There is a plethora of translated “healing fiction,” and one of the most recent ones to make it from Korea is Yeon Somin’s The Healing Season of Pottery. This book certainly lives up to its cozy cover, but it may not be for everyone, especially if you prefer stories that are faster-paced. Events and character development unfold at a gentle pace throughout the narrative. Also, unlike other healing fiction from Asia that I have read, there is some romance in this one. This novel stands apart from other Asian healing fiction I’ve read, as it incorporates romance. et, consistent with the novel’s tone, it quietly develops in the background. Honestly, the most compelling aspect of this book was Jungmin’s transformation from disillusioned, burnt-out TV writer to a reinvigorated aspiring novelist. While The Healing Season of Pottery was not entirely her story, I found it fascinating to learn about the realities of working in traditional media and pottery through her eyes. I commend the book for its realistic depiction of healing from childhood trauma and burnout via community and trying new activities. However, among all the healing fiction I’ve read thus far, I would say The Healing Season of Pottery was just alright

Oh I loved loved this book! Heartwarming and truly enjoyable. One of my favourites and will re-read in 2025 again!

Jungmin has quit her job, and has been hibernating in her apartment for too long, like many of us she is having trouble adjusting to her environment and getting back out there, but one day she stumbles upon a pottery studio.. and that changes everything. This book is one of my favourite reads of the year. This book is cozy, and has characters that I see in myself. I especially enjoyed the way pottery was used as a reflection of human life, beautifully done, and very raw.

A big thank you to Algonquin Books and Netgalley for the ARC!

Thank you Netgalley and Algonquin Books for the advanced readers copy.

This sweet story reminds us of the literal beauty in slowing down, connection, and creating; how sometimes the unexpected people and places can bring about healing in our lives.

I love cozy translated literature and this one is no different. They usually touch heavy topics and heartbreaks yet are so tender and comforting too. Even the cover is calming! While very different from, say, Marigold Mind Laundry, another recently translated to English publication, in terms of story and style, you finish with similar experiences: they are gentle, relatable, moving little stories that aren’t so little in the bigger picture. Definitely worth picking up for those who enjoy genres like this.

3.75/5 <3
Yeah… I saw a cat on the cover and knew I HAD to read this book hehe. While it was a bit slow, I’ve come to expect slow from cozy books such as this one and took it in stride. The pottery setting was really nice. The writing was a bit plain, but again that’s expected with translated novels so I didn’t really mind it :) Overall a good book!

The Healing Season of Pottery
Yeon So Min

Such a heartwarming and "healing" book!
It's a story of friendship, family, community and love, with pottery as the binding element of the characters. I really enjoyed reading about the members of the Soyo Pottery Workshop, I wish I could join them too and be a part of their warm and loving community.
I also liked how the author introduced the art of pottery to the readers. As someone who's very interested in pottery, I appreciate the fun facts that were included in the story.
Aside from the charming story, I also love the choice of book cover. I think it's the prettiest book cover I've seen ever!
I've noticed a lot of "healing" Korean books lately and I look forward to more! "Healing" is a favorite genre of mine in Kdrama/Kmovies, and I think it has also become my favorite book genre too!

*The Healing Season of Pottery* is a truly heartwarming and uplifting read. It follows Jungmin, a woman in her 30s, who, struggling with depression and isolation after leaving her job, stumbles upon a pottery workshop, mistaking it for a cafe. What she finds there, though, is much more—a welcoming space where the owner, Johee, and the workshop’s members gently draw her out of her shell. As Jungmin begins taking pottery lessons, she slowly starts to reconnect with the world around her, finding friendship, healing, and even the courage to confront a long-lost friend with whom she had a falling out under painful circumstances.

This book feels like a quiet, personal journey toward healing. The writing is tender and thoughtful, making it not just a story, but an experience that resonates deeply. It’s a beautiful reminder of how the right connections, even in the most unexpected places, can help us find our way back to ourselves. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking a story that touches the heart.

