When I first heard about Ed Park’s new novel, Same Bed, Different Dreams, it was touted as the next “Gravity’s Rainbow”. While I appreciated Gravity’s Rainbow for the landmark work that it is, and despite enjoying other books by Thomas Pynchon (like Inherent Vice), I was still skeptical if I wanted to dive into another intense and complex work this year. But given the subject matter (a re-imagining of Korea’s history), I couldn’t help myself.
While I’m by no means an expert on Korean history, it is one subject I’ve read a lot on, and had recently just finished the Bridge at No Gun Ri. Same Bed, Different Dreams seemed like a natural follow up to that.
Receiving the book, I was surprised and somewhat intimidated by its size. 500ish pages certainly isn’t the longest book I’ve ever read, but when you’re talking about dense literature, every page counts. But diving into it I was both pleasantly surprised, and a bit shocked by the fact that it is actually nothing like Gravity’s Rainbow, at least in terms of style.
Instead what I got was an intensely smart, observative and funny work of post-modern metafiction that is shockingly easy to read. In truth, the novel reads more to me (at least in terms of style) like Infinite Jest than Gravity’s Rainbow.
The book’s storylines are, like Korea’s history, fragmented. Korea suffered at the hands of Japanese occupation until the US bombed Japan into oblivion at the end of WWII, and it wasn’t long before more colonialist overloads were vying for the right to Korea during the Korean War. This fractured history has no doubt had an impact not just on the citizens of Korea, but also those living abroad and of Korean descent.
Same Bed, Different Dreams takes an (albeit fictional) inventory of all of Korea’s twists and turns right up through modern day, and puts through a lens we all can see through. It expertly weaves multiple narratives together which at first seem like a jumbled mess, but like a stereogram, the longer you stare, the clearer the picture becomes.
So what about the Gravity’s Rainbow comparison? Pynchon’s famous work often leaves people with more questions than answers. What’s the point of war? Who is really in charge? What’s the real motive behind all of it? Can we trust our own governments?
In Same Bed, Different Dreams there are certainly elements of paranoia, conspiracy, and questioning, if the victor writes history then what is history really? But for me I think that’s where the comparisons end. This is not a knock on Park, in fact I applaud him for finding his own style and own means of storytelling.
Ultimately I think Same Bed, Different Dreams is one of those rare novels that will get the nod of approval from hardcore literature types and casual readers alike. While it may operate well outside the structure of your standard pop fiction narrative, the language is approachable, and Park gives you just enough pieces to the puzzle for you to get the picture without having to work too hard.
For me, I think this book will possibly serve as a gateway drug to more “serious” modern literature by folks like David Foster Wallace, Thomas Pynchon, Don Dellilo, etc…
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by The_On_Life