The Marigold Mind Laundry by Jungeun Yun, Shanna Tan (Translator) - Book Review

Publication Date: 01st Oct 2024 

Genre: Magic Realism, Cozy Contemporary 

3.5 Stars 

One Liner: Soothing 

When a young Jieun accidentally makes her family vanish, she is determined to find them no matter how long it takes. Yet, the process takes a toll on her. One night, she creates the Marigold Mind Laundry, where people can convert their painful memories into stains on clothes and wash them away. It’s a chance to find some peace and happiness as Jieun helps them by listening to their stories. Somewhere along the way, Jieun realizes there are some lessons she too needs to learn! 

The story comes in the third-person POV of multiple characters. 

My Thoughts: 

It certainly helps to have the right expectations when starting a book. With the current GR rating at ~3.4 stars, picking this up after two 2-star books was a gamble. However, I needed something soothing, mellow, and gentle. 

In a way, the book is a bit similar to The Full Moon Coffee Shop. While I liked that one better, this did the job and eased my mind. 

There are many sayings in the book; too many of them, in fact, and all of them make this read like self-help. However, the magic realism and the undercurrent melancholy prevent it from becoming a boring book.

The POV jumps are sometimes awkward, so I had to reread a sentence at a few places to follow the thoughts. Also, some dialogues are weird. Not sure if it’s due to translation or if the original was similarly written. 

The episodic style (yet with a bit of interconnectedness) ensures the narrative changes often. The overarching plot doesn’t have much progress, though there are many subtle hints (which I couldn’t always decipher). Every change in the episode/ story is clearly marked with the relevant character’s name and a B&W illustration (this was a surprise).

While the book was almost 4 stars up to 85% or so, the last bit didn’t appeal much. I did guess two elements correctly but somehow the shift felt too abrupt. Though I like that the approach is realistic for the overarching plot, the other aspects lost the charm due to sudden change. Still, it does end on a hopeful note. 

The found family theme is quite strong in the second half and sustains until the last page, which is a bonus. 

To summarize, The Marigold Mind Laundry is a mood read that almost borders on self-help philosophical musings. While it won’t work for everyone, sometimes this is exactly what you might need. 

Thank you, Jordan Forney, NetGalley, and Random House (The Dial Press), for eARC. 

#NetGalley #TheMarigoldMindLaundry