told in different ways， about important moments in his life， most are related to his love life but there are several important themes being treated in these stories besides the romance。 I didn't like all the stories， I thought *Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for review， all opinions are my own*2。5 starsThis is not a conventional book， it doesn't have a plot， I would say that here we have 4 stories about our protagonist's life， these 4 stories are told in different ways， about important moments in his life， most are related to his love life but there are several important themes being treated in these stories besides the romance。 I didn't like all the stories， I thought the chapters were too big making some of the stories tiring to read。 I just didn't dnf this book because I found the stories minimally interesting， as well as being a quick to read。It's not a bad book it's just not the kind of book I like， I feel the author's writing didn't captivate me。I liked our main character and following him in some moments of his life but the author's writing make some parts to be very confusing for me doing the reading experience not so good 。。。more
Colette
，
I picked this one up and read it cover to cover in just a few hours - the narrator’s voice just sucks you in and you hop onboard the journey he’s taking you on。 For me this book was about the millennial experience and trying to figure out who you are， where you belong and just making your way through life。But most of all it was about relationships - familial， platonic， romantic - and how each of these shape and impact us both in our life overall and for the next relationships that we have。
Hilde
，
2，5
Sharondblk
，
I received a free e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。This is not so much a book as a series of four novellas， tracking the loves （platonic， familial and sexual） of the narrator。 I found the first story interesting and appealing， and then they descended from there， with the final instalment being maudlin and self indulgent。 The book is a translation， and there were language choices that were lost on me （huang？） There were other cultural things I felt like I missed， that it was I received a free e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。This is not so much a book as a series of four novellas， tracking the loves （platonic， familial and sexual） of the narrator。 I found the first story interesting and appealing， and then they descended from there， with the final instalment being maudlin and self indulgent。 The book is a translation， and there were language choices that were lost on me （huang？） There were other cultural things I felt like I missed， that it was taken for granted I would understand which I did not， like whether things were expensive or cheap。The choice not to use quotation marks reminded me of other self indulgent novels， and was a minor irritation， although it wasn't terrible here， since most of the book was so far into the authors / narrators head anyway。No spoilers， but I thought the introduction of "Kylie" was either genius or more maudlin self indulgence， I still can't work out which。if this review seems a bit all over the place， that's quite reflective of this interesting， odd book。 。。。more
Jacqueline
，
I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for a review。 I made it about 15% into the book before I had to put it down。 This story overall wasn't for me。 That doesn't mean that I don't think there are those that won't like it， because I do。 I'm just not one of them。 The story felt a little too dry for my liking and I couldn't stay focused on it。 I needed more details to feel invested in the story。 I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for a review。 I made it about 15% into the book before I had to put it down。 This story overall wasn't for me。 That doesn't mean that I don't think there are those that won't like it， because I do。 I'm just not one of them。 The story felt a little too dry for my liking and I couldn't stay focused on it。 I needed more details to feel invested in the story。 。。。more
Iza Brekilien
，
I requested this novel from Netgalley who let me read it in exchange for my honest opinion， here it is :While reading the first few chapters， I thought this wouldn't be a novel for me : people partying， sleeping around endlessly， no particular thoughts about life， just living for the moment， for the fun that felt more like a means of forgetting about an empty life。 Not something I'm much interested about when there is no particular reason mentioned。However， as the novel progressed， as his friend I requested this novel from Netgalley who let me read it in exchange for my honest opinion， here it is :While reading the first few chapters， I thought this wouldn't be a novel for me : people partying， sleeping around endlessly， no particular thoughts about life， just living for the moment， for the fun that felt more like a means of forgetting about an empty life。 Not something I'm much interested about when there is no particular reason mentioned。However， as the novel progressed， as his friend got married and started leading an adult life， as Young started talking about his mother， his past， his love life， I got wrapped up in what he was saying， experiencing， feeling and I found him touching and deeper than he first appeared。 Living constantly with the consequences of his past up to the point when he has to think about other people's welfare before his own， Young was definitely using sarcasm to deal with a tough reality。One thing I noticed while browsing other people's reviews， though， was that this novel is often referenced as funny， joyful and really， I found it rather depressing ！ Not bad depressing， because it was a good novel and I'm very happy to have discovered this author， yet if you're looking for something light and fluffy， this is not the book for you。 If you're looking for a realistic portrait of gay young Korean people in general， this novel is well worth the read。 。。。more
Maurits de Bruijn
，
Echt leuk。
Dolf Haven
，
Fast-paced， hard， modern gay literature， but with a lot of tenderness and sadness in it as well。 A novel I finished in one go that will resonate with me for a while。 An excellent debut of a promising Korean writer。
Jasmine
，
Translated from Korean to English， Love in the Big City follows Young， a millennial， as he navigates life’s ups and downs。 Comprised of four sections， each one narrates a different period in Young’s life。 The first section focuses on the boozy fun that Young and his best friend Jaehee get up to while at university。 The duo party， go to class， meetup with men they matched with on dating sites。 That is until Jaehee announces she is getting married。 Now， Young must adjust to life without his best f Translated from Korean to English， Love in the Big City follows Young， a millennial， as he navigates life’s ups and downs。 Comprised of four sections， each one narrates a different period in Young’s life。 The first section focuses on the boozy fun that Young and his best friend Jaehee get up to while at university。 The duo party， go to class， meetup with men they matched with on dating sites。 That is until Jaehee announces she is getting married。 Now， Young must adjust to life without his best friend constantly by his side。 In the other sections， Young comes to terms with his sexuality， a medical diagnosis， his mother， and past trauma。 Love in the Big City is a coming-of-age， character-driven story。 The sections that focused on Young’s life in his early thirties were the most interesting to me。 Some parts were laugh-out-loud funny， while others were somewhat depressing。The author and translator perfectly capture what it’s like for millennials in their twenties and thirties， from hard-partying ways to job uncertainty to trying to settle down。 If any more of Sang Young Park’s books get translated into English， I will definitely give them a read。 Thank you to Grove Press for the arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。 https://booksandwheels。com 。。。more
