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Plant Lady
Brought to you by Penguin.
TEXAS CHAINSTORE MASSACRE meets CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN in this chilling psychological tale of a green-fingered serial killer.
Will you dare to disrespect her plants?
Moving on from a traumatic experience, Yoohee has opened up her own Plant Shop to start afresh.
Rows of plants, meticulously arranged like soldiers, thrive under her green fingers; sunlight filters through the windows at just the right angle making every leaf shimmer with health. It is a plant-lovers' sanctuary, where peperomias and marigolds bloom, while the air itself is like an elixir of peace.
Yoohee welcomes her customers, eager to share her tips, while scolding anyone attempting to caress an unfurling bloom, let alone snap off a stem.
But as night falls, the soothing atmosphere transforms as Yoohee takes her shovel and hoe, and vanishes into her moonlit garden.
In the shadows, she scatters the remains of the day - some finely ground powder and occasionally, the bloody remnants of an unfortunate encounter.
Just as Yoohee thinks the past is buried, a young and determined police inspector comes knocking ...
Atmospheric and haunting, PLANT LADY is a subtle story of obsession and misogyny that will fertilise your deepest fears and keep you rooted right to its chilling last page.
Minyoung Kang 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
TEXAS CHAINSTORE MASSACRE meets CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN in this chilling psychological tale of a green-fingered serial killer.
Will you dare to disrespect her plants?
Moving on from a traumatic experience, Yoohee has opened up her own Plant Shop to start afresh.
Rows of plants, meticulously arranged like soldiers, thrive under her green fingers; sunlight filters through the windows at just the right angle making every leaf shimmer with health. It is a plant-lovers' sanctuary, where peperomias and marigolds bloom, while the air itself is like an elixir of peace.
Yoohee welcomes her customers, eager to share her tips, while scolding anyone attempting to caress an unfurling bloom, let alone snap off a stem.
But as night falls, the soothing atmosphere transforms as Yoohee takes her shovel and hoe, and vanishes into her moonlit garden.
In the shadows, she scatters the remains of the day - some finely ground powder and occasionally, the bloody remnants of an unfortunate encounter.
Just as Yoohee thinks the past is buried, a young and determined police inspector comes knocking ...
Atmospheric and haunting, PLANT LADY is a subtle story of obsession and misogyny that will fertilise your deepest fears and keep you rooted right to its chilling last page.
Minyoung Kang 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
5 pages, Audible Audio
First published June 20, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 505 reviews
August 19, 2026
i can understand liking plants more than people. murder may be a step too far
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
(review to come)
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
(review to come)
August 28, 2026
Nothing about a plant shop suggests murder. Yet in Plant Lady, a shovel, a hand hoe, and a patch of soil can mean something much darker than gardening.
After leaving her corporate job, Choi Yoohee runs a plant shop in a renovated old house. She pours her affection into her greenery; ferns, succulents, flowering plants that ask nothing of her except care. Unlike people, plants do not manipulate nor they gaslight. They simply grow and Yoohee finds comfort in its honesty.
But later, the Plant Shop is no longer just a sanctuary for flora. It becomes a refuge for women —those who were stalked by ex-partners, whose intimate images have been distributed without consent, those trapped by romance scams and foremost women suffocating under domestic violence. They come to Yoohee with their fear, their shame, their desperation. And Yoohee does not only listens... she also acts.
Being the feminist literature, this novel does not shun from the grim reality of violence against women. It is set in South Korea where misogyny is systemic and the men in this story are terrifying precisely because they are ordinary men who feel entitled, superior and believe their desires outweigh anyone else's safety.
Even so, what really caught me most me wasn't the cruelty of these men, but the responses of the victims in this novel. The women blame themselves and ask what they could have done differently to which this self-blame is heartbreakingly realistic because the internalization of a society that demands victims to be "perfect" before they deserve empathy. Just recently we were bombarded with the horrifying news of a missing bodies in Jeju as the police sergeant prematurely closing missing persons cases. Why? Because women's safety was never accounted for.
Kang captures this cultural context with precision. In Korea, women who speak out face relentless backlash. The imaginary "ideal victim" doesn't exist, and anyone who fails to fit that mold is attacked. This is not just a fiction but also a commentary on a world that punishes women twice. First for being hurt, then for how they react to that hurt.
Despite that, Plant Lady is as well not a realist novel.
As been said, Yoohee doesn't just offer support but also solutions. Permanent ones too. She finds the men who cause harm and she erases them. And not even with dramatic violence, but with methodical care. Into the garden they go, buried beneath her beloved plants, becoming fertilizer for new growth.
This is where the novel feels most like dark fantasy. In the real world, no woman can simply make her abuser disappear without consequences. The police would investigate. Evidence would accumulate. Justice—however imperfect—would eventually catch up. Kang even builds suspense by having detectives circle the shop, sensing something off but unable to pin it down. It is a tension that keeps you turning pages, even as you wonder how Yoohee hasn't been caught.
But the reason she isn't caught is less about clever plotting and more about what the novel wants to be. This isn't a thriller about the perfect crime but rather wish fulfillment. A world where the system that fails women is bypassed entirely, where the powerless reclaim power through horticultural vengeance.
On a side note, I also enjoyed the small detours into the world of plants. The novel gives us bits of information about what different plants can do, and those details make the shop feel more tangible rather than merely functioning as an aesthetic backdrop. The plants become part of Yoohee's character; with herself who remains morally grey throughout.
I never quite saw her as the magnetic, charismatic woman the novel seemed to suggest she was. But I did find her fascinating enough. There is something elusive to Yoohee that makes her difficult to read, and that uncertainty works in the novel's favour. She is tender without being innocent, violent without being presented as entirely monstrous. The warmth she shows toward the women and plants around her sits in uncomfortable contrast with what she is capable of doing to the men she believes deserve it.
Some readers may have questioned whether the men in this novel "die too easily," whether their fates feel disproportionate. But that criticism misses the point. As Kang writes in her author's note, she wanted to create a world where women are neither hurt nor killed. If that means the rules of the game have changed, then so be it.
In many ways, this novel is a response to a real world that still feels powerless to protect its women. By the end, I found myself thinking not just about Yoohee, but about all the women who might one day read this book and feel seen. Hopefully, this novel offers something radical: permission to fight back, even in silence, even through the patient, deliberate work of a gardener.
After leaving her corporate job, Choi Yoohee runs a plant shop in a renovated old house. She pours her affection into her greenery; ferns, succulents, flowering plants that ask nothing of her except care. Unlike people, plants do not manipulate nor they gaslight. They simply grow and Yoohee finds comfort in its honesty.
But later, the Plant Shop is no longer just a sanctuary for flora. It becomes a refuge for women —those who were stalked by ex-partners, whose intimate images have been distributed without consent, those trapped by romance scams and foremost women suffocating under domestic violence. They come to Yoohee with their fear, their shame, their desperation. And Yoohee does not only listens... she also acts.
Being the feminist literature, this novel does not shun from the grim reality of violence against women. It is set in South Korea where misogyny is systemic and the men in this story are terrifying precisely because they are ordinary men who feel entitled, superior and believe their desires outweigh anyone else's safety.
Even so, what really caught me most me wasn't the cruelty of these men, but the responses of the victims in this novel. The women blame themselves and ask what they could have done differently to which this self-blame is heartbreakingly realistic because the internalization of a society that demands victims to be "perfect" before they deserve empathy. Just recently we were bombarded with the horrifying news of a missing bodies in Jeju as the police sergeant prematurely closing missing persons cases. Why? Because women's safety was never accounted for.
