We join San in 1970s rural South Korea, a young girl ostracised from her community. She meets a girl called Namae, and they become friends until one afternoon changes everything. Following a moment of physical intimacy in a minari field, Namae violently rejects San, setting her on a troubling path of quashed desire and isolation. We next meet San, aged twenty-two, as she starts a job in a flower shop. There, we are introduced to a colourful cast of characters, including the shop's mute owner, the other florist Su-ae, and the customers that include a sexually aggressive businessman and a photographer, who San develops an obsession for. Throughout, San's moment with Namae lingers in the back of her mind. A story of desire and violence about a young woman who everyone forgot, VIOLETS is a captivating and sensual read, full of tragedy and beauty.
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0Violets explores misogyny, erasure, and repressed desire as we follow San on her desperate search for both autonomy and attachment in the unforgiving reality of contemporary Korean society This novel is short, making it a quick, but heavy read. This review is rather short, as the novel speaks so well for itself; this is truly a work of art.
I highly, highly recommend this book, but maybe not in a time when someone is in an emotional state, because it does require a certain calmness to reach its potential in the reader’s heart. If you haven't read it yet but you were tempted many times to get it. This is your sign to grab it.
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