DNF, I absolutely love the concept of this but I just didn't feel like I was clicking with it personally

I was excited by this book and read it extremely quickly. It’s definitely a title I’d love to have conversations about as the concept is so interesting and the process of writing must have been an intriguing and unique one. Lots to unpack in the themes and the concerns of this book!

The Trunk is an interesting and unusual book, and the first Korean novel I have read. I started out knowing nothing of Korean culture or literature, which definitely put me at a disadvantage. The story is told from the point of view of Inji, who works for the secretive division of a matchmaking agency that facilitates short-term marriage contracts for wealthy clients on payment of a high annual subscription. Each contract usually lasts a year, and employees have the right to refuse, but three refusals will result in dismissal from the agency. As Inji has already refused two, she has no choice when a former ‘husband’ requests her again.
The main idea of the marriage contracts was intriguing but not explored in enough depth, as there were too many other plot strands introduced but not taken to a satisfying conclusion. Part of the problem is the clunky translation. It was apparently a collaborative exercise undertaken by a group of Australian students, rather than a commission for publication, and I think it shows. It paints a fascinating picture of contemporary Korean society (it was originally published in 2015) but I have nothing to compare it to. The characters are well drawn, though it is difficult to empathise with Inji, and the humour is dark, but the ending is abrupt and made no sense. Unusually for me, I preferred the Netflix series which took the book and adapted it for TV. Overall, I think the writer tried to cover too many themes, but none of them as comprehensively as I would have liked. I enjoyed this introduction to Korean literature, and would be interested in reading more. Thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

I think whoever wrote the blurb needs to actually read the book... This wasn't a thriller. It is a satire, but not a thriller and they're going to get the wrong audience for this! I still enjoyed it, and I really liked Inji's voice and the exploration of NM as a concept, but it wasn't at all what I was expecting.

I adore translated fiction and I so glad it's becoming more readily available every year. Unfortunately it does mean that the stuff coming out of other countries is more of a mixture of good bad and ugly.

I liked the concept of this book but the execution left much to be desired, many different elements going on from being a single person,to female friendships, to stalking behavior. Unfortunately all of these became muddled, taking away my enjoyment completely.

A Quiet Exploration of Marriage in South Korea

The Trunk by Kim Ryeo-ryeong is an unusual book. While the premise—a secret service renting spouses to the rich—sounds like the setup for drama and intrigue, the story is more like a discussion on what marriage means in modern Korea.

Not much really happens plot-wise, but the book dives into how people approach relationships, societal expectations, and the transactional side of love. Noh Inji, the protagonist, is caught in the middle of this messy world. There are some interesting moments, like her neighbor’s no-nonsense advice about not sleeping around and her best friend suggesting men and women can connect in ways other than sex. These glimpses add depth, but the book often feels repetitive and meandering.

The side characters don’t have much going on—they seem to exist just to make a point or move the discussion forward. While the book is thought-provoking in parts, it doesn’t quite pull you in emotionally or offer a compelling narrative to keep you hooked.

If you’re interested in social commentary about marriage in South Korea, this might resonate with you. Just don’t expect a lot of action or a tightly plotted story.

I think compering "The Trunk" to such works as "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982" or "Convenience Store Woman" has done this publication a major disservice as readers seeking certain motives or tropes will be quite confused. Also, calling this book a "feminist thriller" didn't resonate with me, either. Yes, on a surface level these books explore the subject of marriage and romantic relationship crisis, but each does it in a different way.

Here we are met with an agency that offers clients a contractual "marriage experience". Narrated from the point of view of one of the Field Wives, Inji, quite experienced in this line of career, the story serves to uncover the criminal and highly unethical underbelly of this estimated organisation that caters to presumably wealthy clientele.

What bothered me was first of all, the repetitiveness of Inji's thoughts and experiences. Second of all, and I don't know if this was intentional, I felt like side stories outside the main plot, as well as "supporting" characters were much more interesting and meatier than the protagonist. I'd love to read a spin-off featuring Granny's love quest!

I really enjoy reading books in translation as well as watching films and programmes with subtitles, as I love the insight into other cultures. I began with that disclaimer because I’m really unsure why I found this book so unengaging.

The idea of a future in which an organisation like NM - an agency that provides contractual, hush-hush year long marriages for the rich and famous - exists, does not feel too unlikely. At a time when pretty much everything seems to have become transactional, monetised and politically fraught and when programmes such as ‘Married at First Sight’ are on our screens, it seems within touching distance.

I think that the Field Husbands (FH) and Wives (FW) concept is interesting but I wished that there had been a deeper delve into the intricacies of it and of the agency.

What we get is an emotionally desiccated protagonist who seems incapable of real loyalty or emotional intelligence. She doesn’t experience love and doesn’t want attachment. As a result, for me, the secondary characters were more interesting: the vibrant Granny, the obsessive blind date, the best friend, the husband and the husband’s ex-wife. Even the industrial coffee machine seems to have a richer interior life!

Maybe I need to read it again….

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An intriguing and compelling read however it wasn't the book for me - feels like the translation was missing a lot of nuance. I am particularly interested in the upcoming k-drama adaptation for this though, I have a feeling it might be a better format for the story.

