Kim Ryeo-ryeong’s The Trunk: A Novel Isn’t a Thriller But It’s a Thrilling Read

Today is The Trunk Day!

Netflix is bringing Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun-jin back to the small screen in a show that we have been looking forward to for over a year. The Trunk, coming out today on Netflix, is inspired by Kim Ryeo-ryeong’s novel of the same name.

With trailers and promotional stills as well as an ambiguous blurb leading us down a path of a dark thriller, you open The Trunk: A Novel expecting a web of lies and intrigue, painted with a healthy dose of feminism and satire. I don’t know if that’s what Netflix is concocting for the show but that’s definitely not Kim’s book.

The Trunk: A Novel is indeed an adventure but not one that the blurb, or Netflix’s promotional material, describes.

This review is spoiler-free. Enjoy! You can also find our summary at the bottom if you prefer!

If It Isn’t a Thriller, Then What Is The Trunk: A Novel About?

Far from the picture of a “feminist thriller” that everyone has been trying to sell readers, The Trunk: A Novel is more of an introspective, fairly satirical social and cultural analysis with a light plot and a particular protagonist. As Kim tries to comment on so much of the hypocrisy that surrounds us, she inevitably stretches the plot and the social criticism too thin. However, her efforts are nothing but commendable and, despite its flaws, the result is an offbeat and thoroughly engaging read.

Written in first person, The Trunk: A Novel describes one year in the life of 29-year-old Noh In-ji. In-ji works as a “Field Wife” (FW) in NM (or “New Marriage”), a secret VIP department within a popular matchmaking service called Wedding & Life. As a FW, In-ji is assigned to customers who choose her as a spouse in a fixed-term marriage. As professional spouses, NM’s employees are responsible for all sorts of tasks, ranging from household chores to sex — whatever the client desires. After six years at the company and four different marriages, In-ji is a borderline misanthropic, experienced FW who knows exactly how to do her job well while protecting her own sanity. However, she feels some sort of emptiness in her existence as she’s quickly approaching her 30s without really knowing why her life is the way it is.

The one year in The Trunk: A Novel starts when In-ji finishes her fourth marriage. She soon finds out that her last husband has requested a re-match, which means she’s going to be his wife for another year. In between assignments, she checks on her best friend Shi-jeong, her neighbour Granny, and her parents. She goes on a blind date with Om Tae-seong, a tteok aficionado who In-ji loudly and clearly rejects but who refuses to accept it. From there on, In-ji faces her past, present, and future by discovering sides to her friends, her company, and herself that she never knew before.

Little Plot, Lots of Musings: A Social Commentary Novel

The Trunk: A Novel has very little dialogue and heavily relies on In-ji’s musings, memories, and descriptions. The book doesn’t really have a clear-cut central plot, with several storylines weaving their way through our protagonist’s life. Even though conflicts are raised, none of them are explored in detail or resolved. The most thrilling of these storylines leads to an extremely open ending that feels more like a cliffhanger than anything else.

The universe of The Trunk: A Novel is populated by these elusive storylines that are never given enough time to breathe. Everything seems to happen at the same time and yet, everything seems to be forgotten a minute later. Characters come and go, each of them raising a question in In-ji’s mind. In-ji’s perspective and analysis of the situation are given more weight than the problem itself because we’re discussing matters that are structural challenges, too ingrained in society to be solved by a single woman.

And so, The Trunk: A Novel willingly forgoes the plot to fully focus on social commentary. We’re witnesses and confidants to In-ji’s reflections, her ability to detect, but not fix, these absurdities that surround us justifying her cold, endless cynicism. In-ji’s female rage is detached and weary, resigned to the fact that this is the world we live in.

The Trunk: A Novel on Living In a Hypocrite Society

The Trunk: A Novel is a blunt, unsentimental, and morally grey exploration of marriage, gender, and family. In-ji lives in a world, both personal and public, where love is nothing but a commodity. Whether romantic, platonic, or familial, love in The Trunk is misunderstood, extreme, obsessive, superficial, and egocentric. That expands into a society fully held in the chokehold of capitalism, in which anything (and anyone) can be bought.

It’s strange how The Trunk: A Novel is too similar to our world to be called “dystopian” — after all, In-ji’s struggles as a woman, an employee, and a daughter hit way too close to home. Kim draws, despite her embellishments, a realistic contemporary Korean society through a young woman who is too tired of the world’s bigotry to care about what others expect her to be or do.

Sarcastic and outspoken, In-ji questions everything. And that’s the secret behind The Trunk: the catharsis it induces in the reader. It’s cathartic to see her question the institution of marriage, the role of women in society, and notions of sexuality. Even beyond that, In-ji is also forced to deliberate about parental expectations, intergenerational conflict, queer culture, capitalism, and even the nature of empathy. As she critically examines all these factors, it feels that Kim has placed the evils of our society under a magnifying glass. The words on each page of The Trunk: A Novel are our own muffled screams — we can’t help but chuckle and grind our teeth at times, because we’ve all been In-ji at least once.

Jack of All Trades But Master of None: Much Is Covered, Little Is Properly Explored

In-ji’s honest exploration of conformity and societal norms is unconventional and invigorating albeit fairly superficial. The book isn’t even 250 pages long, after all, and these are complicated topics to discuss. In all its eagerness to put so many matters under close scrutiny, The Trunk: A Novel doesn’t appreciate the complexities within its many subjects.

And so, In-ji’s critique of the world often seems a bit too cursory and the delivery doesn’t hit the right notes all the time. That means that the book doesn’t exactly resonate with the strength it could have had. It’s still an enjoyable and thought-provoking piece of literature that gives voice to women and encourages us to openly dispute the traditional models that suffocate us.

Notes on KoLab’s Translation & Should You Read The Trunk: A Novel?

A special thank you should go to The KoLab for delivering such an excellent translation. Thanks to their hard work, In-ji’s inner monologues and the universe of The Trunk: A Novel feel alive and natural, allowing us to instinctively respond to her musings and commentary.

From what I could gather, Netflix’s The Trunk is a completely different story. Whether or not you enjoy the show, Kim Ryeo-ryeong’s The Trunk: A Novel is well worth a read if you’re looking for a contemporary, unusual examination of the society we live in. Make sure you’re coming for the commentary and not for some enigmatic plot of corruption, murder, or betrayal. Just remember that no, The Trunk: A Novel isn’t a thriller at all. And no, no mysterious trunks are washing ashore anywhere.

No time for the entire review? No problem! Pin our summary!

Have you read The Trunk: A Novel? What did you think of it? Are you watching its Netflix adaptation today? Come back next Wednesday so we can discuss the show together!