A review by notesofacrocodile
Violets by Kyung-sook Shin

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

this to me is one of those quiet novels; a silence suffused with something heavy and tragic, a silence punctuated only by the whooshing of the minari in the winds and the occasional murmur. i enjoyed the atmospheric writing and the concept of san as a character: doomed to repeatedly find herself sabotaging her own situation, the hollow winds of loneliness thrumming just under her chest.

"where the minari grows, this scene i kept only to myself, her dry lips, a soft joy, the deep green spot, i will love you more than myself—these are where the letters blur."
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