Today’s stack are two very different books — the only thing they have in common is magic, though even that is of completely different sorts.
Marigold Mind Laundry by Jungeun Yun
Imagine being able to wash away painful memories and their associated feelings. That’s exactly what you can do at the Marigold Mind Laundry, thanks to the proprietor, Jieun. As you think about the memories you wish to be rid of, they are turned into stains on a special T-shirt you wear, and then Jieun washes away the stains, leaving you happier and able to pursue new directions in your life.
Though the idea of wiping out bad memories sounds similar to the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, this book has a very different vibe to it. There are a number of different people who come to the shop, with different types of memories they want to forget. There’s a young man who had a brilliant debut film but now feels crushed under the pressure of living up to that reputation, and he wants to forget about filmmaking altogether. An influencer is trapped in a lifestyle of constant attention-seeking and would like to get off the treadmill and just live a normal life. A woman can’t help dwelling on a failed relationship, which keeps her from starting anew. But although Jieun has magical powers and is able to help people find some peace, her own story about how she came to start the laundry has its own twists and turns and she must find ways to deal with her own unresolved pain.
Jieun always presents her customers with a choice, explaining what will be lost if they choose to wash out the stains, so it feels like there are pros and cons in the decision. However, most of the characters in the book do go through with the laundering, and it never seems to have any negative consequences, which felt a little strange to me. It does feel like the book is both trying to tell a story and also giving life advice to its readers, mostly about having a positive attitude — and that can be either inspiring or irritating depending on your own circumstances and beliefs. I don’t know how much my discomfort with parts of the book are cultural, but I often felt a bit more cynical than the author seems to be. Jieun gives one woman the advice that she should smile more (among other things), which may go over differently in Korea but seems like a great way to annoy women in America.
Overall, I thought the book was an interesting read and there were parts that had a sort of fairy tale quality to them, but ultimately I don’t think I agree that wiping your bad memories is a healthy way to grow, so that affected my enjoyment of the story somewhat.
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
This is the first in a 7-book series (so far), and one of the things that surprised me about it is that the first book was originally published in September 2020, and the 7th book was published last month. Dinniman has certainly been prolific in the past four years, and I’m curious to see whether the writing holds up later in the series. The first book, though, is an explosive start and I really enjoyed it.
Here’s the premise: Earth has basically been repossessed by aliens (in a scene a little reminiscent of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and all man-made structures on earth were instantaneously destroyed (along with most of the world’s population if they were inside at the time). Carl and his girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, happened to be outside in the freezing cold at 3am, so he survived.
And that’s how they found themselves participating in Dungeon Crawler World, a reality show watched by trillions of beings all over the universe — the “crawlers” have to fight their way through dungeons, looking for stairwells down to the next level, and if somebody completes level 18, they have a chance to reclaim their planet. It’s like a videogame, even down to the way that the crawlers have a display and menu systems that they can see and control with their minds. They get achievements, loot boxes, and level up as they fight things like goblins and giant grubs and lava-spitting llamas. And they’ll need to level up a lot, because each time you go to the next floor, things get harder.
Not only do Carl and Princess Donut have to deal with a bunch of monsters, but other crawlers aren’t necessarily friendly, either. And then there’s the audience: if you get a bunch of followers, they can sponsor you and get you better loot — which means it’s not just a fight for survival, but it’s also a performance. Princess Donut absolutely loves a crowd, but Carl hates the way that he’s forced to behave a certain way to keep viewers happy. It also quickly becomes clear that the people who give them advice and instructions have their own hidden agendas, and it’s hard to know who to trust. (The answer, of course, is “no one.”)
The book is a wild romp, filled with a lot of humor and videogame tropes, and has a good mix of action and drama. Carl and Princess Donut (who gained the ability to talk when she entered the dungeon) make a great odd couple, and the capitalist dystopia behind this reality show is morbidly fascinating. It’s not for kids (lots of language, gore, and innuendo) but if you like dungeon crawler videogames, reality TV, or sassy cats, this book is probably for you.
I finished reading the first book in a matter of days and have already started in on the second, Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, so you’ll definitely be hearing more about this series from me. The first seven books are available now in case you want to binge them, but there are also newer editions from Ace Books with new cover art and some bonus material — the first three in this line are already out, with more coming next year.
My Current Reads
These two books were definitely a bit of escapism for me, but I’ve got some other non-fiction books queued up for when I’m ready to dive into something a bit more serious. Among them are Against Platforms by Mike Pepi (about what went wrong with our digital technologies) and These Strange New Minds by Christopher Summerfield (about AI and its ability to talk — and whether it can reason).
Disclosure: I received review copies of these books. Affiliate links to Bookshop.org help support my writing and independent booksellers.
