Violets is a difficult novel because it is depressing, just like the fate of the main character, Oh San. The story starts with a chapter in which we learn about Oh San’s sad childhood in the countryside, and later, we follow her fate 15 years later, when she tries to cut herself off from the past and get back on her feet.
The action speekds up when Oh San comes across an advertisement for a job at a flower shop and decides to apply. However, this is not a story about beautiful flowers, finding happiness and discovering yourself amind a big metropolis. The atmosphere of the book is suffocating, just as the social conventions, misogyny and loneliness are suffocating. Violets does not bring relief, although in the end we go through a painful catharsis alonside the protagonist.
A painful, wonderfully written, hauntingly sad novel by the author of I’ll Be Right There (Będę Tam) and Please Look After Mom (Zaopiekuj się moją mamą) in Anton Hur’s a stunning translation.