Kang captures this cultural context with precision. In Korea, women who speak out face relentless backlash. The imaginary "ideal victim" doesn't exist, and anyone who fails to fit that mold is attacked. This is not just a fiction but also a commentary on a world that punishes women twice. First for being hurt, then for how they react to that hurt.
Despite that, Plant Lady is as well not a realist novel.
As been said, Yoohee doesn't just offer support but also solutions. Permanent ones too. She finds the men who cause harm and she erases them. And not even with dramatic violence, but with methodical care. Into the garden they go, buried beneath her beloved plants, becoming fertilizer for new growth.
This is where the novel feels most like dark fantasy. In the real world, no woman can simply make her abuser disappear without consequences. The police would investigate. Evidence would accumulate. Justice—however imperfect—would eventually catch up. Kang even builds suspense by having detectives circle the shop, sensing something off but unable to pin it down. It is a tension that keeps you turning pages, even as you wonder how Yoohee hasn't been caught.
But the reason she isn't caught is less about clever plotting and more about what the novel wants to be. This isn't a thriller about the perfect crime but rather wish fulfillment. A world where the system that fails women is bypassed entirely, where the powerless reclaim power through horticultural vengeance.
On a side note, I also enjoyed the small detours into the world of plants. The novel gives us bits of information about what different plants can do, and those details make the shop feel more tangible rather than merely functioning as an aesthetic backdrop. The plants become part of Yoohee's character; with herself who remains morally grey throughout.
I never quite saw her as the magnetic, charismatic woman the novel seemed to suggest she was. But I did find her fascinating enough. There is something elusive to Yoohee that makes her difficult to read, and that uncertainty works in the novel's favour. She is tender without being innocent, violent without being presented as entirely monstrous. The warmth she shows toward the women and plants around her sits in uncomfortable contrast with what she is capable of doing to the men she believes deserve it.
Some readers may have questioned whether the men in this novel "die too easily," whether their fates feel disproportionate. But that criticism misses the point. As Kang writes in her author's note, she wanted to create a world where women are neither hurt nor killed. If that means the rules of the game have changed, then so be it.
In many ways, this novel is a response to a real world that still feels powerless to protect its women. By the end, I found myself thinking not just about Yoohee, but about all the women who might one day read this book and feel seen. Hopefully, this novel offers something radical: permission to fight back, even in silence, even through the patient, deliberate work of a gardener.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
🌿 Plant Lady by Minyoung Kang🌿
✨💚Happy Release Date💚✨
I went into this expecting something feminine rage, but I was not prepared for how emotionally layered this story would be. The rage is there, but it is not the only thing driving this story. It never is.
This book really understands that rage does not come out of nowhere. It builds. It comes from repeated harm, from being dismissed, from being unheard, from surviving things that should have never happened in the first place. The author does not just show anger, instead as a reader you exprience all of the emotions.
There is grief here. Fear. Exhaustion. And that pivotal moment where survival turns into a decision. That is where rage enters. Rage is rarely the first response for women. It is something that builds. A result of everything that came before.
I know this is a story I will come back to. I need time to sit with it before I finalize my full review, but this was easily a 6 star read for me. I cannot stop thinking about it.
🪴 What to Expect
• Plant shop
• Vigilante justice
• Dark humor
• Missing Men
• Morally gray FMC
_ _ _ _
📅 Pub Date: August 4, 2026
📝 Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.
✨💚Happy Release Date💚✨
I went into this expecting something feminine rage, but I was not prepared for how emotionally layered this story would be. The rage is there, but it is not the only thing driving this story. It never is.
This book really understands that rage does not come out of nowhere. It builds. It comes from repeated harm, from being dismissed, from being unheard, from surviving things that should have never happened in the first place. The author does not just show anger, instead as a reader you exprience all of the emotions.
There is grief here. Fear. Exhaustion. And that pivotal moment where survival turns into a decision. That is where rage enters. Rage is rarely the first response for women. It is something that builds. A result of everything that came before.
I know this is a story I will come back to. I need time to sit with it before I finalize my full review, but this was easily a 6 star read for me. I cannot stop thinking about it.
🪴 What to Expect
• Plant shop
• Vigilante justice
• Dark humor
• Missing Men
• Morally gray FMC
_ _ _ _
📅 Pub Date: August 4, 2026
📝 Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.
Read
September 9, 2025Minyoung is right - men are pests!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Me on This Book in Eight Ironic English Words: Disabled woman hears plants, is flattened into murder.
"In that instant, all anxiety seemed to have vanished from Hyunjin’s face. Yoohee was reminded of another customer last week who’d hugged a big bouquet of white roses and grinned as though she owned the whole world. Now all Yoohee had done was offer to add another ribbon, but the way Hyunjin’s eyes brightened made her seem like an entirely different person against the backdrop of the big monstera plant fanning out its leaves behind her." p32
In Short: This is an engaging exploration of an anxious character and her primary coping mechanism, her plants, from which she can hear preverbal articulations like screams and sighs.
I love books that explore characters who are complicated psychologically. While I don't always like stories in which mentally complicated people, especially women and kids, become murderers, it's a very popular concept right now.
The plants create a genuinely brilliant setting-as-character, since the novel imagines plants as possessing preverbal articulation—states of distress, pleasure, and strain rendered as sound rather than language, and isolated to the main character. She's special because she is a highly self-aware mentally ill person...until she isn't. Trope or intuition? Hard to say.
The story ultimately turns this complex character into a vigilante who projects her trauma onto the people she targets. Her boyfriend hurts her plants and makes them scream. One man abuses his daughter. Another abuses his wife's cat. Each act of harm becomes legible to Sooyee—and each time, she kills.
What begins as a psychologically nuanced portrait collapses into something far more reductive. Sooyee is no longer complicated; she becomes instrumental, her trauma functioning as justification rather than something to be explored. Stories with a shape like this neglect their most interesting character in favor of unhinging the plot—escalating toward violence instead of deepening the character.
Beyond that, I loved the questions and answers at the end of the book, and learning about the author's creative purpose increased my enjoyment of the book. The ends Kim favored here, to center women in a slasher in which women are not the victims, is admirable and does change the texture of the read.
"Content Warnings:" murder, anxiety,
Preread: I'm definitely into women's rage stories. I read enough of them that uniqueness typically ends up being the deciding factor for me. I thought this one would be unusual, given the plant angle. I was right, so far!
Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley for the arc!📚
"In that instant, all anxiety seemed to have vanished from Hyunjin’s face. Yoohee was reminded of another customer last week who’d hugged a big bouquet of white roses and grinned as though she owned the whole world. Now all Yoohee had done was offer to add another ribbon, but the way Hyunjin’s eyes brightened made her seem like an entirely different person against the backdrop of the big monstera plant fanning out its leaves behind her." p32
In Short: This is an engaging exploration of an anxious character and her primary coping mechanism, her plants, from which she can hear preverbal articulations like screams and sighs.
I love books that explore characters who are complicated psychologically. While I don't always like stories in which mentally complicated people, especially women and kids, become murderers, it's a very popular concept right now.
The plants create a genuinely brilliant setting-as-character, since the novel imagines plants as possessing preverbal articulation—states of distress, pleasure, and strain rendered as sound rather than language, and isolated to the main character. She's special because she is a highly self-aware mentally ill person...until she isn't. Trope or intuition? Hard to say.
