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With the Heart of a Ghost: Stories
With the Heart of a Ghost is a debut collection of eight fantastical stories translated by Chi-Young Kim (Whale) that explore feelings unseen, unconveyed, unexplainable.
The funny, meditative characters who inhabit this book are pulled far from their ordinary daily routines to stare straight into their own sorrows, however they manifest. Ghosts and otherworldly occurrences are folded seamlessly into author Lim Sunwoo’s quiet universe with stories buoyed by humor, warmth, and empathy for the lost and hurt among us.
A ghost who looks just like the narrator reflects her feelings back to her in a bun shop; mutant jellyfish take over the world and if you touch one you become one yourself; a heartbroken man becomes a tree in his ex’s apartment; the ghost of a wannabe K-pop star stuck in a vacuum cleaner wants out; Jugyeong helps a man hibernate by burying him up to his neck; Huiae, in deep conflict with her husband, reconnects with her strange old friend; Jo has lost his best friend–a gecko–but won't give up the search; and Suyeong plots revenge on a wild dog that killed her cats by channeling her inner cat.
For a moment, a short period of your everyday lives, each sparkling story asks you to look within, to encounter all that is desired and strange and possible in life and death.
The funny, meditative characters who inhabit this book are pulled far from their ordinary daily routines to stare straight into their own sorrows, however they manifest. Ghosts and otherworldly occurrences are folded seamlessly into author Lim Sunwoo’s quiet universe with stories buoyed by humor, warmth, and empathy for the lost and hurt among us.
A ghost who looks just like the narrator reflects her feelings back to her in a bun shop; mutant jellyfish take over the world and if you touch one you become one yourself; a heartbroken man becomes a tree in his ex’s apartment; the ghost of a wannabe K-pop star stuck in a vacuum cleaner wants out; Jugyeong helps a man hibernate by burying him up to his neck; Huiae, in deep conflict with her husband, reconnects with her strange old friend; Jo has lost his best friend–a gecko–but won't give up the search; and Suyeong plots revenge on a wild dog that killed her cats by channeling her inner cat.
For a moment, a short period of your everyday lives, each sparkling story asks you to look within, to encounter all that is desired and strange and possible in life and death.
200 pages, Hardcover
First published March 25, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
February 16, 2026
In a Nutshell: A speculative stories collection. True to the genre, with a good mix of real and surreal. Character-oriented despite having tricky plots. Good translation. A bit disjointed at times in the storytelling but on the whole, a great debut. Recommended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This debut collection contains eight stories that delve into human feelings while still reaching beyond the human experience into the surreal and the bizarre. It is ‘speculative’ in the true sense of the word, with each of the stories transcending logic without offering pragmatic justifications.
There is no foreword or note introducing the theme of the collection. But the blurb says that these stories “explore feelings unseen, unconveyed, unexplainable” and that “each sparkling story asks you to look within, to encounter all that is desired and strange and possible in life and death.” This effectively captures the crux of the stories: look within while looking beyond, question yourself but don’t question what you don’t understand.
One thing promised by the blurb seems to be a case of *Conditions apply*. It calls the characters of the book “funny and meditative” while cast in stories “buoyed by humour, warmth, and empathy for the lost and hurt among us.” These phrases make the stories appear lighthearted, charming, and even heartwarming. But most of the stories didn’t go down this path for me. Of course, humour is always subjective. If you can approach these tales with a different kind of funny bone, by seeing the wacky storylines as cleverly witty, or by seeing the comedy in the bizarre, you might indeed find some of these stories funny.
To me, the ‘meditative’ qualifier was more consistent with the introspective tone of the stories. Each plot contains some kind of a transformation: either physical or behavioural, sometimes both. So the dominant tone throughout the book is somewhat melancholic, though it doesn’t really get depressing even during sad events.
The stories are not too fast-paced as they are most character-oriented. At the same time, they don’t drag as well. The author has firm control on where she wants each story to go, and wields this effectively. I enjoyed how the stories, despite being so eccentric in their plotlines, still focus so intently on human behaviour and responses. It’s rare for a speculative collection to make me wonder what I would do in the character’s place.
The fantastical content of these stories is quite creative by itself, but it hits harder because the setting of each story is the ordinary world. All eight stories are based in the author’s country (South Korea), and the world she portrays seems real even with the surreal. It’s like the characters are used to bizarre events and take it as an acceptable and routine part of their life even when they find it questionable.
Some of the stories wander across multiple subplots that are still tied somehow through the character. It's like our real life when we deal with multiple things at once. However, it is a bit trickier to keep up with so many threads in fiction, especially in short fiction that gets a relatively limited time to sort things out. As such, the endings are a grey area. I liked some of them, but for others, I would have loved to see some extended information on what happened next.
This collection was originally published in Korean in 2022. A part of me wonders if being written during the lockdown influenced the introspective tone of the stories. The author’s note at the end doesn’t mention the pandemic, but it hints at each story coming from having “too many thoughts” and how she realised that thinking can lead to freedom. She shares some vignettes that led to the conception of each story; it is quite interesting to see the variation between each vignette and the end result. The translation of the book seems impeccable; at not point did I find the language constricted or awkward.
As always, I rated the stories individually. Because I had prepared myself for a whimsical reading experience, two of the stories scored a bit lower as they had only minimal speculative content. The rest were fairly strong entries, earning three or more stars easily. These were my favourites, with 4+ stars each.
Overall, this is quite an excellent collection, though it might not be the right fit for every reader. Anyone who needs earthy plotlines, detailed explanations, and neat endings might not like this set of stories. But those who enjoy the juxtaposition of the internal and the metaphysical, who love to explore the link between natural cause and effect, and who can go with the flow even when the flow isn’t straightforward, this debut collection can offer an enriching experience.
Recommended to fans of speculative fiction and translated short fiction.
3.7 stars, based on the average of my rating for each tale.
My thanks to Unnamed Press for providing the DRC of “With the Heart of a Ghost” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I follow the Goodreads rating policy:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Lifelong favourite!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I loved the book.
⭐⭐⭐ - I liked the book.
⭐⭐ - I found the book average.
⭐ - I hated the book.
The decimals indicate the degree of the in-between feelings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This debut collection contains eight stories that delve into human feelings while still reaching beyond the human experience into the surreal and the bizarre. It is ‘speculative’ in the true sense of the word, with each of the stories transcending logic without offering pragmatic justifications.
There is no foreword or note introducing the theme of the collection. But the blurb says that these stories “explore feelings unseen, unconveyed, unexplainable” and that “each sparkling story asks you to look within, to encounter all that is desired and strange and possible in life and death.” This effectively captures the crux of the stories: look within while looking beyond, question yourself but don’t question what you don’t understand.
One thing promised by the blurb seems to be a case of *Conditions apply*. It calls the characters of the book “funny and meditative” while cast in stories “buoyed by humour, warmth, and empathy for the lost and hurt among us.” These phrases make the stories appear lighthearted, charming, and even heartwarming. But most of the stories didn’t go down this path for me. Of course, humour is always subjective. If you can approach these tales with a different kind of funny bone, by seeing the wacky storylines as cleverly witty, or by seeing the comedy in the bizarre, you might indeed find some of these stories funny.
To me, the ‘meditative’ qualifier was more consistent with the introspective tone of the stories. Each plot contains some kind of a transformation: either physical or behavioural, sometimes both. So the dominant tone throughout the book is somewhat melancholic, though it doesn’t really get depressing even during sad events.
The stories are not too fast-paced as they are most character-oriented. At the same time, they don’t drag as well. The author has firm control on where she wants each story to go, and wields this effectively. I enjoyed how the stories, despite being so eccentric in their plotlines, still focus so intently on human behaviour and responses. It’s rare for a speculative collection to make me wonder what I would do in the character’s place.
The fantastical content of these stories is quite creative by itself, but it hits harder because the setting of each story is the ordinary world. All eight stories are based in the author’s country (South Korea), and the world she portrays seems real even with the surreal. It’s like the characters are used to bizarre events and take it as an acceptable and routine part of their life even when they find it questionable.