I’m not sure this was really the book for me. Whether it was the translation, my lack of knowledge about Korean culture or the actual story itself, I’m not entirely sure. It started off as an interesting premise with the field wives / husbands but then it got lost for me and I felt I wasn’t really getting the point. I’m sure fans of Korean literature will probably love it though.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Random House UK for a copy in exchange for a review.

Intriguing, provocative, and thought causing.
A well written and gripping novel that kept me reading.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I feel like the translation fell through for me. After reading the blurb, I was quite excited to read it, as the concept is unique and sounds quite fascinating. But the translation did not feel consistent, which gave a more ambiguous vibe to the protagonist. I couldn't understand the protagonist very well and what her true intentions were, and she just seemed very bland, and I'm not sure if this was intentional by the author or was just lost in translation. Some might still enjoy this, but for me, it was just an okay read.

Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for the ARC of this intriguing novel.
Inji is a woman on the cusp of 30, who took a postgraduate job at a matchmaking agency of a kind. She now works as a Field Wife, providing marital services on fixed contracts. It's demanding work, but she keeps up some contact with friends and family, most of whom don't know exactly what her job entails.
As we move forward in time through the end of one contract and beginning of another, we find out more about the choices she made that got her here. It's fragmented in the telling, perhaps because of the nature of memory, perhaps because of Inji's dissociation from her own sense of self, that helps her through. I loved the exploration of the concept of the logical capitalist extension to the proliferation of dating apps - marriage returns to being solely a commercial transaction. To go deeper into that would have been another kind of book entirely though. I felt it glanced off the surfaces of some of the ethical concerns, but again that was in keeping with the first person narrative.
There are some fascinating episodes (you'll be unsurprised to learn that the agency doesn't treat its workers or its clients as well as advertised), and although it's confusing at times, which could also be my unfamiliarity with the Korean culture and the naming styles, I was interested throughout.
The ending will be underwhelming for some, with no neat resolution, no ever-after in sight, but I thought that was in keeping with the sense of Inji and her life that we did get.
The process of translation (collaborative) sounds fascinating and I was glad there was an essay about it at the back of the novel.
I can see why it's been optioned for streaming and I'll be looking out for it.

Although what seemed to be an interesting concept, unfortunately, I did not enjoy the book on this occasion. It started off very confusing, and the writing became highly repetitive. The book's pace was not consistent throughout, and I felt it had the potential for more. It isn't personally to my tastes but may be to someone else.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unfortunately this one didn't work for me- an interesting premise but it was quite a confusing book. I am not sure if the translation is to blame but it felt too fragmented and disconnected. At points I struggled to follow the train of thought of the narrator and understand where the story was going.
The story itself is quite simple- our main character is a "wife-for-hire" of sorts, working for an agency that provides partners to those who can afford them, for a set period of time. We follow her in one of these marriages and while she uncovers some dark secrets about the agency she works for. However....this was so...disappointingly pointless? What she discovers isn't actually explored at all? And the ending....well, that felt like such a let down. It was literally the climax of the book and I was very confused as to why it didn't continue on. Overall not a great read for me unfortunately, I kept hoping for the story to go somewhere but it didn't.

This is one of those books that I read, that I really don’t have strong feelings on either way.
It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t memorable either.
If someone were to ask me what it was about, what genre/theme, I’ve got to be honest and say I wouldn’t know how to classify it.
I don’t really know what the story was about, the writing was ok, but I don’t feel there was enough here to keep me interested or invested in any of it.
I appreciate the chance to read it, but I’m sorry it just wasn’t for me.

I'm sure how to rate this to be honest. It's not thriller, not really contemporary. But rather an exploration on a theme - that of society and it's obsession with marriage and families, and those who fight against the grain. It's a thought provoking read at times, but I found the writing to be oddly stilted and clunky too. It just all felt a bit surface level - nothing about the agency Inji Noh works for its explained in any great detail, and the relationships felt a little superficial.

Interesting ideas, but this might have been a little bit literally lost in translation.

The Trunk offers readers a unique insight into human relationships as the story is centred around a matchmaking agency that specialises in highly secretive arranged marriages. What initially drew me to this novel was the synopsis, which hinted at some mystery/thriller aspects in the book but upon reading the novel, I found that these aspects didn't feel fully developed, and I was left wanting more depth in those parts of the story. That said, I did enjoy the wit and cultural commentary and agree that if you enjoyed Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, this might be a novel to add to your list!

The Trunk is a story that I can’t help but feel rather ambivalent about. I don’t know if it was the subject or the context, but it didn’t really interest me as much as I’d hoped.
Our main character was recruited by Wedding and Life, and her job is to become a wife to those wanting to pay for her services. She has been married numerous times and we follow her through the situations this finds her in.
I’m not sure whether this is meant to be a comment on Korean attitudes to marriage or an attempt to explore societal attitudes to relationships more generally. It’s marketed as a feminist thriller, but I think I might have missed that part of the plot.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this.

A peculiar book and one which left me quite disappointed. The blurb sounded intriguing, I love thrillers and have enjoyed some superb Korean-translated fiction recently, but this was not a thriller. I try not to be negative in reviews, but I found the story quite disjointed and jarring; the translation work was collaborative so whether it was down to that I'm not sure. It was however an insight into modern Korea and contained some heavy yet important topics.
My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own unbiased opinion.