The story ultimately turns this complex character into a vigilante who projects her trauma onto the people she targets. Her boyfriend hurts her plants and makes them scream. One man abuses his daughter. Another abuses his wife's cat. Each act of harm becomes legible to Sooyee—and each time, she kills.
What begins as a psychologically nuanced portrait collapses into something far more reductive. Sooyee is no longer complicated; she becomes instrumental, her trauma functioning as justification rather than something to be explored. Stories with a shape like this neglect their most interesting character in favor of unhinging the plot—escalating toward violence instead of deepening the character.
Beyond that, I loved the questions and answers at the end of the book, and learning about the author's creative purpose increased my enjoyment of the book. The ends Kim favored here, to center women in a slasher in which women are not the victims, is admirable and does change the texture of the read.
"Content Warnings:" murder, anxiety,
Preread: I'm definitely into women's rage stories. I read enough of them that uniqueness typically ends up being the deciding factor for me. I thought this one would be unusual, given the plant angle. I was right, so far!
Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley for the arc!📚
August 16, 2026
Apparently all I need to root for a serial killer is a beautiful plant shop and a list of terrible men. Who knew?
Plant Lady is on the shorter side,the audiobook is only a few hours long, and normally with books this short, I worry that the story will either feel rushed or that there simply won't be enough time to develop everything properly.
Not here.
I don't know whether it was Minyoung Kang's writing style, Jennifer J. Kim's narration, or a combination of both, but the story flowed incredibly smoothly. I usually listen to audiobooks at around 1.75–2x speed, and even then, nothing felt rushed. It was such an easy and strangely pleasant listening experience considering, you know... murder. (cough)
And I absolutely loved Yoohee.
By day, she's tending to her beautiful plant shop, sharing gardening tips on social media, helping customers and making sure her plants are happy and healthy.
By night?
Oh well...
Let's just say Yoohee has some... extracurricular gardening activities.
She's a wonderfully morally gray character with very strong feelings about misogynistic and abusive men. And when the authorities repeatedly fail to protect women from those men, Yoohee decides she's perfectly capable of handling certain problems herself.
Am I supposed to be rooting for her?
Because I absolutely was.
There's something darkly satisfying about the contrast between this peaceful woman surrounded by beautiful, thriving plants and what she's capable of when someone crosses the wrong line. And let's just say her garden is doing exceptionally well. I'm sure it's completely unrelated. (Cough again...)
Then there's the detective investigating her, who drove me slightly insane. He couldn't find the evidence he needed but JUST. KEPT. PUSHING.
Sir.
Go home.
Find a hobby.
At one point I started wondering whether he might mysteriously contribute to the continued health of Yoohee's garden too. Alas...
The narration was also excellent. Jennifer J. Kim's performance suited the quiet, unsettling atmosphere perfectly and made an already short book incredibly easy to devour in one sitting.
Overall, I loved this. It's dark, strangely cozy at times, morally messy, occasionally funny and features a female character I probably shouldn't have been cheering for nearly as enthusiastically as I was.
But here we are.
Support your local plant lady!!!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
https://turnthepagewithana.blogspot.c...
Plant Lady is on the shorter side,the audiobook is only a few hours long, and normally with books this short, I worry that the story will either feel rushed or that there simply won't be enough time to develop everything properly.
Not here.
I don't know whether it was Minyoung Kang's writing style, Jennifer J. Kim's narration, or a combination of both, but the story flowed incredibly smoothly. I usually listen to audiobooks at around 1.75–2x speed, and even then, nothing felt rushed. It was such an easy and strangely pleasant listening experience considering, you know... murder. (cough)
And I absolutely loved Yoohee.
By day, she's tending to her beautiful plant shop, sharing gardening tips on social media, helping customers and making sure her plants are happy and healthy.
By night?
Oh well...
Let's just say Yoohee has some... extracurricular gardening activities.
She's a wonderfully morally gray character with very strong feelings about misogynistic and abusive men. And when the authorities repeatedly fail to protect women from those men, Yoohee decides she's perfectly capable of handling certain problems herself.
Am I supposed to be rooting for her?
Because I absolutely was.
There's something darkly satisfying about the contrast between this peaceful woman surrounded by beautiful, thriving plants and what she's capable of when someone crosses the wrong line. And let's just say her garden is doing exceptionally well. I'm sure it's completely unrelated. (Cough again...)
Then there's the detective investigating her, who drove me slightly insane. He couldn't find the evidence he needed but JUST. KEPT. PUSHING.
Sir.
Go home.
Find a hobby.
At one point I started wondering whether he might mysteriously contribute to the continued health of Yoohee's garden too. Alas...
The narration was also excellent. Jennifer J. Kim's performance suited the quiet, unsettling atmosphere perfectly and made an already short book incredibly easy to devour in one sitting.
Overall, I loved this. It's dark, strangely cozy at times, morally messy, occasionally funny and features a female character I probably shouldn't have been cheering for nearly as enthusiastically as I was.
But here we are.
Support your local plant lady!!!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
https://turnthepagewithana.blogspot.c...
June 14, 2026
3.75 ⭐️
“She was the best gal around!”
“What about the people she murdered?!”
“What MURDAH??”
That meme/ interaction is my overall response to this book. I support women’s rights... and their wrongs
Plant Lady was a very quick read. It was organized into a few short stories — but still related with our FMC as the connecting link.
I loved the setting of the boutique store that was filled to the brim with a variety of plants, to the point it sounded like a jungle. The descriptions were so picturesque, and made me want to go buy more plants to decorate my home.
Overall, the writing did feel very out of body/ disconnected. I prefer to feel as if I’m in the characters’ shoes rather than watching from an outsider’s POV. Also I was very thrown off when we first switched POVs. I was not expecting that, and took awhile to comprehend what was going on.
Even though some violent events occurred, it felt pretty bland and monotone. The events were described, but I don’t think I felt many emotions besides the anxiety. They were eluded to, but it wasn’t very visceral. When we started getting into the portion where the detective was sniffing around it did start to get more interesting.
“She was the best gal around!”
“What about the people she murdered?!”
“What MURDAH??”
That meme/ interaction is my overall response to this book. I support women’s rights... and their wrongs
Plant Lady was a very quick read. It was organized into a few short stories — but still related with our FMC as the connecting link.
I loved the setting of the boutique store that was filled to the brim with a variety of plants, to the point it sounded like a jungle. The descriptions were so picturesque, and made me want to go buy more plants to decorate my home.
Overall, the writing did feel very out of body/ disconnected. I prefer to feel as if I’m in the characters’ shoes rather than watching from an outsider’s POV. Also I was very thrown off when we first switched POVs. I was not expecting that, and took awhile to comprehend what was going on.
Even though some violent events occurred, it felt pretty bland and monotone. The events were described, but I don’t think I felt many emotions besides the anxiety. They were eluded to, but it wasn’t very visceral. When we started getting into the portion where the detective was sniffing around it did start to get more interesting.
November 23, 2025
4,5 Sterne (mit Tendenz nach oben)
Habe es geliebt. Ich muss zugeben, die Autorin hat mich so weit gebracht, dass ich jeden einzelnen Tod dieser Abschaum-Männer gefeiert habe, wie die Hochzeit, die ich nie haben werde. Das ist Female Rage in Reinform und ich habe es gefeiert! Unsere Plant Lady hat aber auch echt die schlimmsten Exemplare vor die Flinte bekommen 😂 (Im übertragenen Sinne, die Tode waren viel besser inszeniert). Das im Kontrast mit dieser tollen Liebe zu Pflanzen und dann ist das ganze auch noch nuanciert und nicht splatterig – Wahnsinn. Ganz toll geschrieben. Ich empfehle auch sehr, das Nachwort nicht auszulassen, das hat mich nochmal ganz anders getroffen. Richtig gut, ich hatte zwar ein paar Probleme mit den Namen, aber das liegt nun wirklich an mir.
