A straightforward, slice-of-life story that doesn't shy away from examining the hardships and suffering that many people endure under capitalism.

A propulsive story that kept me on the razor wire of anxious and hopeful for our protagonists. Watching them gamble with their life savings was <i>so</i> stressful! Our characters were interesting: Jisong was easily my favourite because she seemed more reasonable and self-aware than the other two. Dahae was a close second: as the narrator, I felt a closeness to her that I didn't with the other two and I particularly liked her development arc as she recognized and called out the greed that her internalized capitalism was manifesting. Eun-sang was pushy and a bully; I admired her strength but she was so mean to her friends and rarely had any introspection about her actions.

The translation was strong: I particularly liked the inclusion of Korean terms, instead of watering down the language for English speakers. The sense of place was well done too: I could vividly see the cafés, Dahae's apartment, the trip to Jeju island. Most of all, I was surprised at the range of emotion I felt while reading: anger at the stupid company and how the women were treated, fear for the risks they were taking, hope that the risks would pay off, empathy for our characters and the choices they were driven to make...

I'm still sitting with some discomfort around the cryptocurrency and job culture themes. This would make an excellent book to discuss with others because it's multi-layered and could be read as both an endorsement and admonishment of both! I'm going with the latter.

The cover art is phenomenal and I liked the chapter structures (and the chapter heading font!).

I was privileged to have my request to review this book approved by Bloomsbury on NetGalley.

This book was like no other. It had me thinking so deeply not only about society but the state of it and the impact that has on the every day person. How capitalism controls us and we always fall victim too. This book explored themes that not many novels touch but did it in a way that was not too hard to digest and understand. I was intrigued to see where the story would go and absolutely adored our characters. The translation of this novel was done so well and I really enjoyed how it still included some Korean traditions and representation. This is a book for all