Reading Marigold Magical Laundry felt like embarking on my own journey of healing and self-discovery. From the very first page, I was drawn into the life of Jieun, a girl with mysterious powers who, through a heartbreaking accident, causes her family to vanish. I could feel her grief and determination as she set off to find them, and before long, her journey gave birth to something magical—a laundry shop that does far more than clean clothes.

I found the idea of a magical laundry shop fascinating. The way it “cleanses” not just clothes but the hearts of those who visit struck a chord with me. Every character who steps into Jieun’s shop carries emotional baggage, and by the time they leave, they’re transformed in ways that feel both touching and real. It's not just their clothes that are refreshed—it's their very souls. Reading about these transformations made me reflect on my own moments of pain and healing.

What really stayed with me was the theme of self-awareness and how it weaves through Jieun’s journey. She doesn’t just help others heal—she learns to forgive herself, to grow, and to understand the power of faith and friendship. Her story reminded me that healing isn’t something that happens overnight, but it’s something we can all experience with time, self-love, and patience.

Marigold Magical Laundry is a story that’s not just for fantasy lovers, but for anyone looking to explore the depth of human emotion. It pulled at my heartstrings, made me think deeply about self-love, and showed me that even in the most magical of settings, real human growth is what matters most. If you’re looking for a book that blends character building with a sense of relief and hope, this one is a gem.


I’d like to extend my thanks to Random House UK and @netgalley for providing me with a copy of Marigold Magical Laundry. This enchanting novel took me on an emotional journey that I wasn’t expecting, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to dive into this world.

I don’t know if it was a bad translation because I know this is a Korean bestseller, but I was extremely underwhelmed by this book. It felt like a child wrote it in parts honestly. The imagery was beautiful in many ways: the warm light, dancing clouds of red petals, steaming mugs of tea, rows and rows of swaying white T-shirts pegged to washing lines on a roof with sea views - but the story was so rushed that I felt almost nothing for the characters.

The opening chapters somehow flew through Jieun’s parents meeting, falling in love, marrying, having a child, the child growing up and overhearing an exceptionally brief conversation about her magic powers, her falling asleep and dreaming about her parents being gone and waking up to it being true, then going on a journey searching for them spanning decades or centuries, multiple lives and rebirths, leading to her winding up in Marigold and, after one conversation with the ajumma at the snack shop, building the Mind Laundry in her head and materialising it into existence.

If you have whiplash from the speed of that summary then you will understand how I felt as the reader. The author could have spent half a book on this setup and it would have been an amazing, heartbreaking story that led into Jieun finding her purpose and happiness at the laundry, instead of trying to rush through the setup to get to the story they wanted to tell. I wanted to hear so much more about the special village Jieun grew up in and the magic systems of the chosen ones and how that all worked. In the end it was just disappointing, and would need editing heavily to make it an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for this DRC in return for an honest review.

This moving, thought-provoking little novel follows Jieun, who was born with magical gifts and abilities. After the death of her parents, Jieun is cursed to live a million reincarnations before she can fully die and be reunited with them. Jieun lives her lives in misery until her current incarnation, where she realises she can use her gifts for good. The Marigold Mind Laundry is her way of helping others through their suffering and on the way she is re-introduced to human friendship and kindness.

This novel raises questions about the impact of our experiences on our lives – whether good or bad – and what we would do given the choice to be able to erase the past. The idea of living in the present and not dwelling on the past in order to be fulfilled is an old one but packs an extra emotional punch when viewed through the eyes of someone who has lived thousands of lifetimes in a state of abject sadness.
Full of beautiful imagery, this novel brought up so many feelings for me – hope, laughter, hunger (there were a lot of mentions of amazing Korean food!) and sadness (there was one point where I had to sit and cry for about 30 minutes after reading one particular chapter). It emphasises the power of friendship and connections, if only we learn to let others in.

I would recommend this for fans of Before The Coffee Gets Cold and Days at the Morisaki Bookshop.

As someone who enjoys novels of this genre which are translated from the Korean, I requested this arc with high hopes. Sadly, I didn't engage with it as I was hoping that I would. The premise sounds amazing - going to a laundry where, as the blurb tells us, Jieun 'cleanses painful experiences from the heart, transferring them into stains on a T-shirt and turning them into dazzling red petals'. It does make you wonder which painful experience you yourself would want erasing. And as with literature of this type, there are five 'wounded souls' who visit the laundry. Jieun, we are told has magical powers which she accidentally misused which caused her family to disappear and so she has spent thousands of lifetimes searching for them. It is never explained how she manages to be reborn which I would have liked. In this present life she has created this Mind Laundry and now cleanses the pain of others when she seems unable to cleanse her own. The book is full of life lessons, I suppose, and self-healing. However, at times I did find it confusing to follow and Jieun, for all of her many lives, seems very naïve who ought to have taken advantage of the healing that she dispenses. The idea had such potential, I was disappointed not to enjoy it more.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc!

the book explores complex themes of memory, trauma, and the pursuit of healing. the story revolves around the concept of a service called "Marigold Mind Laundry," where individuals can have their painful or unwanted memories cleansed from their minds, much like laundering clothes. this process is intended to offer a fresh start to those burdened by their past.

Jieun, who is deeply scarred by traumatic experiences, seeks out the laundry service in hopes of finding peace. however, as the memories are gradually erased, the protagonist begins to question the true cost of forgetting. the narrative delves into the ethical implications of such a service, the importance of memory in shaping identity, and the psychological impact of erasing parts of one’s life.

and just like every healing book out there, this one definitely hits the spot. all of us were born to seek happiness, and the secret is in this very moment. today is the most special gift. no matter how many regrets you have, yesterday has passed, and tomorrow is the future that has yet to come, so what we should do is to be in the moment, to live our life today, perhaps the present is the magic given to us.

