THE RAINFALL MARKET by You Yeong-Gwang

Translated by Slin Jung

When it comes to visibility on the world stage (and my bookshelf), Korean literature is really having a moment. From the harrowing brutality of 2024 Nobel laureate Han Kang, to the sublime quirkiness of Cho Nam-Joo and the epic fantasy of Bae Myung-Hoon, there’s something that speaks to the human condition in a way that many other bodies of literature just don’t. I’ve loved the heady mix of ennui, fear, and dissatisfaction, refracted through a prism of magical realist wonder that drives much of what I’ve read.

So it is with The Rainfall Market, a notably Ghibli-esque treatment of the Korean zeitgeist. A young girl, dissatisfied with her life, applies for a ticket to the Rainfall Market where, it is said, you can exchange your life for another, better one. She scores the coveted Golden Ticket and sets off to claim her prize. What follows is the reading equivalent of a video game - she goes from stall to stall, meeting oddball monsters and glimpsing alternate realities through magic orbs. Meanwhile, darkness brews and the inevitable big boss battle looms. It’s sweet, twee and predictable but may well make the perfect soft landing into your next favourite world lit locale.

The Rainfall Market by You-Yeong Gwang (Tr. Slin Jung)
Penguin Michael Joseph, 2024
196 pages