Enia reviewed Apartment Women by Gu Byeong-mo
a nuanced look at the modern meaning of community
5 stars
I absolutely inhaled this book in 48 hours.
The plot deals with an apartment building community populated by 4 families, who have all chosen to live together in an effort to create a “village” to support them in raising their children in modern day Korea defined by high costs of living, demanding jobs, long commutes to see relatives.
With this book, the author deftly navigates the question of why have so many grown alienated from their families and neighbors.
In my own personal circle of housing advocates there’s often talk of how communal housing would address SF’s housing affordability crisis. And every time it comes up, I think “I would rather let someone scrape my eyeballs out with a rusty spoon than live in communal housing.” I have never liked having roommates, I barely like living with romantic partners. Noooo thank you.
The modern outcome of many people choosing to …
I absolutely inhaled this book in 48 hours.
The plot deals with an apartment building community populated by 4 families, who have all chosen to live together in an effort to create a “village” to support them in raising their children in modern day Korea defined by high costs of living, demanding jobs, long commutes to see relatives.
With this book, the author deftly navigates the question of why have so many grown alienated from their families and neighbors.
In my own personal circle of housing advocates there’s often talk of how communal housing would address SF’s housing affordability crisis. And every time it comes up, I think “I would rather let someone scrape my eyeballs out with a rusty spoon than live in communal housing.” I have never liked having roommates, I barely like living with romantic partners. Noooo thank you.
The modern outcome of many people choosing to live separately and aggressively insisting on privacy comes at least partially from so many feeling the same way. Yes we can romanticize how our ancestors had the literal village but having that village came with costs. Nosy neighbors, lack of physical and mental privacy, being forced into maintaining relationships with people you don’t like.
so seeing this book expose this truth so deftly was really satisfying. It’s a great read.