3.5⭐️

The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin (translated by Clare Richards) revolves around Jungmin, a young woman on the cusp of thirty who shuts herself away from the rest of the world after she quits her job as a broadcast writer after her disillusionment with her job and work pressure culminate in an emotional breakdown in her workplace. Living alone in a small apartment in Chestnut Burr Village, Jungmin struggles with depression and rarely ventures outside her home. On one of her rare outings, she discovers a pottery studio and gradually, as she begins to connect with the clay she is molding and the other members of the community among whom is an old friend with whom she shares a traumatic history, she also reconnects with herself.

The pacing of the novel is on the slower side, which suits the nature of the story and allows us to get to know Jungmin as she embarks on a journey of healing, introspection and personal growth. I loved the setting of the pottery studio and the sense of community. The author’s description of Jungmin’s interactions and experience with clay and how the same motivates her to take stock of her life and slowly embrace change is heartwarming and thought-provoking. Regarding the secondary characters, I did feel that a few of the subplots were not particularly impactful or necessary, thereby distracting us from Jungmin’s story. Similarly, certain aspects of the story could have been explored further. I also wasn’t taken with how the romantic track was presented.

The writing is crisp (occasionally a tad stilted) with minimal melodrama. The author has addressed themes of mental health, childhood trauma, burnout and work-life balance and depression realistically and with sensitivity, but I would have appreciated the writing more had it a tad more emotional depth.

Overall, there is a lot about this novel that is praiseworthy and I found myself rereading several of the passages. I believe that it would appeal to those who appreciate character-driven stories revolving around themes of hope, healing and community.

I must mention the cover art which I think is beautiful!

Many thanks to Algonquin Books for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel was published in the US on October 22, 2024.

#TheHealingSeasonOfPottery
#YeonSomin
#ClareRichards

From the premise alone, I love the idea of pottery healing. As someone who jumps headfirst into new hobbies, I love the idea of art and working with our hands. There's a special sense of slowness, of bring us back to our roots, that allows us space to reflect and heal. It gives us a moment to re-connect. That's one of the main elements of The Healing Season of Pottery. And it's such a good message. Within Jungmin meets new friends and opens herself up to situations she could never have imagined. It also forces her to reconcile with some of her past, her mistakes, and her guilt.

I really enjoyed this novel about healing, and moving on/starting fresh. I think my favorite parts are all set within Soyo studio. I love the descriptions surrounding Jungmin learning the craft of pottery. As she learns and the seasons change, she also learns more about herself, and her relationships with friends and family. There is so much growth contained within these pages. I find it very rewarding to read books by authors from other cultures, I feel as though I'm not just enjoying it, and gaining pleasure from the novel, but also gaining insight, and maybe even learning a few things along the way.

4.5 stars rounded up!

Thank you Algonquin Books and Netgalley for and advanced digital review copy of this wonderful novel!

This was such a calm and pleasant read. The main character was very relatable and was having that moment in life where you find you’re no longer happy so you stop and wonder if you’re making the right decisions. I liked how it wasn’t some big dramatic moment that made Jungmin heal or instantly better over night, but rather a progression of events that got her out of a bad cycle over time. Sometimes things happen for a reason, even if it’s not what you originally hoped or planned for, but that’s the beauty of life and this book did a wonderful job encapsulating that. I like the progression through the seasons throughout the story and find significance of each. It truly is the best representation of growth not only in terms of nature, but personal growth as well. This is a cozy read that I think is perfect for the fall/winter time and can be relatable for people going through a similar situation in life. The focus on pottery was beautiful and heartfelt, leaving behind valuable lessons that can apply to life for the reader. Overall, this was really well done and absolutely beautiful work.

Thank you to NetGalley, Yeon Somin, and Algonquin Books for this eARC!

This one was a very VERY cozy exploration of healing from burn-out. The pace is slow, but that gradually allowed for some wider look into the world it’s set in and it was interesting to learn about the broadcasting world. I also thought the coziness made a lot of sense in terms of healing from burnout. I also liked how it managed to build a sense of community as it slowly explored the side characters too.

This was a heartwarming story about one woman’s year after finding a pottery studio, making new friends, and developing her new hobby.

I enjoyed this one, though there were times that I felt the translation didn’t work well. I think there were parts where the characters’ dialogue felt a little awkward or harsh.

I also felt this was very slow. I was interested but also didn’t feel fully compelled to come back.