Some of the stories wander across multiple subplots that are still tied somehow through the character. It's like our real life when we deal with multiple things at once. However, it is a bit trickier to keep up with so many threads in fiction, especially in short fiction that gets a relatively limited time to sort things out. As such, the endings are a grey area. I liked some of them, but for others, I would have loved to see some extended information on what happened next.
This collection was originally published in Korean in 2022. A part of me wonders if being written during the lockdown influenced the introspective tone of the stories. The author’s note at the end doesn’t mention the pandemic, but it hints at each story coming from having “too many thoughts” and how she realised that thinking can lead to freedom. She shares some vignettes that led to the conception of each story; it is quite interesting to see the variation between each vignette and the end result. The translation of the book seems impeccable; at not point did I find the language constricted or awkward.
As always, I rated the stories individually. Because I had prepared myself for a whimsical reading experience, two of the stories scored a bit lower as they had only minimal speculative content. The rest were fairly strong entries, earning three or more stars easily. These were my favourites, with 4+ stars each.
👻 With the Heart of a Ghost: I just don't know how to describe this story, or even to explain what happened in it. The surreal content was not understandable to my grounded brain but still enjoyable to my heart. A creative and emotionally rich story. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
🌊 You're Not Glowing: A beautiful albeit bittersweet story. When it began, I thought it would go the typical end-of-the-world apocalypse way with mutant jellyfish instead of aliens. But it turned out to be a tale rich in exploring human psychology during times of uncertainty. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍃 Summer, like the Color of Water: A wonderful introspective story even though it left me wanting more clarification at the end. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🎭 Curtain Call, Extra Inning, Last Pang: As this started, I thought this would end up a depressing story about lost chances and regrets. While it did have that undertone of sadness, it turned out to be a story of grabbed chances and hopes. A lovely story to wind up the collection with. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall, this is quite an excellent collection, though it might not be the right fit for every reader. Anyone who needs earthy plotlines, detailed explanations, and neat endings might not like this set of stories. But those who enjoy the juxtaposition of the internal and the metaphysical, who love to explore the link between natural cause and effect, and who can go with the flow even when the flow isn’t straightforward, this debut collection can offer an enriching experience.
Recommended to fans of speculative fiction and translated short fiction.
3.7 stars, based on the average of my rating for each tale.
My thanks to Unnamed Press for providing the DRC of “With the Heart of a Ghost” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I follow the Goodreads rating policy:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Lifelong favourite!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I loved the book.
⭐⭐⭐ - I liked the book.
⭐⭐ - I found the book average.
⭐ - I hated the book.
The decimals indicate the degree of the in-between feelings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||
June 8, 2026
It had been a long time since I last read a truly quirky work of Korean literature, with Cursed Bunny being the most recent comparison that came to mind. Despite its gentle cover and understated presentation,
With the Heart of a Ghost
contains a surprising blend of melancholy, surrealism, and quiet sensibility.
The collection consists of eight short stories, each built around strange, often fantastical circumstances. Ghosts, coincidences, and otherworldly events drift naturally into everyday life, but the real focus remains on the people caught within these unusual situations. Through these surreal scenarios, Lim Sunwoo explores loneliness, anxiety, grief, and the search for connection with remarkable empathy.
What stood out most to me was the book's compassionate tone. Rather than offering dramatic resolutions or inspirational affirmation, the stories acknowledge pain with a quiet understanding. The comfort they provide feels less like encouragement and more like companionship. The characters' wounds are rarely healed by the end of their stories, yet the narratives never feel hopeless. Instead, they suggest that loneliness and uncertainty are natural parts of being human, emotions to be recognized rather than conquered.
Unfortunately, the collection was not entirely successful for me. The translation's lack of quotation marks and unconventional punctuation often made conversations difficult to follow, forcing me to reread passages to understand who was speaking. While some stories delivered their themes beautifully, others left me confused about their purpose. As the collection progressed, I found my engagement fluctuating significantly; some chapters resonated deeply, while others felt opaque and emotionally distant.
I also wished there had been more substance beneath some of the stories' contemplative ideas. The collection clearly aims to create space for reflection on identity, loneliness, and existence, but not every story developed those themes strongly enough to leave a lasting impression.
That doesn't mean the book is simply depressing as the warmth at the heart of these stories still managed to stay with me. Reading this collection reminded me of emotions I had long neglected and prompted me to reflect on how I care for myself during periods of doubt and uncertainty. Although I didn't enjoy every story, I appreciated the collection's sincerity and its message of self-acceptance.
The collection consists of eight short stories, each built around strange, often fantastical circumstances. Ghosts, coincidences, and otherworldly events drift naturally into everyday life, but the real focus remains on the people caught within these unusual situations. Through these surreal scenarios, Lim Sunwoo explores loneliness, anxiety, grief, and the search for connection with remarkable empathy.
What stood out most to me was the book's compassionate tone. Rather than offering dramatic resolutions or inspirational affirmation, the stories acknowledge pain with a quiet understanding. The comfort they provide feels less like encouragement and more like companionship. The characters' wounds are rarely healed by the end of their stories, yet the narratives never feel hopeless. Instead, they suggest that loneliness and uncertainty are natural parts of being human, emotions to be recognized rather than conquered.
Unfortunately, the collection was not entirely successful for me. The translation's lack of quotation marks and unconventional punctuation often made conversations difficult to follow, forcing me to reread passages to understand who was speaking. While some stories delivered their themes beautifully, others left me confused about their purpose. As the collection progressed, I found my engagement fluctuating significantly; some chapters resonated deeply, while others felt opaque and emotionally distant.
I also wished there had been more substance beneath some of the stories' contemplative ideas. The collection clearly aims to create space for reflection on identity, loneliness, and existence, but not every story developed those themes strongly enough to leave a lasting impression.
That doesn't mean the book is simply depressing as the warmth at the heart of these stories still managed to stay with me. Reading this collection reminded me of emotions I had long neglected and prompted me to reflect on how I care for myself during periods of doubt and uncertainty. Although I didn't enjoy every story, I appreciated the collection's sincerity and its message of self-acceptance.
October 3, 2025
An impressive collection of unsettling, uncanny tales from award-winning South Korean author Lim Sunwoo. The pleasingly whimsical cover is somewhat misleading. Lim Sunwoo does draw on the weird and the fantastical but in order to address quite weighty issues from urban alienation to overwhelming, personal trauma. It’s bookended by inventive variations on the traditional ghost story. The title piece introduces an entity that’s part spirit, part doppelganger to reflect on the soul-destroying sense of isolation that may result from years of repressing emotion. Despite flirting with elements of so-called ‘healing fiction’ it’s well-observed, rescued from sentimentality by Lim Sunwoo’s wonderfully wry delivery. “Curtain Call, Extra Inning, Last Pang” is told from the perspective of someone recently dead allowed to remain in the world for a few hours to bid farewell to their earthly surroundings. It gradually constructs a bleakly-comic meditation on feeling adrift in a fast-paced, highly competitive society.
Presumably inspired by coverage of the ongoing, so-called jellyfish crisis in which swarms of potentially toxic jellyfish have restricted entry to the sea in areas like Jeju and Gangwon, “You’re Not Glowing” depicts a future in which humanity’s continued existence is threatened by hordes of malignant jellyfish. Anyone who touches one is transformed into a zombie-like equivalent. Lim Sunwoo’s deft reworking of the familiar, creature-feature narrative turns this into a moving, insightful exploration of yearning and a search for meaningful connection. Themes around transformation and a thwarted desire for intimacy resurface in “Summer, Like the Colour of Water” where a man searching for his estranged girlfriend is literally rooted to the spot in the studio she once inhabited. His presence is a source of angst and, later, cautious optimism for the new tenant. It’s laced with memorable scenes and images, with intriguing echoes of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian.
