This book is honestly so cosy and wholesome and such a healing experience for me. I truly enjoyed reading this one a crisp autumn day when the rest of the world is going on I can just relax with this read. A true enjoyment and I would definitely be recommending to my friend who also enjoys a spot of pottery.

There are so many Korean fiction novels around like this at the moment. I personally love them. This one is no exception. It’s a lovely wholesome and heartwarming story. Relatable characters and an enjoyable storyline. Highly recommended.

This was a lovely wholesome read. Pottery is described in such a magical way with such love and care. It was a perfect book for curling up under a blanket as the nights get darker earlier!

This is a nice and charming book and heartwarming read. The story follows a 30 year old woman who is burned out from work and also navigating a tough time in her life. She found a pottery studio down the road from her new apartment and forms unexpected friendships with other members.

I did find the writing didn’t flow at all times, I thought it was difficult and broken but that may be due to translation. I did think it was lovely and going to buy it for my friend who will love it.

I also loved the mention of the Korean food, all sounded amazing and want to try it all.

I gave it 3.5 so rounded to 4

The Healing Season of Poetry is a heart-warming book with hidden depth! We follow Jungmin, who's on a break from her career, trying to figure out what she wants out of life, so she turns to a new creative outlet. She meets a host of colourful friends who draw her into their stories, and let her learn more about herself. It's a slow read, and sometimes takes tangents to explore the other characters. I see it as a snapshot into Jungmin's life and how the decision to take up pottery changed her mindset, with a real emotional backbone!

Another beautiful, heartfelt and soul filling book! I devoured this book, one evening and I will be recommending it to all my students! My new go to author.

If you’re a fan of the tv series “ the Great Pottery Throwdown”, then this is the book for you! The story follows Jungmin, who after suffering a burnout happens across a pottery workshop. I found this a very heartwarming book although I felt some of the back stories a little neglected. There was scope for more character details and some of the storylines felt a little rushed. However, if you’re after an easy read, with a wholesome feel to it, then you’ll really enjoy this.

I don’t normally, read this kind of book. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

Jungmin is such a relatable character, with her struggles and finding herself, I liked her backstory as well. The fact she gains, an animal companion (Hoya), also warmed my heart. I would recommend this book, to friends and family and I want to read more from this author,

This was a very sweet book, with a soft, gently flowing storyline. I did, however, find it quite hard to connect to the characters. I thought Jungmin could have done with more depth - we learn that she's quit her job and is now in a funk before she comes across the workshop. However, we never really learn much about her, her passions, her drivers, her ambitions. It's almost there but not quite. It's as if there's a milky filter over the book - it's soft, gentle and calm, but a little bit fuzzy around the edges and slow.

"The Healing Season of Pottery" by Yeon Somin is a beautifully introspective and emotionally resonant novel that delves into themes of healing, self-discovery, and the transformative power of art. Somin’s writing is gentle yet profound, creating a narrative that speaks to the heart while exploring the quiet, restorative qualities of pottery as both an art form and a metaphor for life.

The story follows a protagonist who, perhaps after experiencing a significant loss or emotional turmoil, retreats to a small village known for its pottery. There, they become immersed in the craft, learning the delicate and meticulous process of shaping clay into beautiful, functional pieces. Through the act of creating pottery, the protagonist embarks on a journey of healing and self-reflection, discovering how the patience and care required in pottery can mirror the process of mending a broken heart or spirit.

Somin’s portrayal of the protagonist’s emotional journey is deeply moving, capturing the slow but steady process of healing that comes from finding solace in a craft. The novel’s setting, likely filled with serene landscapes and a tight-knit community, enhances the feeling of peace and refuge that the protagonist seeks. The characters are thoughtfully developed, each contributing to the protagonist’s growth in meaningful ways, whether through friendship, mentorship, or shared experiences.

"The Healing Season of Pottery" is a perfect read for those who enjoy literary fiction that focuses on personal growth, the beauty of simplicity, and the quiet strength found in creative expression. Yeon Somin has crafted a novel that is both meditative and uplifting, offering readers a reminder of the healing power that lies in the things we create with our hands and the connections we form along the way. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking a story of renewal, art, and the gentle process of putting the pieces of one’s life back together.

