REVIEW: Tower (Bae Myung-Hoon)

Book: Tower

Author: Bae Myung-hoon

Premise: Tower is a series of interconnected stories set in Beanstalk, a 674-story skyscraper and sovereign nation: a group of researchers have to tell their boss that a major powerbroker is a dog, a woman uses the power of the internet to rescue a downed fighter pilot abandoned by the government, and an out-of-towner finds himself in charge of training a gentle elephant to break up protests.

I loved the idea of the tower block as a sovereign state. It was quite quirky and I have to admit the first story left me confused!

There were surreal moments such as the man training an elephant and the dog that was a celebrity. The story of the downed pilot showed hope with people coming together to help a stranger. The stories cover heavy topics in a light, satirical way. The author discusses corruption, terrorism and the violent suppression of protests.

Personally, I would've liked more of a connection in all the stories or even just one longer story from the tower. But that's just me. A fun read nonetheless!