A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang
- Author Lee Onhwa
- Narrator Sofia Jin
- Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date 13 November 2025
- Run Time 6 hours and 7 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Contemporary horror and ghost stories, Family life fiction, Fiction in translation, Magical realism, Modern and contemporary fiction, Narrative theme: health and illness.
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Listen to a sample
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
A dessert from the Hwawoldang is a ticket to a new life . . .
Welcome to Hwawoldang, the pastry shop where every delicious bite comes with satisfaction for both the mouth and the soul . . .
When twenty-seven-year-old Yeon-hwa loses her grandmother, the proprietor of Hwawoldang, she honours her final wish: to keep the shop open for one more month, between 10pm and midnight. Yeon-hwa hopes to learn the secrets behind Hwawoldang’s desserts, and the enigmatic woman who made them.
But when one of the shop’s most loyal patrons arrives, Yeon-hwa quickly discovers Hwawoldang is no ordinary pastry shop, as its customers are not entirely alive . . .
With each new visitor, Yeon-hwa is drawn deep into their memories. The true calling of the pastry shop is to shepherd her customers into the afterlife, but can Yeon-hwa continue her grandmother’s legacy? And will the task bring her closer to the woman she barely knew?
Evocative, nourishing and cosy, A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang is an ode to lost souls finding home, in this life and beyond.
© Lee Onhwa 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
Critics Review
| Author | Lee Onhwa |
|---|---|
| Narrator | Sofia Jin |
| Duration | 6 hours and 7 minutes |
| Release Date | |
| ISBN | 9781405984492 |
| Format | Audiobook |
| Publisher | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Genre | Contemporary horror and ghost stories, Family life fiction, Fiction in translation, Magical realism, Modern and contemporary fiction, Narrative theme: health and illness |
| Availability | AU, GB, IE |
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