Habe es geliebt. Ich muss zugeben, die Autorin hat mich so weit gebracht, dass ich jeden einzelnen Tod dieser Abschaum-Männer gefeiert habe, wie die Hochzeit, die ich nie haben werde. Das ist Female Rage in Reinform und ich habe es gefeiert! Unsere Plant Lady hat aber auch echt die schlimmsten Exemplare vor die Flinte bekommen 😂 (Im übertragenen Sinne, die Tode waren viel besser inszeniert). Das im Kontrast mit dieser tollen Liebe zu Pflanzen und dann ist das ganze auch noch nuanciert und nicht splatterig – Wahnsinn. Ganz toll geschrieben. Ich empfehle auch sehr, das Nachwort nicht auszulassen, das hat mich nochmal ganz anders getroffen. Richtig gut, ich hatte zwar ein paar Probleme mit den Namen, aber das liegt nun wirklich an mir.
January 22, 2026
Plant Lady started with an idea that immediately intrigued me. I also really liked the structure: six chapters, each working as its own closed-off story. I truly wanted to love this book.
Sadly, the writing style didn’t work for me. It felt very cold and detached, almost like reading a report. Even though the protagonist, Yu-hee, does shocking and extreme things, I never really felt the rage behind them .. more like feminine rage on Valium. 🙈 The characters lacked depth, which made it hard to care about what happened.
Overall, the book was simply too quiet for my taste. Some nuances may have been lost in translation, and knowing that the story was originally planned as a short story makes a lot of sense to me … I think it might have worked better in that form.
That said: the edition looks absolutely stunning 🌿🖤
Beautiful concept, beautiful book … just not the execution for me.
𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘥 | 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺
Thank you @team.bloggerportal & @penguinbuecher for the review copy!
🇩🇪
Ich hatte große Hoffnungen in dieses Buch …
Schönes Cover, spannende Idee, gemischte Gefühle. 🌿📖
Plant Lady hat mich am Anfang sofort neugierig gemacht. Die Grundidee ist interessant, und auch die Struktur mochte ich: sechs Kapitel, die jeweils für sich stehen. Ich wollte dieses Buch wirklich mögen.
Der Schreibstil hat mich leider nicht abgeholt. Er war sehr nüchtern und distanziert, stellenweise fast wie ein Bericht. Obwohl die Protagonistin Yu-hee extreme und schockierende Dinge tut, habe ich die Emotionen dahinter kaum gespürt – eher so etwas wie „feminine rage auf Valium“. Auch die Figuren blieben für mich ziemlich blass, sodass es mir schwerfiel, mit ihnen mitzufühlen.
Insgesamt war mir das Buch einfach zu leise. Vielleicht sind durch die Übersetzung ein paar Nuancen verloren gegangen, und da die Geschichte ursprünglich als Kurzgeschichte gedacht war, kann ich mir gut vorstellen, dass sie in dieser Form besser funktioniert hätte.
Was man aber definitiv sagen muss: Die Ausgabe sieht wunderschön aus 🌿
Tolle Idee, tolles Buch – nur die Umsetzung hat mich persönlich nicht überzeugt.
Sadly, the writing style didn’t work for me. It felt very cold and detached, almost like reading a report. Even though the protagonist, Yu-hee, does shocking and extreme things, I never really felt the rage behind them .. more like feminine rage on Valium. 🙈 The characters lacked depth, which made it hard to care about what happened.
Overall, the book was simply too quiet for my taste. Some nuances may have been lost in translation, and knowing that the story was originally planned as a short story makes a lot of sense to me … I think it might have worked better in that form.
That said: the edition looks absolutely stunning 🌿🖤
Beautiful concept, beautiful book … just not the execution for me.
𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘥 | 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺
Thank you @team.bloggerportal & @penguinbuecher for the review copy!
🇩🇪
Ich hatte große Hoffnungen in dieses Buch …
Schönes Cover, spannende Idee, gemischte Gefühle. 🌿📖
Plant Lady hat mich am Anfang sofort neugierig gemacht. Die Grundidee ist interessant, und auch die Struktur mochte ich: sechs Kapitel, die jeweils für sich stehen. Ich wollte dieses Buch wirklich mögen.
Der Schreibstil hat mich leider nicht abgeholt. Er war sehr nüchtern und distanziert, stellenweise fast wie ein Bericht. Obwohl die Protagonistin Yu-hee extreme und schockierende Dinge tut, habe ich die Emotionen dahinter kaum gespürt – eher so etwas wie „feminine rage auf Valium“. Auch die Figuren blieben für mich ziemlich blass, sodass es mir schwerfiel, mit ihnen mitzufühlen.
Insgesamt war mir das Buch einfach zu leise. Vielleicht sind durch die Übersetzung ein paar Nuancen verloren gegangen, und da die Geschichte ursprünglich als Kurzgeschichte gedacht war, kann ich mir gut vorstellen, dass sie in dieser Form besser funktioniert hätte.
Was man aber definitiv sagen muss: Die Ausgabe sieht wunderschön aus 🌿
Tolle Idee, tolles Buch – nur die Umsetzung hat mich persönlich nicht überzeugt.
August 25, 2026
Very much an entry in the Good For Her canon. Ultimately the interconnected short stories feel of it let me wanting much more depth.
August 2, 2026
You know how Asian healing fiction has become popular of late (think "We'll Prescribe You a Cat" and "Before the Coffee Gets Cold")? Yeah, Plant Lady is like that only filled with feminine revenge on all the men doing wrong by women. I always enjoy a heartfelt, inspiring read...
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
August 22, 2026
I REALLY wanted to like this one. The short story features Yohee, who runs a plant store in South Korea and has a history of terrible luck with shady men.
While I strongly champion pro-women themes, women's safety, and female protection—and truly loved the author's note and core concept—I struggled to feel that same deep connection while reading the story itself. The book is structured into six distinct chapters, each uniquely named after a different plant. I appreciated the premise, but the execution just didn't quite land for me.
While I strongly champion pro-women themes, women's safety, and female protection—and truly loved the author's note and core concept—I struggled to feel that same deep connection while reading the story itself. The book is structured into six distinct chapters, each uniquely named after a different plant. I appreciated the premise, but the execution just didn't quite land for me.
October 22, 2025
Yu-hee liebt Pflanzen – Menschen dagegen weniger. In ihrem kleinen Pflanzenladen findet sie Ruhe, aber auch die Kraft, sich gegen das zu wehren, was ihr und anderen Frauen angetan wurde.
Minyoung Kang schreibt ruhig, klar und trotzdem mit so viel Gefühl. Es ist kein lautes Buch, sondern eins, das man leise liest – und das lange nachwirkt.
Die Pflanzen in diesem Buch sind mehr als Deko. Sie spiegeln das Leben wider – Wachstum, Verfall, Erneuerung. Sie stehen für das, was Yu-hee sich selbst zurückholt: Kontrolle, Würde, Freiheit.
Ich mochte, wie ehrlich und gleichzeitig poetisch dieses Buch mit Themen wie weiblicher Wut, Schmerz und Heilung umgeht.
Ein feminines, stilles, starkes Buch – anders, aber genau das macht es so besonders.
Minyoung Kang schreibt ruhig, klar und trotzdem mit so viel Gefühl. Es ist kein lautes Buch, sondern eins, das man leise liest – und das lange nachwirkt.