Lim Sunwoo’s clearly fascinated by the possibilities arising from splicing together the fantastical and the slice-of-life - in keeping with key influences like Patrick Süskind’s short fiction and Kyoko Okazaki’s searing manga. In “Go Sleep at Home” the disappearance of a pet gecko leads to a bizarre, male bonding ritual involving housecleaning and an abundance of takeaway food. The disturbing, bordering on absurdist, “The Hibernating Guy” presents a low-paid worker in the gig economy with a situation that unexpectedly unleashes a torrent of rage and resentment. It’s an arresting take on the impact of social inequality on struggling, contemporary Koreans. “Even Though It’s Not Alaska” is one of the strangest Christmas stories I’ve ever encountered, centred on an outcast woman plotting to avenge the killing of her beloved cats who’s unexpectedly saved from grief and loneliness through a series of surreal encounters with her tattoo-artist neighbour. At its best, richly imaginative, I particularly enjoyed Lim Sunwoo’s distinctive imagery and eccentric, dreamlike perspective on the everyday. Translated by Chi-young Kim.
Thanks to Edelweiss and publisher The Unnamed Press for an ARC
Presumably inspired by coverage of the ongoing, so-called jellyfish crisis in which swarms of potentially toxic jellyfish have restricted entry to the sea in areas like Jeju and Gangwon, “You’re Not Glowing” depicts a future in which humanity’s continued existence is threatened by hordes of malignant jellyfish. Anyone who touches one is transformed into a zombie-like equivalent. Lim Sunwoo’s deft reworking of the familiar, creature-feature narrative turns this into a moving, insightful exploration of yearning and a search for meaningful connection. Themes around transformation and a thwarted desire for intimacy resurface in “Summer, Like the Colour of Water” where a man searching for his estranged girlfriend is literally rooted to the spot in the studio she once inhabited. His presence is a source of angst and, later, cautious optimism for the new tenant. It’s laced with memorable scenes and images, with intriguing echoes of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian.
Lim Sunwoo’s clearly fascinated by the possibilities arising from splicing together the fantastical and the slice-of-life - in keeping with key influences like Patrick Süskind’s short fiction and Kyoko Okazaki’s searing manga. In “Go Sleep at Home” the disappearance of a pet gecko leads to a bizarre, male bonding ritual involving housecleaning and an abundance of takeaway food. The disturbing, bordering on absurdist, “The Hibernating Guy” presents a low-paid worker in the gig economy with a situation that unexpectedly unleashes a torrent of rage and resentment. It’s an arresting take on the impact of social inequality on struggling, contemporary Koreans. “Even Though It’s Not Alaska” is one of the strangest Christmas stories I’ve ever encountered, centred on an outcast woman plotting to avenge the killing of her beloved cats who’s unexpectedly saved from grief and loneliness through a series of surreal encounters with her tattoo-artist neighbour. At its best, richly imaginative, I particularly enjoyed Lim Sunwoo’s distinctive imagery and eccentric, dreamlike perspective on the everyday. Translated by Chi-young Kim.
Thanks to Edelweiss and publisher The Unnamed Press for an ARC
Want to Read
July 29, 2026i have a love of ghosts, which must be kind of the same thing
February 11, 2026
5⭐️
STUNNING. How lucky we English-speakers are that Unnamed Press decided to share a translation of this collection with us.
Eight stories, inspired by quotidian images - from mirrors, to the movement of water, to trees - exploring a vast landscape of human emotion and endeavor to connect and care. The author does not shy from controversial ideas, nor does she constrain herself to the linear. This is speculative fiction, this is fantasy, this is dystopian; and yet, the struggles of the people in the work are so very relatable and real.
A few of my favorites:
“I was getting worked up. The ghost let me finish ranting and said, I think you’re less out of sorts than disappointed. I shut up at those words. In fact, from the moment the ghost opened its eyes, I’d been feeling deeply disappointed that I wasn’t dead. In the end, we went back into the bakery together.”
With the Heart of The Ghost
“People were really fearful. Maybe the jellyfish weren’t there to be God, or zombies, or to hasten the end of the world. Maybe they were just glowing to the best of their abilities. People, not the jellyfish, were the problem. Everyone had a fear of darkness, so maybe those who couldn’t live with their own darkness were the ones drawn to the creatures’ glow.”
You’re Not Glowing
“Unfortunately for Yu, I didn’t understand people. Why did people sign up for sorrow? The world was already filled with sadness.”
Even Though It’s Not Alaska
And from the author’s note:
“I’ve always had too many thoughts, and at one point considered it a flaw that needed fixing. But as I wrote, I realized that thinking could lead to freedom. The more I think, the freer I can be. I can do this at any time.”
Thank you so very much to author Lim Sunwoo, translator Chi-Young Kim, Unnamed Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a copy in advance of publication.
STUNNING. How lucky we English-speakers are that Unnamed Press decided to share a translation of this collection with us.
Eight stories, inspired by quotidian images - from mirrors, to the movement of water, to trees - exploring a vast landscape of human emotion and endeavor to connect and care. The author does not shy from controversial ideas, nor does she constrain herself to the linear. This is speculative fiction, this is fantasy, this is dystopian; and yet, the struggles of the people in the work are so very relatable and real.
A few of my favorites:
“I was getting worked up. The ghost let me finish ranting and said, I think you’re less out of sorts than disappointed. I shut up at those words. In fact, from the moment the ghost opened its eyes, I’d been feeling deeply disappointed that I wasn’t dead. In the end, we went back into the bakery together.”
With the Heart of The Ghost
“People were really fearful. Maybe the jellyfish weren’t there to be God, or zombies, or to hasten the end of the world. Maybe they were just glowing to the best of their abilities. People, not the jellyfish, were the problem. Everyone had a fear of darkness, so maybe those who couldn’t live with their own darkness were the ones drawn to the creatures’ glow.”
You’re Not Glowing
“Unfortunately for Yu, I didn’t understand people. Why did people sign up for sorrow? The world was already filled with sadness.”
Even Though It’s Not Alaska
And from the author’s note:
“I’ve always had too many thoughts, and at one point considered it a flaw that needed fixing. But as I wrote, I realized that thinking could lead to freedom. The more I think, the freer I can be. I can do this at any time.”
Thank you so very much to author Lim Sunwoo, translator Chi-Young Kim, Unnamed Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a copy in advance of publication.
December 21, 2025
At the end of the last story I bursted into tears. This was absolutely stunning, flawless, life-changing. It’s healing fiction at its very very best, every story was so touching and unique and creative and not at all sentimental while being so hard-hitting.
I’m in awe of Korean lit. Please read outside of Han Kang and please don’t scoff at books with cats on the cover, you’re really missing out on incredible authors.
I’m in awe of Korean lit. Please read outside of Han Kang and please don’t scoff at books with cats on the cover, you’re really missing out on incredible authors.
June 10, 2026
Hayaletin Kalbi, “ölülerin hikayesi”nden çok yaşarken içimizde taşıdığımız görünmez hayaletlerin hikayesi.
Bu kitap Lim Sun-woo’nun ilk kitabı ve bence bu yüzden dili biraz daha ham. Direkt “hayalet hikayesi” anlatmaktan çok, gündelik hayatın içine sızan tuhaf duyguları ve kırılmaları kurcalıyor. Öyküler de çok süslü değil; sade ama bir anda insanın içinde bir şeyleri oynatan türden. İlk kitap olmasına rağmen kendine has bir atmosferi var.
İnsan çoğu zaman en büyük kayıplarını ölümle değil, devam eden hayatın içinde taşır. Söylenmemiş sözler, yarım kalmış ilişkiler, geri dönülemeyen anlar zamanla görünmez bir varlığa dönüşür ya hani; adını koyamadığın ama hep yanında duran bir ağırlık gibi. Hayalet, insanın kendi içinde sakladığı duyguların şekil değiştirmiş hali gibi. Ve belki de en tuhafı, bu hayaletler bizi geçmişe bağladıkları kadar bugünkü kararlarımızı da sessizce yönlendirir.
Yazarın bu noktayı iyi yakalayıp, farklı öykülerde aynı temanın değişik yüzlerini gösterebilmesini de ayrıca başarılı buldum.