This is such a beautifully uplifting new addition to the healing fiction genre. Written in the vein of other "burnout to peaceful thriving" novels (Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, What You Are Looking for Is in the Library), the Healing Season of Pottery feels like a balm for the soul. The plot isn't exactly gripping, but it feels like a slow, peaceful return to joyful living. I'm looking forward to recommending this to more readers upon publication.

A cosy story perfect for a rainy day ! I enjoyed the wholesomeness of this read, and the premise that healing isn't always linear and can sometimes come from the most unexpected of places. I didn't find the writing particularly gripping, and it was a book I definitely found myself getting distracted easily from reading, however if you are looking for a cute story that doesn't require too much thinking, this is a read for you!

The story is about Jungmin, a woman in her thirties recovering from burnout. As she gathers the strength to leave her house, she discovers a pottery workshop called Soyo, where she meets new people and becomes part of a close-knit community.

The book unfolds as a healing experience and journey of self-reflection for Jungmin as she grapples with her identity and past trauma. The vivid descriptions create an immersive setting in Chesnut Burr Village, and the cultural differences add depth to the story.

Despite the excellent translation, it sometimes feels like a literal translation, losing some of the original magic. Additionally, the point of view changes without reason, and the writer introduces many backstories without proper follow-through. This might be due to differences in storytelling conventions between cultures. Still, it doesn't detract from the story’s quality or whether we prefer protagonists who find themselves on a solo journey or those who find themselves through finding love.

This book is a good choice if you're looking for a heartwarming, easy-to-read story.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I have no particularly strong feelings about this one, it was a better read than a lot of the other translated novels I've read - so I do think it was a pretty good translation but I wasn't super engrossed with the story.

I enjoyed the setting of the pottery studio and seeing Jungmin slowly come back to life once she found a new passion and a community. It had a nice message about how old trauma can linger and it's through giving yourself grace and connection that we can often find the solace needed to begin to heal and the pottery studio setting really worked as a perfect backdrop and metaphor for the story.

I don't have much else to say, unfortunately, while not a personal fav it's still one I can see recommending over the other Korean novels I've read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

a heartwarming story full of found family and the pursuit of happiness - left me with a warm fuzzy feeling

I enjoyed this read I didn't really know that healing fiction was a thing before reading this book and I did really enjoy this read and for sure will be reading more books in that genre and also books by this author.

It is official - I prefer Korean 'healing novels' to Japanese cat/Ghiblicore/twee ones. Having thoroughly enjoyed Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, I was delighted when my request for The Healing Season of Pottery was approved. Healing novels follow quite a specific formula/structure - the main character is rethinking their life by engaging in a wholesome activity such as running a bookshop, learning how to cook, opening a laundromat or discovering a new hobby. In this one, the protagonist joins a local pottery class. Close relatives of this type of novel are Western cosy fantasy (eg Legends and Lattes), cottagecore paperback romances (think those endless Cornish village books), Hallmark movies and Japanese cat/bookshop/coffeshop novels.

In The Healing Season of Pottery, we follow Jungmin, a woman who completely collapsed in her writing for broadcasting job and got a writers' block which sent her into deep depression and a life of a hermit. She stays in her silent one-bedroom apartment, she threw away the TV, she doesn't cook, she doesn't talk to anybody and she rarely leaves her flat. She discovers a local pottery class and slowly, little by little, rediscovers her will to live.

What sets the Korean ones apart, including The Healing Season of Pottery, is a more reserved exploration of emotions, a slower pace, coupled with slightly longer runtimes, which allows the reader to get to know not just the protagonist, but also their community, and, crucially, a focus on societal issues. American and British versions of this concept tend to be quite mindless ventures, whereas the Japanese ones focus on the supposedly 'universal' values and experiences, such as first love, grief or pride in one's work. We see the depressed characters in isolation, not as a part of a society which might have driven them into depression in the first place. The sort of anti-capitalist, or feminist messages Korean healing novels convey (not very forcefully, but they do convey them nevertheless) are reserved for the 'weird feminism' novels such as Sayaka Murata's works in Japan. In the Korean stories, the authors tend to be much more open about the societal specifics of what exactly drove the characters into depression.

