Book Summary and Reviews of Plant Lady by Kang Minyoung

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Kevin H. (Littleton, CO)

Difficult to Classify, But a Surprisingly Enjoyable Quick Read
Plant Lady by Kang Minyoung is a challenging book to categorize. A very quick read, there are segments of the book that can fit into a number of genres. I think I will land on a revenge black-comedy thriller as my best stab at classification. The book was not quite what I expected upon starting, and indeed it took a few pages to acclimate to the tone and narrative style. Once this happened, the plot moved lightning-quick through a series of episodes.

Set in South Korea, Yoohee is the owner of a plant shop, who has a history that is slowly revealed that leads her in a direction that becomes apparent near the beginning of the story. Without giving too much away, I suspect the novel will be most enjoyed by young women, but this unique story has something for any reader to enjoy. I've never quite read anything like it, but I found it to be very enjoyable. If you enjoy quick-paced, genre-bending stories, you will enjoy this one.

Janine_S

Calming psychological thriller
Psychological thriller about a South Korean nursery owner meting out justice for the voiceless.

Yoohee has left her office job to start a nursery in the Dosan-gu district of Seoul. She has created a lush, peaceful environment filled with her favorite plants and offering customers solid advice on gardening and plants and maybe a little extra help for their personal lives. Interest in Yoohee’s shop comes to the attention of Detective Cha Dokyung when three men disappear in the vicinity of the shop. Yoohee and Dokyung play deft a cat and mouse game and you definitely side with Yoohee.

This is as one review stated “an exquisite female rage” book. The Author’s Note at the end is important to this book because so many women suffer from misogyny (with or without abuse) and painful discrimination. And it’s not just in South Korea, it’s everywhere. This book in its terse but strangely calming prose tells a story that while maybe not moral in the sense of right and wrong is definitely worthy of understanding.

Yoohee is a fascinating protagonist. I instantly felt her calmness - she loves and lives for her plants and is incredibly nurturing. I loved how she loved her shop, her customers and really only wanted the best for everyone. But betrayal and abuse are bitter seeds and being taken advantage of or ridiculed is a human crime of unkindness and inhumanity. Maybe vigilantism is warranted? Yoohee is just such a soothing character you cannot but appreciate her.

The book is told by an omniscient narrator who looks from afar and contrasts Yoohee’s warmth and tenderness with selfishness and wickedness of the men who invade her shop, her life and the life of others. The narrator’s distance helps the reader make up his/her/their mind. In this morally grey world of Yoohee, you cannot help but root for her.

I gave this book five stars for its theme of gender violence, for the calming way the story is told - little to no gore but horrific in its unique way, and for being such a delight read - and I liked the cover.

My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for granting me access to this ARC.

Elizabeth_L1

Rage against the patriarchy
Excellent! This construction of this book is fantastic and propulsive, I tore right through it. Each chapter is just the right length and self-contained although the themes are carried throughout. Yoohee's past is explained in bit and pieces building up to the last chapter. The description of Korean actions towards women was expected but I was interested to see the police's dismissive attitudes toward men of bad reputations.

Lauren M. (Washington, DC)

An Exceptional Atmospheric Thriller
This book is small but mighty, just like the novel's protagonist. It was slow paced, but the emotions were high and the author found the prefect balance of social commentary and suspense. I'm surprised by how much I loved the ending, but it won't be for everyone. It placed importance on the main character's arc and not the arc of the mystery aspect of the book, and I found that moving.

Deborah_G

If Only People Were Like Plants!
In a note at the end of her novel Plant Lady, author Minyoung Kang explains "If only we were seeing hope of a better world and society, this novel might have taken a different direction." Her title character, Yoohee, owner of a thriving Plant Shop, believed "humans are just like plants"—none are beyond rescuing if she watched for problems. She realizes that this is not true of her relationships, especially with men. Yoohee's way of resolving these problems for herself and other women is the core of her story. The author's weaving of a love of plants with female rage give the novel a universal feel even though it is set in South Korea. As a gardener I appreciated the book's organization around six different plants, some of them unfamiliar. As a woman, I understand her choice of direction, while hoping we will find a better way!

rose_s

A Garden of Secrets
Plant Lady by MinYoung Kang is a blend of psychological horror and social commentary. It begins with what appears to be a mild-mannered woman and her love of plants, but gradually develops into an exploration of violence against women, relationships, loneliness, and the lasting effects of trauma.

As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the protagonist feels more connected to her plants than to the people around her. What starts as a quiet story about a woman who owns a plant shop slowly takes a darker turn as secrets are revealed and unsettling events begin to emerge.

Disturbing, thought-provoking, and memorable, Plant Lady is a book that leaves plenty to discuss long after the final page.

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