Violets

At twenty-two, San is adrift and alone when she stumbles into a job at a modest flower shop in the heart of Seoul. Shaped by a childhood marked by rejection, she moves through life quietly and invisibly—fragile, stifled, and largely unseen in a society that demands conformity, especially from women.

As a languid, sweltering summer unfolds, San finds herself surrounded by an unusual cast: a silent shop owner, a sharp-tongued coworker, reticent farmers, and difficult customers. Then, a fleeting encounter with a magazine photographer sparks an all-consuming obsession—one that offers a glimpse of escape but threatens to unearth something far deeper.

Through San’s aching search for connection and control, Kyung-Sook Shin paints a piercing portrait of a young woman trying to claim her place in an indifferent, often hostile world.