Bu kitap Lim Sun-woo’nun ilk kitabı ve bence bu yüzden dili biraz daha ham. Direkt “hayalet hikayesi” anlatmaktan çok, gündelik hayatın içine sızan tuhaf duyguları ve kırılmaları kurcalıyor. Öyküler de çok süslü değil; sade ama bir anda insanın içinde bir şeyleri oynatan türden. İlk kitap olmasına rağmen kendine has bir atmosferi var.
İnsan çoğu zaman en büyük kayıplarını ölümle değil, devam eden hayatın içinde taşır. Söylenmemiş sözler, yarım kalmış ilişkiler, geri dönülemeyen anlar zamanla görünmez bir varlığa dönüşür ya hani; adını koyamadığın ama hep yanında duran bir ağırlık gibi. Hayalet, insanın kendi içinde sakladığı duyguların şekil değiştirmiş hali gibi. Ve belki de en tuhafı, bu hayaletler bizi geçmişe bağladıkları kadar bugünkü kararlarımızı da sessizce yönlendirir.
Yazarın bu noktayı iyi yakalayıp, farklı öykülerde aynı temanın değişik yüzlerini gösterebilmesini de ayrıca başarılı buldum.
February 24, 2026
With the Heart of a Ghost uses the fantastical as a quiet lens through which difficult emotions can be approached with honesty and control.
Ghosts, transformations, and impossible events appear without fanfare, folded naturally into everyday settings. Rather than explaining themselves, the stories trust the reader to sit with ambiguity, discomfort, and emotional tension.
The emotional focus is consistent throughout: unresolved grief, isolation within relationships, and the private logic people develop to survive loss. Some stories resonated more strongly than others, but the collection as a whole maintains a clear thematic coherence. The translation deserves particular praise for preserving a plain, direct tone that allows the emotional weight to emerge without excess ornamentation.
This book will strongly appeal to readers who enjoy literary short fiction, subtle speculative elements, and emotionally introspective writing. Fans of quiet surrealism, contemporary translated fiction, and character-driven stories about grief and disconnection will find a great deal to admire here. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ghosts, transformations, and impossible events appear without fanfare, folded naturally into everyday settings. Rather than explaining themselves, the stories trust the reader to sit with ambiguity, discomfort, and emotional tension.
The emotional focus is consistent throughout: unresolved grief, isolation within relationships, and the private logic people develop to survive loss. Some stories resonated more strongly than others, but the collection as a whole maintains a clear thematic coherence. The translation deserves particular praise for preserving a plain, direct tone that allows the emotional weight to emerge without excess ornamentation.
This book will strongly appeal to readers who enjoy literary short fiction, subtle speculative elements, and emotionally introspective writing. Fans of quiet surrealism, contemporary translated fiction, and character-driven stories about grief and disconnection will find a great deal to admire here. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review
A quietly strange and touching short story collection that leans into surreal ideas without losing sight of the emotions underneath. The author uses odd situations to explore familiar feelings, like loneliness, breakups, grief, the need to be seen.
What I liked most is the gentle, compassionate tone. Even when characters are doing something unsettling or impossible, the writing never judges them. There's a subtle sense of humor that balances the melancholy, and some stories really linger after you finish them, especially the ones that focus on quiet connections between people who feel out of place
Not every story hit the same way. A few felt a bit underdeveloped, and the similar emotional beats across the collection blur together if you read it all at once.
A quietly strange and touching short story collection that leans into surreal ideas without losing sight of the emotions underneath. The author uses odd situations to explore familiar feelings, like loneliness, breakups, grief, the need to be seen.
What I liked most is the gentle, compassionate tone. Even when characters are doing something unsettling or impossible, the writing never judges them. There's a subtle sense of humor that balances the melancholy, and some stories really linger after you finish them, especially the ones that focus on quiet connections between people who feel out of place
Not every story hit the same way. A few felt a bit underdeveloped, and the similar emotional beats across the collection blur together if you read it all at once.
January 17, 2026
“With the Heart of a Ghost” is a South Korean short-story collection filled with so much hope. all 8 of these stories analyzed the human condition through unique storylines and strange, often lonely, characters. from a world in which a woman wants to turn into a jellyfish as a means of escapism, to a man who begins turning into a tree in his ex’s apartment, to the ghost of a k-pop trainee who finally gets her moment on stage; the worlds surrounding these characters are uncanny, but the characters themselves are extremely human. these stories are a reminder of the beauty and power of friendship and connection during a time in which more people than ever feel alone.
many of these stories grapple with themes of love and loss, identity, isolation, and societal expectations. most of these stories were so tender and heartwarming that i could have cried. there were 2 or 3 stories toward the end that just really didn’t do it for me and lessened my overall enjoyment, but the final story got things back on track and made for a perfect conclusion to this collection. i’m so eager to get my hands on a physical copy of this and reread these stories. such a beautiful body of work.
publishing february 10th from the unnamed press! thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
many of these stories grapple with themes of love and loss, identity, isolation, and societal expectations. most of these stories were so tender and heartwarming that i could have cried. there were 2 or 3 stories toward the end that just really didn’t do it for me and lessened my overall enjoyment, but the final story got things back on track and made for a perfect conclusion to this collection. i’m so eager to get my hands on a physical copy of this and reread these stories. such a beautiful body of work.
publishing february 10th from the unnamed press! thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
January 10, 2026
➳ four point two five stars.
“sometimes it felt like my anxiety was living my life for me.”
how can we even begin to describe the wonderfully complex experience of breathing, living, and being in pain on this earth right now? in this collection of paranormal short stories lim sunwoo tries to do exactly that: she describes the small moments that hurt us and deeply change us, and she does so with real care and compassion. trauma often shows up when we least expect it: maybe it’s a ghost or a symbol following us everywhere we go, or maybe it’s the reflection we see in the mirror. i truly loved getting immersed in this world of strange creatures and finding parallels with real life. as long as we feel pain we are still alive.
“i gathered that people wanted to talk about themselves. i still didn’t know what that felt like.”
arc kindly sent by the publisher. all opinions are my own.
———
strangely heartwarming. full rtc!!
———
this collection of paranormal short stories sounds right up my alley!!
“sometimes it felt like my anxiety was living my life for me.”
how can we even begin to describe the wonderfully complex experience of breathing, living, and being in pain on this earth right now? in this collection of paranormal short stories lim sunwoo tries to do exactly that: she describes the small moments that hurt us and deeply change us, and she does so with real care and compassion. trauma often shows up when we least expect it: maybe it’s a ghost or a symbol following us everywhere we go, or maybe it’s the reflection we see in the mirror. i truly loved getting immersed in this world of strange creatures and finding parallels with real life. as long as we feel pain we are still alive.
“i gathered that people wanted to talk about themselves. i still didn’t know what that felt like.”
arc kindly sent by the publisher. all opinions are my own.
———
strangely heartwarming. full rtc!!
———
this collection of paranormal short stories sounds right up my alley!!
November 3, 2025
"Sometimes it felt like my anxiety was living my life for me."
This lovely short story collection was my Halloween read this year. Far from being scary, it explores human emotions and relationships through the first-person narratives of eight characters experiencing various struggles. They’re lonely, remorseful, grief-stricken, heartbroken, disillusioned. But by the end they have all learned something about themselves, acquiring the freedom they might not know they needed, finally able to move on. I found the hopeful endings weirdly comforting.
Some tales were a bit less engaging than others, while a few left so many questions unanswered they seemed unfinished. The lack of speech marks could also get confusing. Nonetheless I like what they all have in common: a good mix of fantastical and realistic elements (Lim expertly criticises the flaws in our society, especially Korea’s). If I had to pick a favourite story, I think I’d go with the first one. Thanks to Unnamed Press via NetGalley for the ARC!
