An eccentric department store selling dreams and adventures, and an enthusiastic new hire – welcome to a world of wonder, healing, and self-discovery in Dallergut Dream Department Store.

Have you ever read the blurb on the back of a book and thought, ‘wow, finally something original’, only to be disappointed when the familiar, overdone tropes start flooding in on page two? Well, Miye Lee’s Dallergut Dream Department Store is certainly not a let down in that regard! Say goodbye to cliché tropes and unoriginal beige characters – Dallergut Dream Department Store to the rescue!

This story follows Penny, a new employee at a department store that sells dreams. We all know the anxiety-inducing feeling of starting a new job – now imagine your job is to navigate the world of dreams and the complex payment system involved in selling them. Penny is undoubtedly daunted with all of this new information, and we learn and explore this foreign and thrilling world alongside her.

It’s Not Where You Are, it’s Who You’re With

The tale shifts from Penny’s POV to various customers of the department store in the waking world. This really propels the narrative along and prevents the reader from getting bored.

Aside from these various narrators that are granted the spotlight, Lee introduces a myriad of quirky and colourful side characters. Whether it’s a fluffy six-foot-four Noctilucas that chases down naked sleepwalkers to hand out PJs; erratic jumpsuit-wearing colleagues; fruit-loving old ladies with a gift for prophecy; or reclusive animal-loving dream makers, then this book’s got you covered.

Miye Lee’s characterisation of the department store employees and customers is refreshingly uncliched, each with their own mannerisms and distinctive physical features.

I was also very endeared to see the nightmare maker Maxim’s crush on Penny blossom subtly throughout the text. I’m intrigued to see how this will progress in the upcoming sequel.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Perhaps the pacing of this text is a little slow at times, as the narrative seems to meander along with no strong sense of plot driving it forward. In other books this has proven to be a deterrent, and has earned them a one-way ticket to my DNF (‘did not finish’) pile.

However, in this particular instance the steady pace and lack of dramatic stakes works really well. The originality of the premise, and the intrigue that this inspires in readers, is more than sufficient to hold our interest. In fact, I read this book cover to cover in one day.

Miye Lee’s work is a soft, gentle read, which evokes thought and emotion at a steady and manageable rate. That’s not to say it didn’t have any depth or complexity; it deals with some pretty hard-hitting themes, such as crippling self-esteem issues, past trauma, and grief, in a very tentative and respectful tone.

It proved to be quite a gripping philosophical read, encouraging us to question how dreams interact with reality. When we ‘wake up the next day’ from a dream, we are ‘reminded of the important things’ (p.12), and are granted with the clarity to overcome uncertainty in our daily lives.

Korean dream culture

I found it fascinating to interpret the book alongside acknowledgement of the significance of dreams and dream exchange in Korean culture. In Korea, there is a common practice of buying and selling dreams (usually amongst friends and relatives) with the purpose of interpreting and inheriting the prophecy that the dream embodies.

For example, a pregnant woman who dreams of eating fruit is believed likely to give birth to a baby girl. If a friend was also pregnant and wanted a female baby, she could buy the dream from you and inherit its prophecy.

This idea that dreams are imbued with an innate energy and auspicious meaning that can be transferred between people is evident in Dallergut Dream Department Store, where we witness similar dream transactions take place between dream sellers and dreamers. Thus, dreaming becomes not an isolated individual experience, but one that forms invaluable human connections. Why should we feel lonely inside our own subconscious, when it can be shared and exchanged?

Among countless predictable clichés these days, this book is a rare gem of originality. A BIG thank you to this wonderful author for giving me a book that makes me daydream again. I’m already dreaming about the release of the sequel! (Apologies for the overload of dream puns: I just couldn’t help myself).

Edited by Isabel Miller.