Violets

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 but also beauty in
its lush, vibrant prose.

"[VIOLETS] binds a spell around the reader until the very end" Park Wanseo

"I always find myself acting out the main character in my mind when I read
Kyung-Sook Shin's novels. Reading VIOLETS is like she's writing a script
written perfectly for me" Doona Bae, actor (Netflix's SENSE8, CLOUD ATLAS)

"The story of thwarted desires and the isolated individuals that harbor
them... clean prose filled with Shin's trademark rich descriptions" Korea
Economic Daily