This lovely short story collection was my Halloween read this year. Far from being scary, it explores human emotions and relationships through the first-person narratives of eight characters experiencing various struggles. They’re lonely, remorseful, grief-stricken, heartbroken, disillusioned. But by the end they have all learned something about themselves, acquiring the freedom they might not know they needed, finally able to move on. I found the hopeful endings weirdly comforting.
Some tales were a bit less engaging than others, while a few left so many questions unanswered they seemed unfinished. The lack of speech marks could also get confusing. Nonetheless I like what they all have in common: a good mix of fantastical and realistic elements (Lim expertly criticises the flaws in our society, especially Korea’s). If I had to pick a favourite story, I think I’d go with the first one. Thanks to Unnamed Press via NetGalley for the ARC!
April 19, 2026
Enjoyed the collection far better than I expected. Loved most of the stories and the writing style despite how most endings go bit ambiguous and abrupt— charming in a way with its everyday life scenes mixed in a surreal, mysterious or bizarre backdrop.
From a ghost of your ownself roaming around and people turning to glow jellyfish to finding a guy rooted onto your house floor growing like a tree or getting 10 million for helping out a stranger to prepare for a hibernation; I loved that most centered in an engrossing tale of loneliness, heartbreak, grief, identity unease and one’s fragility. All memorable much to me and my most fav was the last story where the character involved in a sudden death having her soul roaming around waiting for the 100 hours to end before she vanished—poof! 4.3/5*
From a ghost of your ownself roaming around and people turning to glow jellyfish to finding a guy rooted onto your house floor growing like a tree or getting 10 million for helping out a stranger to prepare for a hibernation; I loved that most centered in an engrossing tale of loneliness, heartbreak, grief, identity unease and one’s fragility. All memorable much to me and my most fav was the last story where the character involved in a sudden death having her soul roaming around waiting for the 100 hours to end before she vanished—poof! 4.3/5*
January 24, 2026
This strange, beautiful, unsettling short story collection explores the extremes of human emotion that are, almost always hidden away in quietness or shame.
I loved how the author explored different types of grief, loneliness, and regret. There was good exploration of how capitalism can cause us to lose what is most important to us. And while each story has its unique fantastical element, these themes bring everything together. I also liked how animals and nature featured heavily to represent the things we struggle to deal with as humans and how that contrasted with the city and society and how that can swallow people up.
Some of the stories ended just before I hoped or expected them to, forcing me to sit with that same lack of satisfaction that the characters experienced. I loved how willing the author was to refuse to make things make perfect sense so that you stayed focused on the emotional experience. Because humans really don’t make sense to others sometimes but it doesn’t stop you feeling for them (this idea manifests a few times).
Despite the quietly sad and sometimes heartbreaking stories, there was also humour and hope to be found.
Overall, the messages gently settled in me and made me feel so much. A moving, stunning debut.
I loved how the author explored different types of grief, loneliness, and regret. There was good exploration of how capitalism can cause us to lose what is most important to us. And while each story has its unique fantastical element, these themes bring everything together. I also liked how animals and nature featured heavily to represent the things we struggle to deal with as humans and how that contrasted with the city and society and how that can swallow people up.
Some of the stories ended just before I hoped or expected them to, forcing me to sit with that same lack of satisfaction that the characters experienced. I loved how willing the author was to refuse to make things make perfect sense so that you stayed focused on the emotional experience. Because humans really don’t make sense to others sometimes but it doesn’t stop you feeling for them (this idea manifests a few times).
Despite the quietly sad and sometimes heartbreaking stories, there was also humour and hope to be found.
Overall, the messages gently settled in me and made me feel so much. A moving, stunning debut.
November 14, 2025
This is a collection of strange and sad short stories that left me feeling a bit lonely. I especially loved the jellyfish story, I think it will stay with me for a long time. While each story is unique, I think they all have a similar vibe. While I didn't think so while reading, on reflection I think all of the stories are about loneliness in some way, but in different perspectives. I really enjoyed these and would love to read whatever Lim Sunwoo comes out with next.
October 29, 2025
thank you net galley for the chance to review this arc. highly recommend reading this one if you love magical realism, korean culture and whimsically weird, heartfelt stories about what it means to exist as a human ✨💕
January 11, 2026
This is a collection of speculative supernatural fiction stories that all have paranormal aspects. It blends the paranormal with everyday life. There are eight short stories. Four of them, I really enjoyed. But, the others I struggled to get through. For me the first two and last two stories were the best. My favorite overall was You’re Not Glowing. It literally had me tearing up. Curtain Call, Extra Inning, Last Pang was also very heartwarming and endearing. These stories deal with themes of grief, pet loss, loneliness, self-reflection, and love.
Thanks to Netgalley and Unnamed Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Netgalley and Unnamed Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
November 10, 2025
With the Heart of a Ghost was definitely an experience, just not the one I expected. I thought there’d be more actual ghosts and that cozy, magical realism vibe I usually love, but a lot of the stories felt confusing. A couple were okay, but the others really dragged for me. The idea and the cover are gorgeous, but overall, it was a tough one to get through.
Thank you to Netgalley and Unnamed Press for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you to Netgalley and Unnamed Press for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
February 2, 2026
A debut collection of eight fantastical stories that explore emotions that are hidden and haunting, blending ghosts, surreal transformations, and everyday life. Each story follows characters confronting grief, longing, love, and loneliness in unexpected ways from a jellyfish apocalypses to haunted vacuum cleaners and heartbreak that turns people into trees. Each luminous story invites readers to pause, reflect, and glimpse the strange, fragile, and beautiful possibilities that exist between life and death.
These were easily my favourite stories in the collection. I loved the world shaped by fear and bigotry toward the jellyfish, an unsettling mirror of real-world discrimination, but one that powerfully explored choice and identity. I was especially moved by the tender, reflective narratives of the dead lingering before crossing over on one of the other stories, savouring the small joys they’ll miss, mixed with some light humour that made them event more human. I also enjoyed the one where the characters spirit leaves her body, but she is still able to function and feel the grief of a lost partner, similar to the themes played out in the gentle short story of a man becoming a tree and his acceptance of his fate.
Overall, the collection felt deeply heartwarming yet emotionally resonant, beautifully balancing themes of life and death. While some stories didn’t land quite as strongly, I still appreciated their thematic intent and I do wish a few had been more fully developed or extended.
I’m very excited to read more from this author, especially if they release a novel; their soft, luminous emotional tone feels like exactly the kind of comfort we need in darker times. 3.75/5
Thanks to Unnamed Press and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Available from the 10th February 2026.
These were easily my favourite stories in the collection. I loved the world shaped by fear and bigotry toward the jellyfish, an unsettling mirror of real-world discrimination, but one that powerfully explored choice and identity. I was especially moved by the tender, reflective narratives of the dead lingering before crossing over on one of the other stories, savouring the small joys they’ll miss, mixed with some light humour that made them event more human. I also enjoyed the one where the characters spirit leaves her body, but she is still able to function and feel the grief of a lost partner, similar to the themes played out in the gentle short story of a man becoming a tree and his acceptance of his fate.
Overall, the collection felt deeply heartwarming yet emotionally resonant, beautifully balancing themes of life and death. While some stories didn’t land quite as strongly, I still appreciated their thematic intent and I do wish a few had been more fully developed or extended.
I’m very excited to read more from this author, especially if they release a novel; their soft, luminous emotional tone feels like exactly the kind of comfort we need in darker times. 3.75/5
Thanks to Unnamed Press and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Available from the 10th February 2026.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
With the Heart of a Ghost
This is a collection of 8 short stories originally written in Korean by Lim Sunwoo and translated into English by Chi-Young Kim.
This collection carried a deeply melancholic tone throughout, and there was always an underlying sense of unease in the stories. I could never predict where any of them were headed, each one unfolded in a strange, often bizarre way that kept me unsettled and curious.
For me, this was a mixed collection overall, but the first two stories were really good. Their ideas and execution were exceptional.
The author writes about human emotions with remarkable depth and nuance, capturing grief, loss, isolation, and emotional repression in ways that feel both surreal and painfully real.