Die Pflanzen in diesem Buch sind mehr als Deko. Sie spiegeln das Leben wider – Wachstum, Verfall, Erneuerung. Sie stehen für das, was Yu-hee sich selbst zurückholt: Kontrolle, Würde, Freiheit.
Ich mochte, wie ehrlich und gleichzeitig poetisch dieses Buch mit Themen wie weiblicher Wut, Schmerz und Heilung umgeht.
Ein feminines, stilles, starkes Buch – anders, aber genau das macht es so besonders.
August 4, 2026
I wanted to read this based on cover alone. She looks so ominous in a room full of gorgeous plants. I knew she was going to be up to something nefarious 🤣.
I LOVED the FMC. She was up to good, sure, but in the best way. Feminine rage is always needed but she doesn’t even seem to have the rage you usually expect. She’s so calm, self assured, and just… righteous.
The women in the story were all so relatable and heartbreaking. It made you want the revenge for the swift or not, as long as it was done.
I LOVED the FMC. She was up to good, sure, but in the best way. Feminine rage is always needed but she doesn’t even seem to have the rage you usually expect. She’s so calm, self assured, and just… righteous.
The women in the story were all so relatable and heartbreaking. It made you want the revenge for the swift or not, as long as it was done.
July 24, 2026
This was so good. Whimsical, fun, murderous and inventive. This was bingeable and VERY quick. Definitely would recommend.
August 2, 2026
She turned her eyes to the avocado plant that she had placed on the table. A baby shoot was peeking out from the soil. Since when had she become the only person looking after it? Time to give it some new fertilizer.
‘Plant Lady’ is Shanna Tan’s translation of ‘식물, 상점’ by 강민영 (Kang Min-Young).
A personality quiz question:
You love plants, but your boyfriend thinks you love them too much, certainly more than him. This leads to a heated row which culminates with him tearing the leaves from your beloved Areca palm. Do you:
A) apologise for your plant obsession and promise to prioritise him in future;
B) while expressing how much his actions hurt you, still attempt a mutual reconciliation;
C) dump him, this isn’t going to work; or
D) batter his head with a shovel, use his body as fertiliser, and then embark on a killing spree of men, first those that offend you and later as a service to other women.
If your answer is D) then this is the book for you.
Taking a deep breath, she wiped her sweaty palms on her apron and picked up the shovel, gripping its sturdy handle with both hands. She needed to stop him right then or her beloved areca would perish. She could hear its shrill scream. It was her one and only duty to save it – the plant was like a faithful friend who had returned her care and love with such loyalty, sitting by the entrance to her shop all these months, greeting her customers. I will not let her die, she thought. I will not. In the corner of her eye, she saw a young leaf spiralling to the ground. She drew a deep breath and held it, raised the shovel high as she stepped out into the shop, and brought it down with a swish.
The original Korean title translates as “Plant, Shop” but the English title Plant Lady also works, with the reader mentally completing the sobriquet by appending “Crazy” to the start to avoid the trap Sungmin fell into: Sungmin’s annoyance melted away. He gave the woman a once-over, thinking appreciatively that her style felt completely unique. Still, he associated plant ladies with a calm and gentle personality, and it looked as if this woman would fall right into the stereotype - Sungmin’s error soon had him repurposed as Miracle-Gro.
The Korean title comes from the name of the shop owned by the protagonist, Youhee (유희), although the English translation makes the odd choice to remove the comma so “Plant, Shop” becomes “Plant Shop”. The Korean novel explicitly calls out the presence of the comma as making the name more memorable.
This was originally a short story and, when expanded into a novel, was initially serialised. And the resulting episodic nature of the story makes it a little repetitive initially - variations on man is abusive to woman, Youhee gets involved, fertiliser stocks increase. But it makes for an interesting twist on cozy healing fiction - everyone lives happily ever after except the men, who also live on through the plants they nourish:
Yoohee did not believe in Fate. It was true that plants left in poor soil or in the wrong sort of climate would inevitably wilt and die, but she considered it her calling to offer them the most comfortable environment possible in which to thrive. Whenever any plant looked unwell, whether it was a case of rotting roots from overwatering or leaf loss owing to a lack of sunlight, she could diagnose the problem and solve it like a puzzle.
Humans are just like plants, she often told herself. With a little attention and tenderness, you could nudge them back onto the right track. No one was ever rotten to the core and beyond rescuing. Or at least, that was what she’d always wanted to believe; but over time, her conviction had begun to weaken. And it always had to do with men.
유희는 태어날 때부터 나쁘게 태어나는 건 없다고 생각했다. 토양이 좋지 않고 온도가 나쁘면 식물들은 시들고 죽는다. 유희는 자신에게 맞지 않는 토 양과 습도를 가까스로 버텨내는 식물들이 마음 편히 살아갈 수 있도록 환경 을 바꾸어주는 게 결국 자신의 일이라 믿었다. 과한 습기로 뿌리가 썩거나 너 무 오랜 시간랫 동안 빛을 보지 못해 잎부터 떨어지는 식물들의 문제는 유희 에게 아주 쉬운 퍼즐이라 비교적 쉽게 알아차릴 수 있었다. 문제가 생기면 무 엇을 어떻게 해결해야 할지를 유희는 잘 알고 있었다.
사람도 식물과 동일하다고 믿었다. 사람도 식물처럼 다듬으면 나을 수 있 다고, 조금 손보면 더 옳은 방향을 향해 걸어갈 수 있다고 생각했다. 고통 속 에 지내야 했던 몇몇 순간들이 머릿속에 떠올랐지만, 적어도 본성은 완전히 악하지 않다고 생각했고, 그렇게 믿고 싶었다. 하지만 어느 날부턴가 그 믿음 은 조금씩 옅어지기 시작했다. 대부분은 유희를 거쳐 간 남자들 때문이었다.
The stakes get a little higher (good for climbing plants) when a policeman notices a run of missing people, all of whom seem to have visited Plant, Shop (I’m adding the comma back), and we also discover the source of Youhee’s trauma.
The men were not connected to each other, but it was as if an invisible rope held them together. After all, they were one and the same in the way they’d treated women and forced their views upon them. To put a stop to the vicious cycle, she’d had to tackle the problem at its root, the same way she managed her plants. Yoohee thought back to all the women who had passed through Plant Shop. She was no longer in contact with them, but she’d never forget their final conversations, the look in their eyes when they’d realized everything was over. Had they all found peace? She hoped so.
Not the most realistic of novels, but, as above, a nice twist on cosy healing fiction. Mid 3 stars
‘Plant Lady’ is Shanna Tan’s translation of ‘식물, 상점’ by 강민영 (Kang Min-Young).
A personality quiz question:
You love plants, but your boyfriend thinks you love them too much, certainly more than him. This leads to a heated row which culminates with him tearing the leaves from your beloved Areca palm. Do you:
A) apologise for your plant obsession and promise to prioritise him in future;
B) while expressing how much his actions hurt you, still attempt a mutual reconciliation;
C) dump him, this isn’t going to work; or
D) batter his head with a shovel, use his body as fertiliser, and then embark on a killing spree of men, first those that offend you and later as a service to other women.
If your answer is D) then this is the book for you.
