The Healing Season of Pottery

by Yeon Somin Narrated by Jennifer Kim

Overview

This cozy, romantic novel about one woman's desire to heal herself through art is perfect for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and What You Are Looking for Is in the Library.

Burned out by her TV news writing job, Jungmin leaves in an attempt to salvage her life. When she stumbles upon a mysterious pottery studio, she feels immediately at home. The warmth, the smell of clay, and the incredible coffee awaken her senses and make her feel alive for the first time in months.

Over the coming year, season by season, pot by pot, Jungmin returns to herself and builds unexpected friendships with the other members of the studio, who are all working through their own trials at the pottery wheel. She connects with one student in particular, whose relationship with his girlfriend has begun to fray, and the two form a special bond.

Eventually, Jungmin realizes she might be open to love again-but should she take the risk?

In her English-language debut (translated by Clare Richards), rising Korean literary star Yeon Somin shares a testament to the joys and power of slowing down in a fast-paced world and an homage to the art of ceramics, as she immerses readers in a world they won't want to leave after the final page.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"It's been a long time since I've read such a lovely book. I was awestruck by the prowess with which Yeon guides her characters' stories, step by step, towards hope, never dragging them down into the abyss. It felt like she was guiding me by the hand under the balmy rays of the sun. I found myself wanting to follow her lead and mold a beautiful heart to gift to those I hold most dear. Reading her novel, I felt a warmth and joy, as if I, too, had spent four seasons in Soyo Workshop."—Baek Sehee, author of the international bestseller, I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki

“Like clay to the wheel, I was ‘thrown’ right into Yeon Somin’s charming and utterly moving novel of finding love, meaning, and peace through pottery. Reader, I hope you find these pages as healing as I have.”—Patricia Park, author of the novels Re Jane, Imposter Syndrome & Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim, and What’s Eating Jackie Oh?

“A charming and poignant novel about the power of friendship, community and hobbies that teach us to slow down and reconnect.” —Libby Page, author of the international bestseller, Mornings with Rosemary

“Promises sigh-inducing comfort…[an] exquisite, winsome Korean import, warmly translated by Clare Richards. Work burnout, new directions, new friends, new love, and, most important, a cat—that’s all here, thrown together with the creation of pottery…Yeon’s author’s note reveals autobiographical overlaps, turning the novel into an even more intimate gift.”—Booklist, *STARRED REVIEW*

“The Healing Season of Pottery is a strong reminder to get past the ‘winter seasons’ in our lives, to find an activity that will stave off inertia, and to discover balance in life.”—Epoch Times

Kirkus Reviews

2024-08-30
After breaking down at work and retreating into her apartment for almost a year, a 30-year-old television writer finds herself again through pottery.

Spending months with the shades down, sleeping her time away, and ignoring the changing seasons, Jungmin needs to dosomething. When she finally emerges from her apartment, she doesn’t know where she’s going or what she’s looking for. She stumbles on a pottery shop, enters, and receives a cup of coffee and a warm welcome. Accepting the offer of shop owner and teacher Johee to return, Jungmin first learns how to make plates and shallow bowls, then graduates to coffee cups and vases. She begins to get to know the regulars: Gisik, who plans to quit his job at a teleshopping firm and open up his own pottery workshop near the sea; Jihye, a graduate student who is fond of cooking and drinking but has had trouble finding a job; Jun, studying hard for his university exams; Gyuwon, who turns out to be the father of a dear childhood friend; and others. Together the group forms a community that fills the empty parts of Jungmin’s heart. Slowly, she begins to write again, this time small stories and vignettes for the workshop’s Instagram posts. Regrettably, the English translation of this debut novel leaves unexplained and untranslated many culturally specific elements that will be bewildering for readers unfamiliar with Korean language or culture, rendering murky many of the novel’s nuances and the characters’ interactions.

A drama of growth and rediscovery mostly lost in translation.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940191685410
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	10/22/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged

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