The opening story, With the Heart of a Ghost, follows a protagonist whose ghost separates from her body and gives voice to all the emotions she has long suppressed. Watching her finally confront and release these feelings felt cathartic and deeply moving. The second story, You’re Not Glowing, is about zombie jellyfish that can turn humans into jellyfish upon contact. We see how some people begin to choose this transformation willingly, offering a striking and thought-provoking insight into human longing and escape.
These two stories are now firmly on my list of all-time favourite short stories.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to @netgalley and @unnamedpress for providing the eARC of this book.
This is a collection of 8 short stories originally written in Korean by Lim Sunwoo and translated into English by Chi-Young Kim.
This collection carried a deeply melancholic tone throughout, and there was always an underlying sense of unease in the stories. I could never predict where any of them were headed, each one unfolded in a strange, often bizarre way that kept me unsettled and curious.
For me, this was a mixed collection overall, but the first two stories were really good. Their ideas and execution were exceptional.
The author writes about human emotions with remarkable depth and nuance, capturing grief, loss, isolation, and emotional repression in ways that feel both surreal and painfully real.
The opening story, With the Heart of a Ghost, follows a protagonist whose ghost separates from her body and gives voice to all the emotions she has long suppressed. Watching her finally confront and release these feelings felt cathartic and deeply moving. The second story, You’re Not Glowing, is about zombie jellyfish that can turn humans into jellyfish upon contact. We see how some people begin to choose this transformation willingly, offering a striking and thought-provoking insight into human longing and escape.
These two stories are now firmly on my list of all-time favourite short stories.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to @netgalley and @unnamedpress for providing the eARC of this book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
[ARC REVIEW 📖]
With the Heart of a Ghost : Stories
Author : Lim Sunwoo
Translator : Chi-Young Kim
Heads up, there are certain topics discussed that may trigger unwanted responses, please be aware of suicide, animal abuse, & death.
This book is made up of a collection of eight short stories exploring the complexities of human emotions metaphorically. Some introspective, others speculative, as well as meditative & reflective.
Each of these imaginative tales have interesting premises, all unique in their own way of interpretation, tackling different issues like regret, grief, loss, and unresolved feelings.
It is compelling & captivating in its own way because the narrative is a collision of the supernatural & the paranormal with the real mundane everyday life. It is practically a balance of the unexplainable as surreal & the heart-wrenching truth of reality.
There were no likeable characters nor a really striking development from any of them. The narrative all throughout remained dry & monotonous. May not be for everyone's taste.
Thank you Netgalley & Unnamed Press for giving me this opportunity. 🥹🫶
3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
P.S. Follow me for more book reviews on:
❥ Instagram @bookwormdenz
❥ Threads @denz.kaye
❥ Meta @bookworm.denz
❥ Goodreads @bookwormdenz
With the Heart of a Ghost : Stories
Author : Lim Sunwoo
Translator : Chi-Young Kim
Heads up, there are certain topics discussed that may trigger unwanted responses, please be aware of suicide, animal abuse, & death.
This book is made up of a collection of eight short stories exploring the complexities of human emotions metaphorically. Some introspective, others speculative, as well as meditative & reflective.
Each of these imaginative tales have interesting premises, all unique in their own way of interpretation, tackling different issues like regret, grief, loss, and unresolved feelings.
It is compelling & captivating in its own way because the narrative is a collision of the supernatural & the paranormal with the real mundane everyday life. It is practically a balance of the unexplainable as surreal & the heart-wrenching truth of reality.
There were no likeable characters nor a really striking development from any of them. The narrative all throughout remained dry & monotonous. May not be for everyone's taste.
Thank you Netgalley & Unnamed Press for giving me this opportunity. 🥹🫶
3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
P.S. Follow me for more book reviews on:
❥ Instagram @bookwormdenz
❥ Threads @denz.kaye
❥ Meta @bookworm.denz
❥ Goodreads @bookwormdenz
July 11, 2026
2.5⭐️ oyku kitaplarini normalde sevmem, bunun konusu ilgimi cektigi icin sans vermistim ama sevemedim. ilk birkac hikaye cidden ilgi cekiciydi ama sonra kendimi okumak , kitabi bitirebilmek icin zorlarken buldum. reading slump'a sokacakmis gibi hissettigim icin bitmesine 40-50 sayfa varken biraktim kitabi....tam bitirmedim yani.
February 24, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and The Unnamed Press for the ARC! This definitely is outside of my comfort zone and I wasn’t expecting some of these stories!
It was engaging, intriguing and I really enjoyed the jellyfish fish story the most!
It was engaging, intriguing and I really enjoyed the jellyfish fish story the most!
April 2, 2026
one star feels a bit harsh, but this short story collection did absolutely nothing for me. collections are at least a sold three—i had a few standouts, and others i can appreciate what they were and what they served to the entirety. however, only one story stuck out to me and that was “you’re not glowing.” the rest fell flat and while i understand these were meant to be read as slice of life and allow space to contemplate what it means to exist as a person and as a member of society, there wasn’t enough substance to get to that point. i almost wonder if the order the stories were placed in were part of its downfall, too…
July 20, 2026
i've had this book out from the library for genuinely months and finally used it as an exercise in lengthening my attention span! first book i've read in over a year without an audiobook accompaniment! yay!
October 15, 2025
Jellyfish fiction is so important
Standouts:
- You're Not Glowing
- Summer, Like the Colour of Water
- Even Though It's Not Alaska
Standouts:
- You're Not Glowing
- Summer, Like the Colour of Water
- Even Though It's Not Alaska
July 27, 2026
Note: I reviewed each individual story below and the collection as a whole. I did hide spoilers as best as I could but I do discuss the premise of each story.
I was drawn to this book because of its cover and liked the idea of a magical realism story collection with a supernatural element (the cover has nothing to do with any of the stories, if you were wondering, it's just a cool cover). However, the stories themselves were disappointing with only two really good stories in the bunch, and one I'm not sure if it was just good in the context of all the others being so not good.
Not good how? One major flaw that most of the stories have is that almost all the stories END on the rising action or with major, unresolved plot points. I love ambiguity in short fiction, but there are a shocking number of unfired Chekhov's guns throughout. I'll briefly go over each story below so you can decide for yourself (and I recommend which ones to read if you want me to curate your reading experience, how kind of you to ask).
Another hallmark of these stories that make them a little hard to discuss is that the narrators almost never have a gender defined. Why is that important? Because a lot of the stories involve ex's and knowing if a couple is queer, for example, would add a layer to the stories. When a story is short, knowing is some is a man or a woman helps the reader fill in gaps in characterization. Is the security guard a man or a woman? Younger or older? How does that change the interpretation of the interactions they have with those around them? Is the couple queer? How does that change their decision to stay together in a small town where they don't know anyone? I'll be using a lot of "they" for the narrators below to be safe will only use pronouns when I'm certain (well, as certain as I can be, I might mess up) they are the correct ones.
A List of Repetitions Between Stories:
- the narrator lives with or is friends with an ex- partner who is involved in the plot
- the narrator makes friends with a neighbor
- food is prepared and/or eaten (this happens SO often)
- someone, usually the narrator, lies for no reason
- an animal dies - half of the stories have dead animals (countless jellyfish, a pet gecko, 60 (!!) puppies, and 2 cats) so trigger warning for that
- the story ends on riding action or without the main conflict resolved
Essentially, the basic story is that there's the narrator, they live with or are friends with an ex, something supernatural happens and they become closer because of it, the supernatural element comes to a head with a major event, then the story ends with no resolution.
The two stories that are quite good both address death and dying and end with a character making peace with death, both are poignant (with somewhat absurd supernatural elements for brevity) and one had me crying. I'm an easy cry and I'm not ashamed to admit it!
I'll bold the "good" stories below (I mean, art is subjective or whatnot). I wrote a short synopsis in my reading diary as I went, anway, so maybe this will help you decide if the collection if for you.
