Lead Review (The Trunk)

• Book: The Trunk
• Location: Seoul, South Korea
• Author: Kim Ryeo-ryeong, Kolab (translation team)

Review Author: tripfiction

Well, this is different! Wedding & Life (WL) is the most exclusive matchmaking service in Korea. The agency caters for people who ‘want to have a slightly unorthodox marriage’. And to be absolutely clear, it is not an escort service. So now you know. Basically people can experience the perfect (hah!) marriage for one year with a professional contract spouse.

This is Inji’s story who has several spouses under her belt, working, as she does as a Field Wife (FW). Her most recent ‘husband’ has requested that she contract with him afresh. A ‘rematch’ after a first marriage will get you good performance reviews, so it is worth doing.

Get ready for an early slew of acronyms as you ease into this oddball story, and of coursethere are echoes of Squid Game. Ready?

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Billed as a page-turning satirical Korean feminist thriller (already picked up for Netflix), this K-drama is more an exploration of partnership and everything that goes with it, with an overlay of wry humour. How do people normally approach marriage and what aspects do they bring? Here, the FW is particularly on her mettle because of the clauses in her contract.

The impact of life events, travel, daily routine and the usual aspects of a couple functioning within society are naturally part of the scene in this book but the dynamic between the partners is aligned in a novel way. There are perfunctory descriptions of sex, porn and food, and all kinds of daily activities to keep the happy couple on track. So, in many ways the story is a familiar one, but in others it feels quite alien. A bit of mystery is thrown in which adds an interesting perspective to the very energetic prose.

The translation of this book is an interesting aspect: In July 2023, a group of 13 students from across Australia, met online and set out on a 12-week translation project of the book, led by Dr Adam Zulawnik (University of Melbourne) and Dr Paik Yonjae (CHL, ANU). “The book is proof of the exciting results cross-institutional collaboration, practice-based learning, and student talent can produce“. What an interesting approach to the translation process.

Overall I feel this novel is aimed at a younger audience, there is no real depth of character to carry the reader along and the writing – whether reflective of the original Korean or of the translation – comprises a simple style that makes the narrative feel a little one-dimensional. Korean culture is very popular at the moment and this book certainly taps into that trend.

It has been compared to Yellowface and Convenience Store Woman, but to my mind, having read both, they appealed more to me than this title.

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