Taking a deep breath, she wiped her sweaty palms on her apron and picked up the shovel, gripping its sturdy handle with both hands. She needed to stop him right then or her beloved areca would perish. She could hear its shrill scream. It was her one and only duty to save it – the plant was like a faithful friend who had returned her care and love with such loyalty, sitting by the entrance to her shop all these months, greeting her customers. I will not let her die, she thought. I will not. In the corner of her eye, she saw a young leaf spiralling to the ground. She drew a deep breath and held it, raised the shovel high as she stepped out into the shop, and brought it down with a swish.
The original Korean title translates as “Plant, Shop” but the English title Plant Lady also works, with the reader mentally completing the sobriquet by appending “Crazy” to the start to avoid the trap Sungmin fell into: Sungmin’s annoyance melted away. He gave the woman a once-over, thinking appreciatively that her style felt completely unique. Still, he associated plant ladies with a calm and gentle personality, and it looked as if this woman would fall right into the stereotype - Sungmin’s error soon had him repurposed as Miracle-Gro.
The Korean title comes from the name of the shop owned by the protagonist, Youhee (유희), although the English translation makes the odd choice to remove the comma so “Plant, Shop” becomes “Plant Shop”. The Korean novel explicitly calls out the presence of the comma as making the name more memorable.
This was originally a short story and, when expanded into a novel, was initially serialised. And the resulting episodic nature of the story makes it a little repetitive initially - variations on man is abusive to woman, Youhee gets involved, fertiliser stocks increase. But it makes for an interesting twist on cozy healing fiction - everyone lives happily ever after except the men, who also live on through the plants they nourish:
Yoohee did not believe in Fate. It was true that plants left in poor soil or in the wrong sort of climate would inevitably wilt and die, but she considered it her calling to offer them the most comfortable environment possible in which to thrive. Whenever any plant looked unwell, whether it was a case of rotting roots from overwatering or leaf loss owing to a lack of sunlight, she could diagnose the problem and solve it like a puzzle.
Humans are just like plants, she often told herself. With a little attention and tenderness, you could nudge them back onto the right track. No one was ever rotten to the core and beyond rescuing. Or at least, that was what she’d always wanted to believe; but over time, her conviction had begun to weaken. And it always had to do with men.
유희는 태어날 때부터 나쁘게 태어나는 건 없다고 생각했다. 토양이 좋지 않고 온도가 나쁘면 식물들은 시들고 죽는다. 유희는 자신에게 맞지 않는 토 양과 습도를 가까스로 버텨내는 식물들이 마음 편히 살아갈 수 있도록 환경 을 바꾸어주는 게 결국 자신의 일이라 믿었다. 과한 습기로 뿌리가 썩거나 너 무 오랜 시간랫 동안 빛을 보지 못해 잎부터 떨어지는 식물들의 문제는 유희 에게 아주 쉬운 퍼즐이라 비교적 쉽게 알아차릴 수 있었다. 문제가 생기면 무 엇을 어떻게 해결해야 할지를 유희는 잘 알고 있었다.
사람도 식물과 동일하다고 믿었다. 사람도 식물처럼 다듬으면 나을 수 있 다고, 조금 손보면 더 옳은 방향을 향해 걸어갈 수 있다고 생각했다. 고통 속 에 지내야 했던 몇몇 순간들이 머릿속에 떠올랐지만, 적어도 본성은 완전히 악하지 않다고 생각했고, 그렇게 믿고 싶었다. 하지만 어느 날부턴가 그 믿음 은 조금씩 옅어지기 시작했다. 대부분은 유희를 거쳐 간 남자들 때문이었다.
The stakes get a little higher (good for climbing plants) when a policeman notices a run of missing people, all of whom seem to have visited Plant, Shop (I’m adding the comma back), and we also discover the source of Youhee’s trauma.
The men were not connected to each other, but it was as if an invisible rope held them together. After all, they were one and the same in the way they’d treated women and forced their views upon them. To put a stop to the vicious cycle, she’d had to tackle the problem at its root, the same way she managed her plants. Yoohee thought back to all the women who had passed through Plant Shop. She was no longer in contact with them, but she’d never forget their final conversations, the look in their eyes when they’d realized everything was over. Had they all found peace? She hoped so.
Not the most realistic of novels, but, as above, a nice twist on cosy healing fiction. Mid 3 stars
August 17, 2026
The biggest problem I had with this book was that I never understood the main character well enough to understand her actions. I was really intrigued by the premise and absolutely loved the cover, so I had high expectations going in. Unfortunately, the writing felt so bare-bones that I never felt properly introduced to the protagonist. We get very little background information about her, and while that could have been an intentional choice, it didn’t work for me because without understanding who she is or what shaped her, many of her decisions simply didn’t make sense. The situation also escalated incredibly quickly. Things happened one after another without enough development or context to make them feel believable, so instead of building tension, the story often left me wondering how we had gotten there in the first place. I’m also not sure whether this was an issue with the translation or simply the author’s original writing style, but the prose felt very simple and underdeveloped. There wasn’t much description or atmosphere, and I often felt like the book was telling me what happened rather than actually allowing me to experience it. I usually love female rage novels, which was one of the things that initially attracted me to this book, but I wouldn’t really classify this as one. The premise had so much potential for exploring anger, frustration, and the experiences that lead someone to that point, but the short length and lack of character development didn’t give those ideas enough room to breathe. Overall, I think this was a case of a great premise that simply wasn’t developed enough. I wanted to love it, but I was left wishing the book had given me more.
August 22, 2026
A novel that screams, "YES ALL MEN!" very loudly and unsubtly.
This is female revenge horror painted in very broad, bloody strokes, and to me it doesn't satisfy because there's so little attempt at character. Yoohee doesn't really grow or change much, and the rest of the characters come in and out in the short story-like format that seems very popular right now in Asia (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, The Kamogawa Food Detectives, etc.) but that I don't care for. So yeah, picture that type of "feel-good" book, just with more torture.
This is female revenge horror painted in very broad, bloody strokes, and to me it doesn't satisfy because there's so little attempt at character. Yoohee doesn't really grow or change much, and the rest of the characters come in and out in the short story-like format that seems very popular right now in Asia (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, The Kamogawa Food Detectives, etc.) but that I don't care for. So yeah, picture that type of "feel-good" book, just with more torture.
January 28, 2026
Während es in der westlichen Welt in der Malerei die Tradition gibt, die Fläche eines Bildes ganz auszumalen, bedeuten in Asien freie Flächen nicht, dass etwas unfertig wäre, sondern haben ihre eigene Aussage als Teil eines Bildes. So ist es auch in Plant Lady. In diesem Blumenladen quillt nicht alles vor Pflanzen über, es gibt wohlgestaltete Freiräume. Formal unkapriziöse, einfache Sätze, die sitzen. Hier wird viel darüber entfaltet, was nicht explizit dort steht oder nur angedeutet ist. Das gefällt mir sehr gut. Die dargestellte weibliche Wut und Reaktion auf patriarchale Strukturen und drohende Femizide muss ebenfalls im kulturellen Kontext gesehen werden. Man vergisst leicht, dass es in Südkorea um die Rechte von Frauen nach wie vor schlecht bestellt ist, vor allem im Vergleich zu anderen hochentwickelten Industriestaaten. Wer sich dafür interessiert, dem/der sei „Kim Jiyoung, geboren 1982“ empfohlen.
August 17, 2026
This was a fun one, I love the intention/motivation behind Minyoung Kang writing this book. I just wish it went deeper into the MC’s life and feelings and we had even more female rage.