1. "With the Heart of the Ghost" - A woman working at a bakery is haunted by herself, literally having an invisible double appear out of nowhere. She can't be away from it, so she and her ghost self go and feed fish leftover potato buns that the fish hate (they can talk to the ghost) and then spend the weekends visiting her ex- in the hospital who has been in a coma for years. Eventually, A good start, one of the few stories with an ending, I had hope for the collection when I read this one.
2. "You're Not Glowing" - The best story in the collection though the title is a little mean, considering. In this story, giant, bioluminescent, alien jellyfish invade earth but it's just inconvenient rather than world ending. (Realistic, unfortunately.) The narrator lives with their boyfriend as unemployed musicians. Note: I think this couple is queer but I didn't notice a gender marker for the narrator that I can't remember now, so I'm going to use "they." The boyfriend gets a very dangerous job killing (?) and cleaning up jellyfish that come on shore. If they touch you, you are transformed into a jellyfish and sometimes his crew mates are transformed. He stinks of dead fish all the time and hates the jellyfish. But because of people are strange, some folks decide they want to become jellyfish themselves, so the narrator gets a job assisting people in their transformation and release into the ocean. It's then that they get a client who is unable to completely transform, keeping her human mind and ability to communicate. She fails to thrive and slowly shrinks, confessing that she just wanted to "glow" at one point in her life. The story ends with I CRIED.
3. "Summer, Like the Color of Water" - Story three is about a man who comes home from being deployed and refuses to leave until he sees his ex-girlfriend who has moved away in his absence. The new woman in the apartment tells him to leave but he can't, he's become stuck to the floor by literal roots. As the days go by the man slowly turns into a tree while the woman contemplates the repetitions in her life after her partner's passing and her boring job. In the end, My worries began with this ending because it was a bit too open, but I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt. That's because it's implied
4. "That Unfamiliar Night" - Fourth story was the first real dud, in my opinion, with no real supernatural element, no real ending of catharsis. It follows a woman undergoing fertility struggles feeling pressured by her father in law as she reconnects with her best friend from high school who has joined a cult. They had a falling out when the friend's father killed 60 puppies by keeping them in the back of a hot truck (did he own a puppy store??) and everyone shunned the girl. Why 60?! Anyway, it felt like it could have gone somewhere because the friend was like "I saved the puppies," so I was like uh oh does she having some resurrection powers? Coupled with the fertility stuff this could get gnarly! I was scared! ...
5. "Go Sleep at Home" - Fifth story is another meh one for me. Basically a pathological liar named Jo loses his pet gecko and gets tricked into becoming friends with his upstairs neighbor. Do they ever find the gecko which is what the whole story is about? Meanwhile, the narrator (Jo's ex, of course) seems to be greeting a lucky ghost at work but as soon as it feels like that plot point is going to be picked up the story ends, huh? Stop it.
6. "The Hibernating Guy" - It was at this that I realized the collection was not working out. Nearly every story features a couple that broke up but still lives together, it's so odd. In the sixth story a guy wants to hibernate so he pays a woman (the narrator) a lot of money to bury him up to his neck. Then she visits him and spits in his face. Then her ex- keeps going and visiting the guy to give him water even though it's bad for his hibernation. The narrator THE END. Oh, what happens to the hibernating guy?
7. "Even Though it's Not Alaska" - In quite possibly the most convoluted story in the collection, the narrator decides to become "an assassin" to hunt down the wild dogs that killed the stray cats he fed. Hey ... bring the cats inside and that won't happen. Anyway, they also become - what's that? say it with me - friends with their neighbor! Who, in this case, is boring a hole through their shared ceiling/floor by staring at the ceiling at night in bed. They end up using voodoo dolls and the narrator catches one of the dogs and the neighbor's boyfriend breaks up with her. The narrator is going to torture the dog for information (they can, occasionally, communicate with animals and believe themselves to be a cat), but the dog has a collar and is starving so they hesitate. The dog, by the way, is like "just kill me," and I'm like wtf this is so sad, find their owner! Then the ceiling caves in because the downstairs neighbor's staring hole got too big. What happens to the dog? Does the ceiling keep collapsing? Do the characters learn anything? Do they all die?!
8. "Curtain Call, Extra Inning, Last Pang" - And finally, as all hope seemed lost, the collection ends on a high note (though the title of this story is like ??? what?). At the beginning of the story a middle aged woman dies when a restaurant sign falls on her head and a pigeon shows up to tell her she has 100 hours before she will vanish. She has 24 hours to make peace, and can self-vanish anytime between 24 and 100 hours by pressing a button that pops out of her stomach. She decides to go to a Coldplay concert but it sucks so she leaves during the first song, perhaps the most relatable thing in this whole collection. While at the venue she meets the ghost of an idol-in-training who starved herself to death trying to get thin, and has been accidentally sucked up by a vacuum. She doesn't want her last moments to be spent trapped with dust and trash, so the narrator decides to wait with her. Another ghost shows up, helps the girl out of the vacuum, and they all spend his last moments together. The narrator then It was supernatural, touching, funny in parts, and anti-Coldplay; in other words, a great story.
I don't want to roast this collection, but I feel like it needed more time before publication. I never really blame debut authors; who can ever see the forest for the trees? But I do blame editors. Half of these stories could have been sent back, the list of repetitions above addressed, and this debut collection could have been all the better for it because the potential is there. However, if you're going to do an ambiguous ending, there's so much more to it than simply no longer writing. It's more easing the reader into a pit of contemplation rather than dropping them off a cliff of unanswered questions. "The Man in the Well" by Ira Sher is an excellent example of a fully realized story with an ambiguous ending, as is "The Thing in the Forest" by AS Byatt. You have to gather some of the threads, you have to fire Chekov's gun, you cannot end on the rising action.
On the whole, I recommend going to a bookstore, taking this volume over to the coffee area, and reading the second and last stories. You'll be glad you did and you will have read the best of what the collection has to offer (at least in my opinion).
I was drawn to this book because of its cover and liked the idea of a magical realism story collection with a supernatural element (the cover has nothing to do with any of the stories, if you were wondering, it's just a cool cover). However, the stories themselves were disappointing with only two really good stories in the bunch, and one I'm not sure if it was just good in the context of all the others being so not good.
Not good how? One major flaw that most of the stories have is that almost all the stories END on the rising action or with major, unresolved plot points. I love ambiguity in short fiction, but there are a shocking number of unfired Chekhov's guns throughout. I'll briefly go over each story below so you can decide for yourself (and I recommend which ones to read if you want me to curate your reading experience, how kind of you to ask).
Another hallmark of these stories that make them a little hard to discuss is that the narrators almost never have a gender defined. Why is that important? Because a lot of the stories involve ex's and knowing if a couple is queer, for example, would add a layer to the stories. When a story is short, knowing is some is a man or a woman helps the reader fill in gaps in characterization. Is the security guard a man or a woman? Younger or older? How does that change the interpretation of the interactions they have with those around them? Is the couple queer? How does that change their decision to stay together in a small town where they don't know anyone? I'll be using a lot of "they" for the narrators below to be safe will only use pronouns when I'm certain (well, as certain as I can be, I might mess up) they are the correct ones.
A List of Repetitions Between Stories:
- the narrator lives with or is friends with an ex- partner who is involved in the plot
- the narrator makes friends with a neighbor
- food is prepared and/or eaten (this happens SO often)
- someone, usually the narrator, lies for no reason
- an animal dies - half of the stories have dead animals (countless jellyfish, a pet gecko, 60 (!!) puppies, and 2 cats) so trigger warning for that
- the story ends on riding action or without the main conflict resolved
Essentially, the basic story is that there's the narrator, they live with or are friends with an ex, something supernatural happens and they become closer because of it, the supernatural element comes to a head with a major event, then the story ends with no resolution.
The two stories that are quite good both address death and dying and end with a character making peace with death, both are poignant (with somewhat absurd supernatural elements for brevity) and one had me crying. I'm an easy cry and I'm not ashamed to admit it!
I'll bold the "good" stories below (I mean, art is subjective or whatnot). I wrote a short synopsis in my reading diary as I went, anway, so maybe this will help you decide if the collection if for you.