This took me a while to get through. I found the story jumped about a lot and the characters were tricky to keep track of. There are some lovely messages throughout and the concept of the mjd laundry itself is wonderful.

Worth a read if you enjoy translated fiction but be prepared for a bit of an obstacle course.

Marigold Mind Laundry is a delightful, cozy book that makes one think about life's challenges, heartaches, regrets, acceptance forgetting and remembering. The book made me question what I would do if I find myself in a similar situation of erasing the stains in my life or ironing the creases.

The book also touches on the theme of belonging and finding one's chosen family.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a simple book, full of life lessons.

Sadly this was a DNF for me. I’m not sure if it was the way the book had been translated, or the authors writing style, but the stories were convoluted and confusing, so that you really had to fight with yourself to keep reading. I didn’t enjoy the story so eventually gave up fighting with myself to continue

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the ARC

A beautiful book with five interesting stories interwoven in a main storyline. The book tackles grief and self-help in a stunning way. I was so intrigued by every storyline and found myself so immersed in the book. A cozy and aching read.

Jieun creates Marigold Mind Laundry and she helps her customers to wash away their "stains", which are their pains, from existence. She seems not to be capable of doing the same with her own. Throughout the stories in this book, people overcome obstacles and heal themselves. I found the stories a bit too long and also confusing to follow up. The concept of this book is great but may not be properly executed, written or translated. However, I love the cover!

"Just as there are heartbreaking memories that need to be erased if you want to move forward, there is also the pain that is a kind of fuel that keeps us going. Sadness can sometimes give you strength."

The Marigold Mind Laundry is a philosophical book told through whimsical stories. Jieun has special powers. She can make things come true by dreaming about them and she had the power to heal others' pain. Her parents disappear after she dreams so. It is after this that she lives many lifetimes. I was really unsure as to how she did this because it really wasn't clear. Did she die and then get reborn? Did she just turn into a different person overnight? She is a broken person who cries about her parents every night and is always looking for them.

Jieun manifests the Marigold Mind Laundry into existence. She gets customers who come to tell her their stories and she washes away their 'stains' - their pain from existence. Yet, she is unable to wash away her own pain.

This is a book about overcoming obstacles and self-healing. I found the various characters' stories interesting but there were parts when the writing wasn't very straightforward and felt quite confusing by frequently going off on a tangent.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

I have been trying to read more translated books, there’s a whole world of books out there and so little time! What drew me to this book is the concept. The idea that a laundry could wash away emotion made for an interesting idea. I felt at times, the plot was too thin and underdeveloped. Which is a shame, this book had so much potential!

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley.

This was a beautiful written, dreamy book. It focuses on a character with magic and how she seeks to find a place in the world and help others alongside. It’s a loosely connected set of separate short stories but all that have interlinked characters and relate to our main character and her laundry. She can help people wash away trauma and stress through her mind laundry in the charming coastal town of Marigold.

Where I felt the story was most fully realised was in the story of the influencer. This felt like it brought all of the story elements together so well. It felt so poignant how the character was trying so hard to support her family and how the fame and wealth just ended up creating division and misery. It was really thought provoking.

I very much liked the idea of this book, and the message that talking about/facing issues in your life lets you move past them or alter your feelings about them, and I liked the idea that these could be transferred to a tshirt as stains that could then be removed or faded.

I have to confess that the deeper magical realism story was too deep/obscure for me and I didn't connect with that, or indeed understand it fully, but I think that this is a fault with me not the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. The Marigold Mind Laundry follows Jieun, who has the magical ability to erase painful memories from people's minds. To help people and give her own life purpose, she runs a laundry salon, where she uses her powers to help others. I can say that the premise of the story is something I haven't heard of before. It immediately intrigued me, so I had to ask for an arc. Sadly, the execution wasn't what I imagined. While Jieun has a lot of people whom she tries to help, I couldn't connect to the characters in the book, nor did their stories resonate with me. The way of storytelling kept throwing me out of the plot, and the pace felt a little off at times. Although, I wanted to love this story, I couldn't find it in me to stay interested.

A very sweet story about a woman with magical powers (never really explored fully) who opened a ‘mind laundry’, able to wash bad memories from people’s hearts.
A little too sweet for me though

A beautifully translated novel from Korean, telling the story of Jieun, who runs a magical laundry that washes away painful memories. Through her work, she helps people heal, while dealing with her own grief over her parents' disappearance.

Similar to Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this book is filled with gentle life lessons and magical realism. You learn about family, love, and letting go through the experiences of the Mind Laundry's visitors.
It's a perfect read for anyone looking for a gentle, heartwarming tale!

Sorry but this really isn't a book for me - it's a little bit too gentle and flowery so not my writing style at all.

Thank you regardless for opportunity to read!

Another wonderful example of the most beautiful translated fiction, this time from Korean literature. Quiet, unassuming, enchanting.

Marigold Mind Laundry is another shining example of the simplicity and beauty of translated Asian literature.
Similar in vibes to Before the Coffee Gets Cold, The Dallergut Dream Department Store, The Kamagowa Food Detectives and other similar novels.
This novel follows Jieun as she lives lifetime after lifetime, her only goal to help others in need, and suppressing the deep pain in her heart left by the disappearance of her parents due to a mishap with her powers as a child.
Intent on using her powers only for good, the Mind Laundry is Jieun's means of helping people wash out the stains on their hearts and iron out the creases I their lives. It's a cosy, easy read full of deep discussion of pain, grief and love. Through the stories of the patrons of the Mind Laundry, we explore themes of family and bereavement, and how negative emotions are I'm some ways important, and not everyone deals with pain the same way.
Once again, a lovely novel and stunning translation, I'd highly recommend to fans of Asian literature!