DallerGut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee Series: Duology Book 1
Published by Wildfire on November 9, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Magical Realism
Pages: 243
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
The first book of Miye Lee's whimsical and moving duology, translated from the Korean language by Sandy Joosun Lee.[Bokinfo].
|| THE NO.1 KOREAN BESTSELLER WITH OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD||In a mysterious town that lies hidden in our collective subconscious, there's a quaint little store where all kinds of dreams are sold . . .
Day and night, visitors both human and animal from all over the world shuffle in sleepily in their pyjamas, lining up to purchase their latest adventure. Each floor in the department store sells a special kind of dream, including nostalgic dreams about your childhood, trips you've taken, and delicious food you've eaten, as well as nightmares and more mysterious dreams.
In Dallergut Dream Department Store we meet Penny an enthusiastic new-hire; Dallergut, the flamboyant owner of the department store; Agnap Coco, producer of special dreams; Vigo Myers, an employee in the mystery department as well as the cast of curious, funny and strange clientele that regularly visit the store. When one of the most coveted and expensive dreams gets stolen during Penny's first week, we follow along with her as she tries to uncover the workings of this wonderfully whimsical world.
A captivating story that will leave a lingering magical feeling in readers' minds, this is the first book in a best-selling duology for anyone exhausted from the reality of their daily life.
My Review
This is a number one best-selling Korean work, and Sandy Joosun Lee translated the version I read for a book club that I am a part of. It was our August pick, and I really had high hopes for this read. I chose to listen to this book on audio, and maybe that was a mistake. I am still not sure. The concept of the book is so interesting, and the cover is such an eye-catcher that I figured it would definitely be one that I enjoy. Sadly, however, I can not say that I enjoyed this book, and honestly, I can not say that I didn’t enjoy this book either. If I am being honest, Reader, I just found the story to be a bit boring and forgettable. I finished this book just days ago, and I can not even remember the main character’s names. I have a vague overview of the story, but I could not give you any specifics. I know it is going to make for a bit of a ridiculous review. One that I probably should not even waste my time writing about, but here I am, wracking my brain for things to say.
The whole story revolves around this store that you can only visit when you are asleep. It is a store where you can purchase any dream that you want, but the currency used for these dreams is not money. You only have to pay for the dream if you have a certain reaction from it once you wake, and at that point, you do not even know if you have paid because it is all done through your feelings and reactions. The story starts out with a young woman (Penny, I just looked up her name) applying for a job in this department store. She has heard that it is the best place to work and that the workers genuinely care about the dreamers. Penny is hired and is allowed to choose which department she wants to work in, and when I say department, I mean which dream area she wants to be in because this store sells all types of dreams for both humans and animals alike. The dreams can be for the napper who stumbles into the store or even for the nighttime sleeper who wants to be swept away from real life and their problems. Penny ultimately decides that she wants to work at the front desk, where she greets people and helps them find the dreams that they are looking to experience.
The story has several characters, which is typically something I enjoy, but again, for the life of me, I could not say who the characters were even if I looked up their names. There are also a number of dreams that take place, and a contest at the end of the season to determine the best dreams and their creators. Think of the creators as artists and their creations as art. There is a theft in the story and a bit of a mystery going on, but again, I could not tell you much about either one of them. Heck, Reader, they might even be the same thing. I can’t be sure. Probably you are thinking, geesh, did she even read this book? I swear to you that I did, but I just was not invested in it. All I kept thinking was I can’t wait for this to be over so I can start another audiobook. I almost DNFed it but didn’t because it was a book club pick and because it was so short. Now, I can’t say that if it were longer, I would not have DNFed it because I probably would have. Reader, I want you to know that I am not writing this review to persuade you not to pick the book up. I think you should give it a try if the synopsis sounds interesting to you. Who knows, you might walk away saying it was the best book you read this year. There is not much more I can say about the book, and I am sorry about that because I really did want to love it. I also can not say much in the way of trigger warnings because I can not remember enough of the story to say if there are any. If you are worried, maybe google it and see what they are or if there are even any concerns. If you decide to pick this one up, please let me know your thoughts because I would be interested in hearing them. Maybe I just missed something in my reading that could have made the book truly wonderful for me. Until Next Time, Reader, Happy Reading.