In this one, I really appreciated the exploration of the predatory nature of broadcasting, the protagonist's former job. I also appreciated the extent to which both the protagonist and the author recognise the utter privilege of being able to just stop one's life for a year and live off savings without a job. Most depressed people don't get a chance to stay secluded in a flat which allows for privacy for months on end. I also loved the details of the reality of running a pottery class as a small business, including the discussion of the importance of Instagram. It was idealised and romanticised, but at least we got a glimpse of the economic reality of 'following your dreams'.

I wasn't sold on the romance, I was not sure what it added to the story. As a bonus, I am always suspicious of romances built on the love interest's breakup with their current partner. It was handled tactfully here, the protagonist was not the cause of the breakup, but I wasn't sure what Ara the girlfriend added to the story in the first place.

This is not a literary novel, so don't expect interest prose, or a deep exploration of human nature, or anything original in the narrative itself. As a novel, this is probably closer to 3 stars, but as a healing novel, it is really well-executed, so within its genre it is definitely a 4 star work.

This beautiful novel will stay in my mind for a long time! I admit I have become obsessed with the recent trend of healing fiction because of its heartwarming, community-led message. But THE HEALING SEASON OF POTTERY stands out to me because after many bookshop and cafe set novels in this space, this book offers a fresh take on the genre, centered around learning a new skill in order to find a way back into the world. A truly healing reading experience!

This was incredibly sweet and gentle, and really just a lovely book. It's a story of burnout, and of rejuvenation and finding joy in life again through creation, which I adore. It's very cosy, making it perfect for autumn/winter, reading under a blanket on a rainy day. I admit that I struggled to keep my focus as the book went on, despite it being a very short book at just over 250 pages, but it did make me want to go and try a pottery class!

I was in the mood for some gentle, healing fiction but this book really didn’t work for me.

What I liked:
👍 The cover art was inviting. While I think I prefer the North American cover (the cat is so cute!), I think this cover is more representative of the focus.
👍 When I started reading this book, the writing and descriptions in the first chapter calmed and comforted me.
👍 I liked the Hoya thread and wished we’d spent more time on it (maybe I prefer the ‘healing power of cats’ theme 🤔).
👍 Some of the descriptions of coffee and food were very well done.
👍 Even though I have zero interest in pottery, I found myself getting immersed in it!

Where it let me down:
👎 The book was boring. I’m not sure if it was trying to do too much and that’s why the characters, plot, and threads felt too surface level but nothing about this book grabbed or held my attention: characters felt more like caricatures than real people, threads (like Hoya) were introduced and dropped, time skips felt clunky and random.
👎 This is the first healing fiction I’ve read with an overt romance theme and I didn’t like it. It wasn’t empowering and felt like a weird theme for a healing fiction book. It might be a personal preference, but I prefer when women reconnect with themselves and prioritize their self-love as part of healing.
👎 Couldn’t connect with the instagram focus - sometimes, it felt more like Marketing for Social Media 101 than a novel. There was also way too much about characters’ jobs/schooling or characters whose only identity seems to be a job/schooling.
👎 Jungmin wasn’t an appealing character to me. She felt woefully immature (still bitter about elementary school, only realizing at 30+ that her mother is a person, etc.). But, that aside, Jungmin’s internalized capitalism was the most frustrating thing about her character. She’d collapsed under burnout and spent the better part of a year housebound but was so judgmental of others for not grindmaxing (when she first met Gisik) but held resentment toward her mom for working all the time. I will never understand the toxic relationship some folks have with jobs, according to Jungmin: “A seven-day weekend was a bottomless swamp of inertia.” Look at the word choices there: bottomless (insinuating sinking, falling), swamp (gross, mucky, sucking), inertia (lack of movement). God forbid we rest, recover, or *gasp* enjoy ourselves and find joy, solace, and peace not being at a job. 🙄 This book doesn’t have any commentary or criticism of capitalism (compared to the wonderful Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop which did this beautifully) but came across as more apologist which really didn’t work for me.
👎 Toward the end, the book takes a swerve into the religious too, which was weird.

While I felt this book lacked charm, focus, and has too strange priorities to work as a healing fiction novel, perhaps romance or women’s fiction readers might enjoy this more than I did. 🤷‍♀️

I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley. Thanks for letting me give it a try, Penguin, Viking.