I love a translated fiction, especially ones that have a little bit of an eerie feel to them, so picking up Minyoung Kang’s Plant Lady was bound to happen. Not only does it have a great premise and a wonderful tone, but it is translated by my favourite translator, Shanna Tan. This novel felt magnetic to me as I also identify as a plant lady, though after reading this one perhaps I should be a little more specific.

In the heart of a quiet town, a young woman tends to her plant shop, but beneath the surface of her lush, green sanctuary lies something far darker….Will you dare to disrespect her plants? Tucked away in the corner of a neighbourhood in Dosan, South Korea, is the Plant Shop. Shop owner Yoohee has started anew, and her meticulously grown foliage thrives under her tender care. To both her customers and herself, Plant Shop is a refuge, where petunias and marigolds bloom and the air itself is like an elixir of peace. By day, Yoohee dispenses advice on gardening, but she also finds herself offering a special service off the clock. Women who are at their wits’ end come to her about a man they hope might disappear from their lives. Pulling extra hours is taxing, but Yoohee has encountered—and dealt with—these kind of men in her own life, men who treated her (and her beloved plants) with utter disrespect. So as night falls, Yoohee trades her apron for a shovel and a hoe and disappears into her moonlit garden. There, she buries not just the remains of the day, but also the bloody remnants of a few unfortunate encounters. As men begin to disappear…will anyone ever suspect the Plant Lady? A highly acclaimed novel from South Korea, Plant Lady brings atmospheric tension and delicate humour to a story of obsession and misogyny that will keep you rooted right to its simmering last page.

Plant Lady is split into parts, all of which carry heavy stories of abuse, harassment, torment, and men who should know better. This is not a translated fiction for the faint-hearted, but if you are familiar with Cho Nam-joo’s Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, then you will understand the undertones and frustration that leak into the storytelling. It is a feminist novel that tells of struggle and emotional hardship, having to withstand and submit to violence and misogynistic acts done to you until you cannot handle it anymore. Plant Lady is a novel that encompasses the saying “women’s rights and women’s wrongs”.

I love the atmosphere within the novel, the characterisation of Yoohee, and the way her store feels like the personification of an escape. The novel unveils parts of Yoohee’s story as the sections progress, and it is so fascinating from a writer perspective to see how she changes as the store grows, like she is growing into herself and taking back her power. Her teachings to the customers that come into the store, especially the one’s we see focus on in each chapter, are woven into the story in such an expert way, and layers make for moments of great realisation and wonder.

At only 198 pages, this novel went by too quickly! I really hope there is a second one, but it is unlikely. Instead, I will add Minyoung Kang to my favourite translated authors list and add Plant Lady to my December wishlist. Shanna Tan has another gold star work under her belt in my eyes, and I cannot wait to see what else she translates.