1. "With the Heart of the Ghost" - A woman working at a bakery is haunted by herself, literally having an invisible double appear out of nowhere. She can't be away from it, so she and her ghost self go and feed fish leftover potato buns that the fish hate (they can talk to the ghost) and then spend the weekends visiting her ex- in the hospital who has been in a coma for years. Eventually, A good start, one of the few stories with an ending, I had hope for the collection when I read this one.
2. "You're Not Glowing" - The best story in the collection though the title is a little mean, considering. In this story, giant, bioluminescent, alien jellyfish invade earth but it's just inconvenient rather than world ending. (Realistic, unfortunately.) The narrator lives with their boyfriend as unemployed musicians. Note: I think this couple is queer but I didn't notice a gender marker for the narrator that I can't remember now, so I'm going to use "they." The boyfriend gets a very dangerous job killing (?) and cleaning up jellyfish that come on shore. If they touch you, you are transformed into a jellyfish and sometimes his crew mates are transformed. He stinks of dead fish all the time and hates the jellyfish. But because of people are strange, some folks decide they want to become jellyfish themselves, so the narrator gets a job assisting people in their transformation and release into the ocean. It's then that they get a client who is unable to completely transform, keeping her human mind and ability to communicate. She fails to thrive and slowly shrinks, confessing that she just wanted to "glow" at one point in her life. The story ends with I CRIED.
3. "Summer, Like the Color of Water" - Story three is about a man who comes home from being deployed and refuses to leave until he sees his ex-girlfriend who has moved away in his absence. The new woman in the apartment tells him to leave but he can't, he's become stuck to the floor by literal roots. As the days go by the man slowly turns into a tree while the woman contemplates the repetitions in her life after her partner's passing and her boring job. In the end, My worries began with this ending because it was a bit too open, but I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt. That's because it's implied
4. "That Unfamiliar Night" - Fourth story was the first real dud, in my opinion, with no real supernatural element, no real ending of catharsis. It follows a woman undergoing fertility struggles feeling pressured by her father in law as she reconnects with her best friend from high school who has joined a cult. They had a falling out when the friend's father killed 60 puppies by keeping them in the back of a hot truck (did he own a puppy store??) and everyone shunned the girl. Why 60?! Anyway, it felt like it could have gone somewhere because the friend was like "I saved the puppies," so I was like uh oh does she having some resurrection powers? Coupled with the fertility stuff this could get gnarly! I was scared! ...
5. "Go Sleep at Home" - Fifth story is another meh one for me. Basically a pathological liar named Jo loses his pet gecko and gets tricked into becoming friends with his upstairs neighbor. Do they ever find the gecko which is what the whole story is about? Meanwhile, the narrator (Jo's ex, of course) seems to be greeting a lucky ghost at work but as soon as it feels like that plot point is going to be picked up the story ends, huh? Stop it.
6. "The Hibernating Guy" - It was at this that I realized the collection was not working out. Nearly every story features a couple that broke up but still lives together, it's so odd. In the sixth story a guy wants to hibernate so he pays a woman (the narrator) a lot of money to bury him up to his neck. Then she visits him and spits in his face. Then her ex- keeps going and visiting the guy to give him water even though it's bad for his hibernation. The narrator THE END. Oh, what happens to the hibernating guy?
7. "Even Though it's Not Alaska" - In quite possibly the most convoluted story in the collection, the narrator decides to become "an assassin" to hunt down the wild dogs that killed the stray cats he fed. Hey ... bring the cats inside and that won't happen. Anyway, they also become - what's that? say it with me - friends with their neighbor! Who, in this case, is boring a hole through their shared ceiling/floor by staring at the ceiling at night in bed. They end up using voodoo dolls and the narrator catches one of the dogs and the neighbor's boyfriend breaks up with her. The narrator is going to torture the dog for information (they can, occasionally, communicate with animals and believe themselves to be a cat), but the dog has a collar and is starving so they hesitate. The dog, by the way, is like "just kill me," and I'm like wtf this is so sad, find their owner! Then the ceiling caves in because the downstairs neighbor's staring hole got too big. What happens to the dog? Does the ceiling keep collapsing? Do the characters learn anything? Do they all die?!
8. "Curtain Call, Extra Inning, Last Pang" - And finally, as all hope seemed lost, the collection ends on a high note (though the title of this story is like ??? what?). At the beginning of the story a middle aged woman dies when a restaurant sign falls on her head and a pigeon shows up to tell her she has 100 hours before she will vanish. She has 24 hours to make peace, and can self-vanish anytime between 24 and 100 hours by pressing a button that pops out of her stomach. She decides to go to a Coldplay concert but it sucks so she leaves during the first song, perhaps the most relatable thing in this whole collection. While at the venue she meets the ghost of an idol-in-training who starved herself to death trying to get thin, and has been accidentally sucked up by a vacuum. She doesn't want her last moments to be spent trapped with dust and trash, so the narrator decides to wait with her. Another ghost shows up, helps the girl out of the vacuum, and they all spend his last moments together. The narrator then It was supernatural, touching, funny in parts, and anti-Coldplay; in other words, a great story.
I don't want to roast this collection, but I feel like it needed more time before publication. I never really blame debut authors; who can ever see the forest for the trees? But I do blame editors. Half of these stories could have been sent back, the list of repetitions above addressed, and this debut collection could have been all the better for it because the potential is there. However, if you're going to do an ambiguous ending, there's so much more to it than simply no longer writing. It's more easing the reader into a pit of contemplation rather than dropping them off a cliff of unanswered questions. "The Man in the Well" by Ira Sher is an excellent example of a fully realized story with an ambiguous ending, as is "The Thing in the Forest" by AS Byatt. You have to gather some of the threads, you have to fire Chekov's gun, you cannot end on the rising action.
On the whole, I recommend going to a bookstore, taking this volume over to the coffee area, and reading the second and last stories. You'll be glad you did and you will have read the best of what the collection has to offer (at least in my opinion).
June 25, 2026
çok beğendim
January 11, 2026
Lim Sunwoo has managed to create a collection of short stories that perfectly reflects the everyday beauty of existence through the liminal spaces between life and death. Every story, at its core, speaks to how even our most seemingly insignificant decisions can reroute our lives and within those shifts, we are able to find joy if we look hard enough. These stories emphasize the importance of companionship, of caring for the people around you, of the sincerity of reaching for your dreams- sometimes even after death.
Normally, when I’m invested in a book, I can’t put it down, but I found myself taking a day between stories so that I wouldn’t have to let this collection go too early and I still feel like this book could have been longer. Sunwoo is cemented as a master of literature and I’m looking forward to every new release after this one.
If you need a heartwarming and soul-enriching book to read, “With the Heart of a Ghost” comes out February 10th, 2026. Preorder from an independent bookstore if you have the opportunity. Endless thanks to NetGalley, Unnamed Press, and Lim Sunwoo for the opportunity to review this incredible collection.
Normally, when I’m invested in a book, I can’t put it down, but I found myself taking a day between stories so that I wouldn’t have to let this collection go too early and I still feel like this book could have been longer. Sunwoo is cemented as a master of literature and I’m looking forward to every new release after this one.
If you need a heartwarming and soul-enriching book to read, “With the Heart of a Ghost” comes out February 10th, 2026. Preorder from an independent bookstore if you have the opportunity. Endless thanks to NetGalley, Unnamed Press, and Lim Sunwoo for the opportunity to review this incredible collection.
December 20, 2025
3.5 rounded up!
Thank you so much to the publisher for an E-ARC!
I really liked this collection. Was expecting the stories themselves to be weird which they were but for some reason I was expecting something more?? I'm not sure what which is an odd thing to say but I think more unexplained weirdness, unsettling, than magical
Thank you so much to the publisher for an E-ARC!
I really liked this collection. Was expecting the stories themselves to be weird which they were but for some reason I was expecting something more?? I'm not sure what which is an odd thing to say but I think more unexplained weirdness, unsettling, than magical
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