August 10, 2026
I support women's rights, more relevantly to this book… I support women’s wrongs
More or less a collection of short stories/ episodic structure that is centred around a plant shop owner who helps get rid of certain men
An emotional read, filled with desperation, vulnerability, and a slow building rage
More or less a collection of short stories/ episodic structure that is centred around a plant shop owner who helps get rid of certain men
An emotional read, filled with desperation, vulnerability, and a slow building rage
December 1, 2025
This was an entertaining, fun read on a dark topic: violence against women, and a society that pretty much accepts this as the status quo. While I am sure I missed some Korea specific references, I believe any and esch of the instances of gender-specific harassment and violence can be found anywhere. At times you could tell that the story started out as a short story, some characters are not well-developed, and some questions linger, but perhaps that’s for the reader to think about!
August 20, 2026
“Plant Lady” by Minyoung Kang is a twisted, dark story of a plant shop owner in Korea that helps desperate women take care of their problems with the horrible men in their lives. It’s kind of a feminist “Sweeney Todd” or “Dexter” fantasy, presented in a comforting, healing, plant-filled environment. I liked the story and the sparsely drawn characters, but was disturbed by its warped morality. Strange but compelling.
August 20, 2026
Dark humor, fun read and I love plants 🪴
August 9, 2026
Thank you for the e-proof!
Had a fun time, loved the concept of how things moved with the store / service Lool Loved the idea of someone offering help to those who need it with this 'disguise' just took me a while to get into but good read!
Had a fun time, loved the concept of how things moved with the store / service Lool Loved the idea of someone offering help to those who need it with this 'disguise' just took me a while to get into but good read!
August 2, 2026
Plant Lady follows a woman who turns her passion for plants into a small business while secretly taking deadly revenge on men who have harmed women. The premise sounded original and fun, but the plot and characters never developed much depth and the story didn't feel cohesive.
What left me unsettled was the author's note. Until then, I had seen Yohee purely as a satirical character used to explore feelings of frustration and fear surrounding violence against women. But several statements in the author's note struck me as surprisingly unnuanced, particularly the line, "There have been moments in my life when I've wished that I knew a person like Yohee." Perhaps Kang intended it as an expression of those emotions, but without further nuance, it felt uncomfortably close to endorsing a character whose defining trait is murdering men.
What left me unsettled was the author's note. Until then, I had seen Yohee purely as a satirical character used to explore feelings of frustration and fear surrounding violence against women. But several statements in the author's note struck me as surprisingly unnuanced, particularly the line, "There have been moments in my life when I've wished that I knew a person like Yohee." Perhaps Kang intended it as an expression of those emotions, but without further nuance, it felt uncomfortably close to endorsing a character whose defining trait is murdering men.
July 24, 2026
3.5⭐️
Thank you @berkleypub for the free review copy! ♡
The Plant Lady is not only a green thumb and expert on all things botanical, but she is also an undercover vigilante who is disposing the world of abusive men, one bad dude at a time.
Sometimes is a poisonous plant that’s the culprit and other times it’s just a good old shovel to the noggin.
When a local police detective starts to tie all the disappearances to her shop, they enter a cat and mouse game where Youhee must always stay a step ahead of him…
The storytelling is a little dry which could be an artifact of being translated fiction, but for what it’s worth, I enjoyed this quirky revenge novella.
This weird girl literary horror packs quite a punch in only 6 chapters (under 200 pages). I read it in one sitting and for me it was cathartic in a world where women’s voices are silenced too often.
Recommended to people who enjoyed: Molka, Hot Girls Murder Club, The Women of Wild Hill and all plant lovers.
TW: there is some animal cruelty in 1 chapter
Thank you @berkleypub for the free review copy! ♡
The Plant Lady is not only a green thumb and expert on all things botanical, but she is also an undercover vigilante who is disposing the world of abusive men, one bad dude at a time.
Sometimes is a poisonous plant that’s the culprit and other times it’s just a good old shovel to the noggin.
When a local police detective starts to tie all the disappearances to her shop, they enter a cat and mouse game where Youhee must always stay a step ahead of him…
The storytelling is a little dry which could be an artifact of being translated fiction, but for what it’s worth, I enjoyed this quirky revenge novella.
This weird girl literary horror packs quite a punch in only 6 chapters (under 200 pages). I read it in one sitting and for me it was cathartic in a world where women’s voices are silenced too often.
Recommended to people who enjoyed: Molka, Hot Girls Murder Club, The Women of Wild Hill and all plant lovers.
TW: there is some animal cruelty in 1 chapter
November 6, 2025
„Kann eine zerstörte Pflanze oder ein Mensch wie ich jemals wieder lebendig werden?“ S. 87
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Yu-hee hat ihren Bürojob schon lange hinter sich gelassen und ihr Leben dem gewidmet, was sie wirklich glücklich macht: Pflanzen. Ihr Pflanzenladen ist eine bekannte Adresse in einem eher öden Gewerbegebiet, und zuweilen verirren sich Frauen hierher, die Zuhause noch größere Probleme haben, als eingegangene Pflanzen wie zum Beispiel toxische Beziehungen, Gewalt, Manipulation, Cyberbullying durch Männer.
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Für diese Probleme ist Yu-hee die perfekte Adresse. Beladen mit ihren eigenen schlechten Erfahrungen mit Männern, ist sie ihnen nicht besonders wohlgesonnen. Ihre Problem-Löse-Strategie ist sehr praktisch orientiert, sie macht kurzen Prozess mit der männlichen Schöpfung. Doch bald wird Detective Cha Do-khyung auf sie und ihren ungewöhnlichen Pflanzenladen aufmerksam ...
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Ich habe das Buch wahnsinnig gerne gelesen. Der Schreibstil ließt sich leicht und die Kapitellänge war für mich einfach perfekt. Richtig gut gefallen hat mir auch das Nachwort der Autorin, in der sie den Entstehungshintergrund der Geschichte erläutert.
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Es ist eine herrliche tolle - koreanisch typisch seltsame - Geschichte, die mich einfach zum richtigen Zeitpunkt erwischt hat. Ich mochte die Atmosphäre des Pflanzenshops, Yu-hees Hilfsbereitschaft und die gespiegelte Realität - in der sonst die Frauen die Opfer sind und schnell in Vergessenheit geraten.
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Auch die Aufmachung des Buches ist wunderschön! Es ist so liebevoll gestaltet und bekommt nun einen ganz besonderen Platz in meinem Bücherregal.
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Ein großes Monatshighlight für mich und eine dicke Leseempfehlung für euch!
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4,5/5 ⭐️
Toll übersetzt von Kyong-Hae Flügel
Rezensionsexemplar @penguinbuecher
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Yu-hee hat ihren Bürojob schon lange hinter sich gelassen und ihr Leben dem gewidmet, was sie wirklich glücklich macht: Pflanzen. Ihr Pflanzenladen ist eine bekannte Adresse in einem eher öden Gewerbegebiet, und zuweilen verirren sich Frauen hierher, die Zuhause noch größere Probleme haben, als eingegangene Pflanzen wie zum Beispiel toxische Beziehungen, Gewalt, Manipulation, Cyberbullying durch Männer.
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Für diese Probleme ist Yu-hee die perfekte Adresse. Beladen mit ihren eigenen schlechten Erfahrungen mit Männern, ist sie ihnen nicht besonders wohlgesonnen. Ihre Problem-Löse-Strategie ist sehr praktisch orientiert, sie macht kurzen Prozess mit der männlichen Schöpfung. Doch bald wird Detective Cha Do-khyung auf sie und ihren ungewöhnlichen Pflanzenladen aufmerksam ...
