Thank you @serpentstail for gifting me this intriguing little gem of a novel! Bringing pertinent themes like environmentalism, climate change and the #MeToo movement to the table, The Disaster Tourist is a disaster novel with a difference!
.
Yona works for Jungle, a travel agency specialising in trips to disaster zones around the world. Hurricanes, tsunamis, burning trash islands, you name it, they’ll take you there to make you feel better about your own survival. After her boss makes an inappropriate move towards her, Yona is torn on whether to make her complaint official or not, knowing full well what happened to others in her situation. Her boss makes the decision for her however, by sending her on a Jungle trip to pose as a client and check out how that destination is performing. Once there, she finds herself embroiled in a morally murky plot, her own survival on the line...
.
A lot is happening in this novel, but I think the author juggles them all successfully. She questions morals and ethics at the same time as cutting edge issues like workplace harassment. What implicates someone as a guilty party? Does an organisation have a collective responsibility?
.
She also questions the nature of disasters - why do some natural disasters garner huge outpourings of international support and sympathy, while others are reduced to a couple of lines in a broadsheet, the rest of the world remaining ignorant of their plight? Truly this little novel gives you a lot to mull over, culminating in a deliciously dark ending dripping in irony.
.
It’s translated by Lizzie Buehler and she does a fantastic job of conveying that stark style that fans of Korean and Japanese fiction will know and love!
.
If you’re looking for something a little off-beat and dark this summer then I recommend this one - out in May!