Folklorn

Ancient family and cultural folklore from an unreliable narrator.

Although the book opens in the icy Arctic, this story reminds me of a family sitting around a warm fire, sharing a mix of ancient folk stories and family lore. Elsa becomes something of an unreliable narrator as she descends deeper into her memories and the archaic Korean folktales she grew up with. Her real life weaves intricately with the past and the myths, creating a psychedelic texture. The grasp Elsa has on reality and her mental health is tenuous, but by the end of the book, you think she finally might be okay. I will not pretend to understand all the implications of this story, it was so kaleidoscopic I think I'm still processing the character development. And at the end of the day, it comes from a culture with which I am completely unfamiliar. I found myself afloat on an ocean of family dynamics and rich cultural folklore-- lost at sea in the best way.
This book is for adults who liked Mona (Pola Oloixarac) or movies like Across the Universe (2007) and Big Fish (2003).