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Violets

by Kyung-Sook Shin · 2001

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… more

8 quotes ★ 3.53 (4,335) Fiction

Quotes from the Book

Memory is an unannounced visitor. It lies crumpled in some corner of the body, then suddenly knocks on the door of reality and makes you scream.
8
When their warm bodies meet, San feels a surge of loneliness she's sure will last for the rest of her life.
5
Violets are very small plants. So small, they’re easily overlooked as weeds. That’s why I decided on the title Violets. There are women all around us who exist in silence, anonymous and without anything special about them; she could be me and she could be you. To amplify the voices of those women, whom no one could hear unless one was listening very carefully, to let them speak through my words—this is Violets.
3
This desire grew slowly, stronger and stronger, but it never had any place to escape except for into sorrow. It has caused her to choose neglect. It has refused to be sublimated, but instead reappeared as a fresh green sadness.
3
Violator: Noun, one who breaks rules, invades, insults, rapes Violence: Noun, a disturbance, disruption, destruction Violet: Noun, a plant, a swallow flower... purple, the color, also used to describe… an oversensitive person, a shy person ("shrinking violet") Violin: Noun, a musical instrument... a player of, a violinist
2
Only my death can make her love me. And if I have to die, I’ll die right here,
1
She stares until the white of the petals pierces back into her eyes, losing all sense of distance, leaving her feeling empty inside. Whenever this happened, she would close her eyes. Trying to overcome the lethargy that felt like she was falling into a hollow of white.
Unbelieving, her eyes blink as they get teary. A dull ache blooms in her chest. It’s the sorrow of being unable to follow, the regret of being unable to take off after. A far, far-off longing. Not knowing where she’s going, San begins to walk.

About Kyung-Sook Shin

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About the book

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.

Book details

First published
2001
Genre
Fiction
Goodreads rating
3.53 (4k ratings)

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