Murtaza Kuwarawala
，
Title - Love in the Big CityAuthor - Sang Young ParkGenre - Asian LiteraturePlot:Sang Young Park is one of the most celebrated Korean written who has debuted with his first English work。 On recommendation by a friend， I picked this one up which again is one of the most anticipated book this year。 A story that talks of Coming of Age story of our main protagonist who details three important persons in his life who change the perspective of millenials these days。Love in the Big City deals with the Title - Love in the Big CityAuthor - Sang Young ParkGenre - Asian LiteraturePlot:Sang Young Park is one of the most celebrated Korean written who has debuted with his first English work。 On recommendation by a friend， I picked this one up which again is one of the most anticipated book this year。 A story that talks of Coming of Age story of our main protagonist who details three important persons in his life who change the perspective of millenials these days。Love in the Big City deals with the story of our narrator who divides his life in three different timelines with three important persons。 The first part shows his friendship with Jaehee who knows his life inside and out。 With both of them living their life as fullest， juggling with their classes and who they bring to bed， this part talks about how friendship changes as the years go by。 The second part deals with his toxic relationship with an elder man who treats him， not someone to be loved but the relationship led him to be quite abusive。 The final part deals with narrator's relationship with Gyu-ho， His days with Gyu-Ho changes him to a huge extent until the time comes for them to depart forever。My Take on the Book:The book apart from talking about narrator's relationship with these three people to how his life ends in a lonely part turns out to be quite hard-hitting。 Not everyone in our life is meant to stay and this reality is shown pretty much on the face by the author。 As the book starts， it honestly takes a bit of a time to get used to what the plot is all about but the readers tend to emphatize with the narrator as the plot tends to move ahead。If you are looking for a book that would give you a glimpse on Korean lifestyle and culture and is as hard hitting for you to make you emote， this one is that apt book。 A book that transports the readers to a world that is so close to reality and yet make you ponder about how hard hitting relationships can be， this one is that book。 。。。more
McKenzie
，
Love in the Big City initially caught my attention because I don’t know much about the LGBTQ+ community in Korea。 I know that there is a huge born again Christian movement there。 I have actually met a few people involved at one of my previous jobs。 However， I knew that even Koreans， who are not Christian， tend to be more on the conservative side， so I was really curious about a book that shot to the top of the charts。While I found it intriguing that this book united a nation， in terms of reading Love in the Big City initially caught my attention because I don’t know much about the LGBTQ+ community in Korea。 I know that there is a huge born again Christian movement there。 I have actually met a few people involved at one of my previous jobs。 However， I knew that even Koreans， who are not Christian， tend to be more on the conservative side， so I was really curious about a book that shot to the top of the charts。While I found it intriguing that this book united a nation， in terms of reading charts at least， I personally can’t see a lot of the appeal。 Perhaps it was from an educational aspect， but for me Young， was not a particularly sympathetic protagonist。 To be fair， these sort of books， where millennials complain about millennial problems， sleep around， and generally act a fool， are not really my cup of tea to begin with。 I can see where fans of maybe Will & Grace or Sex in the City may find some aspects of this book really appealing or perhaps readers of Sally Rooney， but this just didn’t work on that basic level for me。What did work for me were some of the more interesting philosophical conversations that the main character had with others。 I particularly liked the section， where he was dating the philosopher-author-creative， who was a solid twelve years older than him。 The things we eat are part of the universe so we’re tasting the universe when we eat and all that jazz。 I found that to be really interesting， but I’ll pass on the mother drama and the millennial hi-jinks。Overall， I would recommend this for people looking for a little insight into the LGBTQ+ community in Korea or just looking for a little more slice-of-life drama to add to their reading collection。 I would say， that if you didn’t find the voice of the narrator particularly appealing on the outset， it’s probably just going to grate on you with time。 If another Sang Young Park novel is translated into English， I would be willing to give it a chance， however， this one just really didn’t work for me。Thank you to Netgalley， Grove Press， and the author for providing me with an eARC of this novel， however all thoughts and opinions are my own。 。。。more
Isabel
，
'Waren het verlangens naar iemand geweest？ Of een soort verlangen naar de persoon die ik werd als ik naar iemand smachtte？' 'Waren het verlangens naar iemand geweest？ Of een soort verlangen naar de persoon die ik werd als ik naar iemand smachtte？' 。。。more
Libriar
，
I never quite got into this book set in Seoul about a gay man trying to find his place in the world。 However I'm glad that I read it because it's always interesting to me to see what is popular in South Korea - books and movies coming out of South Korea are definitely on the cutting edge of doing things differently。 I never quite got into this book set in Seoul about a gay man trying to find his place in the world。 However I'm glad that I read it because it's always interesting to me to see what is popular in South Korea - books and movies coming out of South Korea are definitely on the cutting edge of doing things differently。 。。。more
Kion You
，
“공허하고 의미 없는 낱말들이 다 흩어져 오직 글을 쓰고 있는 나 자신만이 남는다”
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Love in the Big City
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Love in the Big City&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Love in the Big City&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0