The Healing Season of Pottery (#1,271) by Yeon Somin has been a major best-seller in Korea and is now available to American readers through the translation by Clare Richards. I found it an interesting read on many levels.
Junming has been working for a number of years in an extremely high-pressure job in broadcasting. That is until the day she has a major meltdown at work and walks out. She retreats into her apartment in an area outside Seoul which is slowly becoming gentrified. It takes her months to venture outside again. She stumbles across a pottery workshop which she mistakes for a cafe, and that mistake changes her life.
Taking the time to make things by hand gives her time to heal her mind and heart. This is Junming's story. Oh, and there's a cat....
I've quite enjoyed a number of Japanese books I've read in translation recently. I liked this one as well, although I did notice differences between the cultures I really hadn't thought about. Most of the untranslated Korean terms were totally unfamiliar even though they were easy to figure out in context. Most of the food described here I had never heard of, not having had the benefit of a local Korean restaurant nearby. I certainly did think it was worth the time I happily spent with these characters. I recommend it as something different to savor.
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