A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang: A Novel

About

Twenty-seven-year-old Yeon-hwa inherits her grandmother's neighborhood bakery — along with two strange conditions: keep it open for one more month, and only serve customers between 10 PM and midnight. The late-night visitors turn out to be spirits on their last stop before reincarnation, each craving a specific dessert that holds the key to their unfinished earthly business. With the help of a resident black cat, Yeon-hwa learns to bake closure for the dead — and begins unraveling the family secrets her grandmother took to her own grave. Lee Onhwa writes magical realism with the warmth and specificity of someone who knows that grief often tastes like something — a particular pastry, a childhood flavor, a sweetness you can't quite name. A novel about the things the dead still hunger for, and the living granddaughter who learns to feed them.