BelEdit Book Reviews
Perfect Happiness (translated by Sean Lin Halbert) is a mystery about a volatile and dangerous narcissist. Yuna Shin is, to her husband, Eun-ho, a beautiful woman who captivated him from their first meeting. She is now his adored wife; he is desperate to keep her happy and excuses her frequent moods. She ensures he remains distant from her six-year-old daughter, Jiyoo, and his jealousy of Joon-young, Yuna’s first husband and Jiyoo’s father, torments him.
When Yuna’s estranged sister Jane comes to him because she is worried that Joon-young has disappeared, Eun-ho realises that he has no idea where Yuna and Jiyoo were when he went missing. Has she been secretly seeing her ex? Together, Eun-ho and Jane begin to track Yuna’s movements and search for Joon-young.
A vivid and believable portrait of an everyday narcissist and terrifying psychopath
In an agonising, suspense-filled narrative of events past and present, Jeong reveals the extent of Yuna’s narcissism, wrath and ruthlessness. It’s painful but compulsive to watch: you’ll find yourself itching to jump in and save Yuna’s family from her. Her effect on Jiyoo is particularly painful to observe.
Perfect Happiness is a refreshing (if I might use the word in this context) break from a type of crime fiction that is all-too prevalent today. So many ‘violent psychopath’ novels are formulaic, predictable and, well, boring. Too many blockbuster crime novelists are seemingly vying with each other to create the ‘most’ twisted serial killer, transforming the genre into a parody of itself, with their ever-more bizarre and extreme ‘rationales’ and methods.
Perfect Happiness is not one of those books. It is genuinely psychologically astute. The author’s focus (stated in an Afterword) was not to show the inner workings of Yuna’s mind in detail, but to show how one person’s actions can affect other people’s happiness, and destroy many lives. Yuna is a believable character and the relationships and domestic situations that arise from her pursuit of her own ‘perfect happiness’ are highly credible. While the pace is relentless and gripping, the story is also very sad. The real impact of Yuna’s actions are patent, bringing home the message that everyone touched by her narcissism is a trauma victim.
This is K-drama at its best: character-focused, tightly plotted, highly emotional, immersive and compelling. Don’t miss it!
You may also like:
The Man Who Died Seven Times – Yasuhiko Nishizawa (for fans of Asian drama)
Scenes from a Tragedy – Carole Hailey (for fans of quality crime drama about psychopaths)
The Devil You Know – Stories of Human Cruelty and Compassion – Dr Gwen Adshead and Eileen Thorne (for fans of non-fiction about criminal psychology)
My thanks to the publisher, the author and Netgalley for giving me a free copy of this book. All my reviews are 100% honest and unbiased, regardless of how I acquire the book.