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Ich habe das Buch wahnsinnig gerne gelesen. Der Schreibstil ließt sich leicht und die Kapitellänge war für mich einfach perfekt. Richtig gut gefallen hat mir auch das Nachwort der Autorin, in der sie den Entstehungshintergrund der Geschichte erläutert.
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Es ist eine herrliche tolle - koreanisch typisch seltsame - Geschichte, die mich einfach zum richtigen Zeitpunkt erwischt hat. Ich mochte die Atmosphäre des Pflanzenshops, Yu-hees Hilfsbereitschaft und die gespiegelte Realität - in der sonst die Frauen die Opfer sind und schnell in Vergessenheit geraten.
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Auch die Aufmachung des Buches ist wunderschön! Es ist so liebevoll gestaltet und bekommt nun einen ganz besonderen Platz in meinem Bücherregal.
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Ein großes Monatshighlight für mich und eine dicke Leseempfehlung für euch!
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4,5/5 ⭐️
Toll übersetzt von Kyong-Hae Flügel
Rezensionsexemplar @penguinbuecher
January 6, 2026
>>Schlechte Zeiten für böse Männer<<
In „Plant Lady“ von Minyoung Kang, aus dem Koreanischen übersetzt von Kyong-Hae Flügel, begleiten wir die junge Yu-hee, die Abstand von ihrer Vergangenheit gewinnen will und in einem anderen Teil der Stadt einen Pflanzenladen eröffnet, obwohl sie davon eigentlich erst einmal gar keine Ahnung hat. Da sie selbst doch sehr introvertiert ist, wird dieser Pflanzenladen schnell ihr Rückzugsort und nicht nur ihrer, denn nach und nach auch für einige ihrer Kundinnen. Was erst einmal harmlos scheint, spitzt sich mehr und mehr zu und wird mitunter doch sehr blutrünstig- vorallem für die Männer der Schöpfung... mehr möchte ich an dieser Stelle nicht verraten.
Zu Beginn muss ich ehrlich sagen ist es mir doch eher schwer gefallen in der Geschichte anzukommen, das lag zum einen am sehr nüchternen Schreibstil und der für mich empfundenen Unnahbarkeit von Yu-hee... Interessant empfand ich wiederum den Aspekt rund um die Pflanzen, was für den Verlauf der Geschichte auf verschiedenste Art und Weise auch noch von großer Wichtigkeit wird. Je weiter ich also dran blieb, umso gespannter war ich, besonders als sich hier noch Detektive an Yu-hees Versen heften.
Mein Fazit: Ein interessantes Buch, das den Blickwinkel definitiv mal verändert und insgesamt viele Fragen hinterlässt, über die mich auch im Nachgang noch beschäftigen.
Dennoch tat ich mich auch mit einigen Dingen eher schwer, daher würde ich das Buch bewertungstechnisch im mittleren Feld einordnen.
In „Plant Lady“ von Minyoung Kang, aus dem Koreanischen übersetzt von Kyong-Hae Flügel, begleiten wir die junge Yu-hee, die Abstand von ihrer Vergangenheit gewinnen will und in einem anderen Teil der Stadt einen Pflanzenladen eröffnet, obwohl sie davon eigentlich erst einmal gar keine Ahnung hat. Da sie selbst doch sehr introvertiert ist, wird dieser Pflanzenladen schnell ihr Rückzugsort und nicht nur ihrer, denn nach und nach auch für einige ihrer Kundinnen. Was erst einmal harmlos scheint, spitzt sich mehr und mehr zu und wird mitunter doch sehr blutrünstig- vorallem für die Männer der Schöpfung... mehr möchte ich an dieser Stelle nicht verraten.
Zu Beginn muss ich ehrlich sagen ist es mir doch eher schwer gefallen in der Geschichte anzukommen, das lag zum einen am sehr nüchternen Schreibstil und der für mich empfundenen Unnahbarkeit von Yu-hee... Interessant empfand ich wiederum den Aspekt rund um die Pflanzen, was für den Verlauf der Geschichte auf verschiedenste Art und Weise auch noch von großer Wichtigkeit wird. Je weiter ich also dran blieb, umso gespannter war ich, besonders als sich hier noch Detektive an Yu-hees Versen heften.
Mein Fazit: Ein interessantes Buch, das den Blickwinkel definitiv mal verändert und insgesamt viele Fragen hinterlässt, über die mich auch im Nachgang noch beschäftigen.
Dennoch tat ich mich auch mit einigen Dingen eher schwer, daher würde ich das Buch bewertungstechnisch im mittleren Feld einordnen.
October 19, 2025
Einzig das Cover sticht hervor
Wenn dieses Buch in den Buchhandlungen kein Blickfang ist, dann weiß ich auch nicht mehr. Das Cover wäre auch der einzige Grund, aus dem heraus man dieses Buch kaufen sollte. Dazu muss man aber schon sehr designversessen sein, um die Bücher im Bücherregal nur noch nach dem Coverdesign auszuwählen. Oder ein Museum.
Ich habe dieses Buch gelesen, weil ich die Grundidee erstmal originell und überraschend fand. Die Idee wurde allerdings nicht gut ausgeführt. Einerseits ist das Buch sprachlich holprig in der Ausführung, was der Übersetzung geschuldet sein mag. Es liest sich an vielen Stellen leider nicht schön. Auf der anderen Seite trägt die Handlung auch nicht zu einem gelungenen Leseerlebnis bei. Die Kapitel sind in sich abgeschlossen und die Spannung bricht am Kapitelende jäh ab. Erst später im Buch treten unterliegenden Handlungsstränge zu Tage, die mich am Ende zumindest vor dem Lektüre-Abbruch und einer noch schwächeren Bewertung bewahrt haben.
Das Buch ist ein Genre-Mix der schlechteren Art. Es ist weder Krimi, noch Thriller noch Roman. Es ist ein Buch, dem eine schöne Grundidee zu Grunde liegt, dessen Charaktere und Handlungsstränge aber leider ungenügend herausgearbeitet sind. Lasst euch in den Buchhandlungen von der schönen Cover-Art nicht überlisten. Finger weg!
Wenn dieses Buch in den Buchhandlungen kein Blickfang ist, dann weiß ich auch nicht mehr. Das Cover wäre auch der einzige Grund, aus dem heraus man dieses Buch kaufen sollte. Dazu muss man aber schon sehr designversessen sein, um die Bücher im Bücherregal nur noch nach dem Coverdesign auszuwählen. Oder ein Museum.
Ich habe dieses Buch gelesen, weil ich die Grundidee erstmal originell und überraschend fand. Die Idee wurde allerdings nicht gut ausgeführt. Einerseits ist das Buch sprachlich holprig in der Ausführung, was der Übersetzung geschuldet sein mag. Es liest sich an vielen Stellen leider nicht schön. Auf der anderen Seite trägt die Handlung auch nicht zu einem gelungenen Leseerlebnis bei. Die Kapitel sind in sich abgeschlossen und die Spannung bricht am Kapitelende jäh ab. Erst später im Buch treten unterliegenden Handlungsstränge zu Tage, die mich am Ende zumindest vor dem Lektüre-Abbruch und einer noch schwächeren Bewertung bewahrt haben.
Das Buch ist ein Genre-Mix der schlechteren Art. Es ist weder Krimi, noch Thriller noch Roman. Es ist ein Buch, dem eine schöne Grundidee zu Grunde liegt, dessen Charaktere und Handlungsstränge aber leider ungenügend herausgearbeitet sind. Lasst euch in den Buchhandlungen von der schönen Cover-Art nicht überlisten. Finger weg!
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