Although the cover of A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa is beautiful, I didn’t sink into this translation from the Korean as I often do with these books. It wasn’t the fault of the translator, Slin Jung. I think it was the presence of so many Korean names, such as Hwawoldang and character names such as Yeon-hwa. When I didn’t know how to pronounce them, it threw me out of the story every time I encountered one.
Yeon-hwa is twenty-seven when she inherits a sweetshop from her Grandma. Although the traditional shop had been started by her great-great-grandmother and passed down from mother to daughter, Yeon-hwa’s parents died in a car crash when she was ten, so she inherits She hopes to sell it, but the lawyer informs her it’s not in a good section of town for sales. In addition, her Grandma left it with strings attached. First, her Grandma was in debt. In order to inherit, and discover how to pay off the debt, Yeon-hwa must personally run it for one month; open the shop from 10 PM to midnight each business day, and “wait in anticipation”.
It seems Yeon-hwa has inherited a shop that assists the dead in resolving their final problem before they can pass over and reincarnate. To help her, she has a black cat who makes deliveries, and a shaman who brings her supplies. Both are mysterious, and Yeon-hwa only finds herself growing angry that no one will answer her questions, just as her Grandma never answered questions. In order to help the deceased, Yeon-hwa touches them, and listens to their stories. They pay her with an item, and Sa-wol, the shaman, tells her to take them to a local temple, and they will pay her.
Hwawoldang is a boundary between life and death, but it’s also a barrier for Yeon-hwa’s own desires. She tires to overcome her own fears and anger, while wanting forgiveness. She’s angry at her Grandma and Sa-wol, who both kept secrets. She’s angry that she was never close to her Grandma. And, she’s frightened.
A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang was an interesting magical realism story, but it wasn’t the best one I’ve read in this genre. None of the characters or stories really stood out for me. And, as I said, the names were difficult to remember.
A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa. Translated by Slin Jung. William Morrow, 2026. 240p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley supplied by the publisher through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.
The names have been my problem with the few Korean translations that I’ve tried. I don’t tend to have that problem with Japanese translations for some reason.
This is the first translation that has bothered me, Sandy. I haven’t noticed it with other ones I read.
Oh Gee! Sometimes translations don’t get it right!
Carol, I don’t know if it’s the translator who didn’t get it right. The book was easy to read; the characters’ names were not.
I usually have this same problem with names. Sometimes I give them nicknames. Other times I just keep falling out of the story.
That’s the best way to describe it, Karen. I kept falling out of the story.