Join our Instagram channel to discuss our book of the month, Luminous by Silvia Park, as we read it. From every-thought-you-had-while-reading to exclusive notes from the author, there’s a lot to unpack here.
From the moment we decided that The Nod Book Club was to become a reality, I only had one thought in mind—which title would we pick for the first month? Picking the first book is not easy—it needs to set the tone for the books that follow. Sifting through 2025’s book launches, I was looking for something that would be relevant today and tomorrow. The book had to address the times we live in; it had to be thought-provoking, and something that would spark an in-depth discussion.
A debut author is always a bonus, because we at The Nod are all about spotlighting bright, fresh and young voices. And so, after reading many novels, DNF-ing a couple (in the interest of time), we arrived at this perfect choice: Luminous by Silvia Park.
So, what is Luminous about?
Park’s debut novel paints a dystopian future, one in which robots are part of society. They’re considered sons and daughters by some, servants by others. The book contains a world filled with humans, robots, and humans with robot body parts.
Luminous opens with 11-year-old Ruijie scavenging in a junkyard filled with abandoned robots in a unified Korea, looking for the perfect one to take home with her. Ruijie herself is strapped in robowear to support her body, which is slowly deteriorating due to an unnamed disease. That’s where she finds Yoyo, an exceptionally intelligent and unusual robot child—a robot model she’s never seen before.
Her story then links with that of three estranged siblings—a humanoid cop, Jun; robot designer Morgan; and (you guessed it) a robot named Yoyo. Yoyo is unlike a “normal” robot and was designed as an early prototype by the siblings’ father. Detective Cho Jun’s search for a missing person brings him to the doorstep of Morgan, who lives next door to said missing robot. Morgan is a designer with a robot-producing conglomerate and lives with Stephen, her robot lover, whom she built herself.
Their brother Yoyo disappeared from the family home, suddenly, and each has dealt with the loss in their own way. Now faced with Ruijie’s discovery, the siblings discover the truth behind Yoyo and what it truly means to be human.
This is just a teaser. We haven’t given you any spoilers yet, but we will soon—when we discuss the book in detail here.
And why should I pick it?
The book depicts a technological revolution at a time when we, too, are going through one. Park debates the ethics of robots, often satirising her characters’ dependence on the robots in their lives. The outrage on Twitter during a recent ChatGPT outage comes to mind.
Park intended for this book to be a children’s novel, but after experiencing a great loss, pivoted to create the novel we have today (now peppered with parts inappropriate for children). Told from three alternating perspectives, the novel weaves together Ruijie, Jun, and Morgan’s lives. The adventures of Ruijie and her motley crew of friends who love to explore the abandoned junkyard bring to mind a YA sci-fi novel, but juxtaposed against the complex world of robot emotions, questions of existentialism, and the geopolitical climate of Korea, Luminous gives us much food for thought.
And tell me a little about the author
Silvia Park grew up in Seoul and splits their time between Korea and America. They received a BA from Columbia University and an MFA from NYU, in addition to completing the Clarion Workshop in 2018. Their short fiction has been published in Black Warrior Review, Joyland, and Reactor, and reprinted in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2019. They teach fiction at the University of Kansas. Luminous is their first novel.
