Book Reviews1

• English(English)

  [ENGLISH] Lee Yuri Brings Light and Laughter to Darkness

  In her first book translated into English, novelist Lee Yuri brings her hilarious, idiosyncratic brand of fiction to international audiences with Broccoli Punch, a whimsical, varied story collection that will please fans of the early works of Haruki Murakami and Mieko Kawakami. These eight stories, many of which contain elements of magical realism, touch upon heavy themes including grief, depression, and bad breakups, but each is told with accessible, light, and bouncy first-person narration that keeps the pages turning. The opening story, “Red Fruit,” introduces readers to Lee’s unique blend of light, empathetic humor and dark premises. A daughter in her thirties scatters her recently deceased father’s ashes into the soil of a struggling potted plant. Soon, the tree is growing so fast it needs bigger pots and more water, until her father, reincarnated as this tree, begins to talk. “Dad being Dad, he would ask for the weirdest things sometimes,” the narrator tells us. “For instance, he requested that I place him in front of the television so that he could ‘watch’ a show on Korean traditional food all day long (although I wasn’t sure if he was only listening to the show since I had no idea how he could see).” The author’s love of whimsy is also evident in “Drifting,” which features a young woman who is a fanatical fan of an emerging K-pop star. The story starts provocatively, with the young woman clinging to a suitcase full of marijuana as she sinks into the depths of the West Sea, after her car runs off Incheon Bridge. Through flashbacks, we discover the extraordinary lengths to which she’s gone to get close to the star, selling her house to pay for studio time and musical instruments. How does our hero get out of the water? To say more here would ruin the story. The standout of the collection is “Moon Cheese and Biscotti,” which features an unforgettable protagonist, reminiscent of Ignatius J. Reilly from The Confederacy of Dunces—an obese, underachieving adult son still living with his mother. He checks himself into a psychiatric ward, not because he thinks he has a problem but for the benefit of his frustrated mother. When I announced that I was going to join this treatment program, my mother wept, overjoyed. The decision was my present for her sixtieth birthday. I realize it sounds bizarre to say I’m checking into a psychiatric clinic as a birthday present for my mother. But . . . my mother often spoke of how heartbroken she was because of me. The fact that I couldn’t find anyone to marry, how I couldn’t hold down a decent job, and even my obesity was all chalked up to my mental illness. I knew she was wrong. I was merely a confirmed bachelor and magazine contributor who happened to like hamburgers and pizza. The narrator’s experience of treatment leads to magical occurrences, including gaining the ability to converse with rocks. In the hospital, he meets a cast of unusual characters, including a writing therapy guide nicknamed Meatball Spaghetti, as well as Cooker, who is named after the robot in Wallace and Gromit. Like “Drifting,” this story’s surprise ending will surprise and delight readers. The premises of a couple of the included stories feel strained and overly familiar. “Fingernail Shadow” is a straightforward ghost story in which a dead friend reappears to a young married woman, forcing her to reckon with the guilt of her indirect involvement in the friend’s death. Another weaker story is “A Flat World,” which pivots around a middle-school girl—another disappointing child to her stepmom—who turns invisible. Despite these misses, the winning humor and charming plot twists of Lee’s stories give Broccoli Punch broad appeal. The collection is a compelling introduction of a new Korean voice to the US and UK, and this reader looks forward to more of Lee’s imaginative work being translated into English.

  2026-02-05

  by Leland Cheuk

Related Resources1

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  English(English) Document

  [ENGLISH] Lee Yuri Brings Light and Laughter to Darkness