"This ethereal debut novel, at once a horror story and a bird's bone-delicate exploration of trauma, is filled with ghosts . . . Yewon's running monologue is straight-laced, but Ham somehow conjures up a delicious tension among her lead's longing to become something, the little tragedies unfolding around her, and the spooky aftereffects of the Korean War . . . An intriguing debut." –Kirkus Reviews
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The Invisible Hotel wrestles artfully with big, vital questions: How do we honor and care for our elders without reinforcing a cycle of generational trauma? How do we forge new, joyful paths without indulging in mass cultural amnesia or closing our eyes to a world on fire? That it does so in a surreal, riveting, keep-the-lights-on masterwork of horror is all the more extraordinary. I will be haunted by this book for years to come."
–Kim Fu, author of Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century "How does a war play out in a person, a family, and through generations?
The Invisible Hotel asks this ambitious and heartbreaking question. In prose that is sharp, clear, and startling, Yeji Y. Ham articulates the struggle to navigate trauma, and find joy, in the aftermath of the Korean War. This book is spectacular–a horror story made into art by way of unsettling truths."
–Claire Cameron, author of The Last Neanderthal and The Bear "Yeji Y. Ham's
The Invisible Hotel is an absolute fever dream–a book that explores, with haunted grace and magical wildness, the inescapable ghosts of a fractured, heartbroken country, and one woman's relentless quest to rush headlong into the labyrinths and mysteries that make up her family. What a thrill to read this: propulsive, electric, full of fury and ecstatic writing, you won't be able to put this one down."
–Paul Yoon, author of The Hive and the Honey "The Invisible Hotel traps us in a haunting labyrinth where the wounds of war gape open, bones tether, and the bond of family may be the one key to set us free. Yeji Y. Ham has crafted a luminously spellbinding narrative, knitting history, grief, and love to explore the knots that tie a family and a country."
–Gerardo Sámano Córdova, author of Monstrilio