Book Review: Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah
Wondering whether Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah is worth reading? Here are my honest thoughts on this supposedly “un-Korean” novel.
Untold Night and Day (at a glance)
Author: Bae Suah
Genre: Literary fiction / translated fiction / surreal fiction
Published: 2020 (English translation)
My rating: ★★★☆☆
Best for: Readers who enjoy experimental, dreamlike narratives and translated Korean literature
Untold Night and Day Summary
Untold Night and Day follows Ayomi, an actress in Seoul, over the course of what appears to be a single day and night. However, time quickly becomes unstable, and the narrative shifts in ways that make it difficult to tell what is real and what isn’t.
As the story unfolds, different characters, versions of events, and repeating motifs begin to blur together, creating a disorienting, almost hallucinatory reading experience.
Untold Night and Day Review
I… have so many questions.
Untold Night and Day is one of the strangest books I’ve read in a long time, and I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it.
At the centre of the novel is Ayomi, but even that feels slightly uncertain by the end.
The writing has a distinctly dreamlike quality, and as the story progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult to tell who, or what, is real.
Is the whole thing a hallucination?
Is Ayomi herself a ghost?
I genuinely don’t know, and I’m not sure the novel wants us to know either.
Ayomi isn’t the only focal point, though. The novel is filled with repetitions (names, images, fragments of conversations) that reappear in slightly altered ways across different sections. This creates a constant sense of déjà vu, as though the story is folding in on itself.
I found myself trying to piece everything together, wondering how different parts of the story were connected, but the answers always felt just out of reach.
At times, this worked well. The atmosphere is strong, and there’s something quite immersive about the way the novel pulls you into its strange, disjointed world.
But at other times, I found it frustrating. The lack of clarity made it difficult to stay fully engaged, and I often felt a bit too disconnected from what was happening.
Emotionally, it left me feeling quite unsettled. There’s a slightly eerie, off-kilter tone running throughout the book, and even the writing style itself can feel jarring.
While there were moments where I appreciated how unique it felt, there were also points where it felt a bit too abstract for me to fully connect with.
Is Untold Night and Day worth reading?
This definitely won’t be for everyone.
If you need a clear plot, strong narrative structure, and a resolution tied up in a bow, this will likely feel frustrating.
It’s intentionally ambiguous and doesn’t offer much in the way of answers.
However, if you enjoy experimental fiction you may find this more rewarding than I did.
There’s something interesting about its supposed “un-Koreanness” (as described by the book’s translator!) and the way it challenges traditional storytelling, even if it didn’t fully land for me.
Final thoughts
I finished Untold Night and Day still trying to piece together what I’d just read.
It’s strange, disorienting, and undeniably unique, but for me, the lack of clarity made it harder to fully connect with.
That said, I can see why it would appeal to readers who enjoy more experimental, dreamlike fiction.
It’s one of those books that will probably work brilliantly for some readers and leave others, like me, feeling slightly lost.
Intrigued? Grab a copy of Untold Night and Day and discover the story for yourself:
Amazon | Bookshop.org (UK)
Check out this post about the best translated Korean books if you’re looking to delve further into Korean literature.
If you’re interested in reading more Korean literature, you may also enjoy these reviews:
