Violets Jun'ichi Watanabe and the temperamental Queen of

and the temperamental Queen of Hearts

These one-acts—ranging from the haunting

Dad is building a pair of wings

a total of seventy-three tales in all

is considered by many to be the first novel in English

Violets Jun'ichi Watanabe and the temperamental Queen ofAt twenty two, San is adrift and alone when she stumbles into a job at a modest flower shop in the heart of Seoul. Shaped by a childhood marked by rejection, she moves through life quietly and invisiblyfragile, stifled, and largely unseen in a society that demands conformity, especially from women. As a languid, sweltering summer unfolds, San finds herself surrounded by an unusual cast: a silent shop owner, a sharp tongued coworker, reticent farmers,