Overall, I enjoyed but also was wanting a bit more.

Thanks Algonquin for the eARC.

I savored the story Jungmin, of a young woman who, after a crisis at work, abruptly quits her job and holes up in her apartment for months. When she emerges she wanders into a pottery studio, where the owner is so welcoming that Jungmin returns again and again. After a while she finds a community she cherishes, and begins to heal.
My only difficulty was with the Korean names. I had a hard time keeping characters straight, since so many had names that began with J!

The Healing Season of Pottery was such a lovely, enjoyable read. It follows Jungmin, a woman in her 30s who is depressed and reclusive after quitting her job. She stumbles upon a pottery workshop, thinking it's a cafe, and is immediately welcomed by the owner, Johee. Jungmin decides to take pottery lessons at the workshop and as she meets the other members, she begins to smile more and consider the members as friends. She also has the opportunity to meet an old friend who she grew apart from under tragic circumstances, and talk candidly with them. Reading this book really did feel like a healing experience. It's beautifully written and I highly recommend it.

Jungmin is a burnt out broadcast writer who has lived 7-day workweeks for many years. She suddenly quits and becomes a recluse in a city far from the bustle of Seoul. After being holed up for nearly three seasons, she finally decides to step outside her minimalist haven to get a cup of coffee. This she did, and so much more when she actually stumbles into a nondescrpit pottery workshop. Here, she finds something to do with her once long-idle hands and as she learns the art of making veramic cups and plates, she realizes that there are lessons to be learned in this craft. Much like a piece of clay, Jungmin realizes that she's been very hard on herself and learns that sometimes, in life, it is best to start over and to be be formed into something new.

At first, the story was a little slow-going for me, with a myriad of characters and food mentions, At some point it became a little confusing. However, once Jungmin, the main character, starts opening up and finding her voice again, making connections with other members of the pottery workshop, the pace picked up a little which made the turning of the pages also faster.. I love the wisdom that she gained from her pottery sessions, and the story was made interesting with the different characters' back stories. Soyo Ceramic is a place where people learn to form creations from clay, but their personalities and talents also come to the forefront as they start learning more about and opening themselves to their sunbae and fellow workshop participants.. Soyo reminds me of "Friends" without the messy interromance happening between the characters--a reminder that anything is easier to overcome with the help and support of a community of caring people.

It is a fun easy inspirational read, where you can also draw nuggets of wisdom .

Thirty-year-old Jungmin is a burned-out broadcast writer who abruptly quits her job and lives in reclusion at the Chestnut Burr village in order to heal. When she stumbles upon a pottery workshop in the neighborhood, her experiences make her feel alive for the first time in months.

What to expect from a story with a place called 'Chestnut Burr village'? Bursting with the monotony of everyday, this book is less plot and all vibes - reading this novel feels like enjoying a warm breeze in a sunny afternoon, it's utterly enchanting, cozy and sensorial.

Following a character in her life crisis, the story invites readers to slow down and treasure the art of life. The art of pottery intersects with the meaning of life at various junctures, as Somin draws a slice-of-life narrative in which the characters have their own stories to tell. Seeking forgiveness, mending broken relationships..., Somin crafts very relatable characters whom, even though one might not be fully emotionally engaged, one is invested to witness the way they are molded.

Full of human touch, Somin uses the heart of gifting pottery to deliver some sort of healing and happiness. At its core, the story is about life choices and if wrongly made, about finding joy again amidst cats, coffee, writing, pottery and community.

At times philosophical, THE HEALING SEASON OF POTTERY (tr. Clare Richards) is a feel-good novel, a tender ode to human connection. This book will mostly move one's heart.

[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Algonquin books . All opinions are my own ]

This beautiful short novel follows Jungmin who quits her job and is depressed for a year before coming across a local pottery studio and makes friends and finds a new passion. I love how the author wove in South Korean politics of why Jongmin quit.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book really took me by surprise! I loved it. It was a very quiet, calm book that tackled some really relatable themes. The story follows Jungmin, who one day quits her job after burning herself out, and doesn't leave her apartment for a year. But one day, she decides to take a walk and stumbles upon a pottery studio. Taking up pottery kickstarts her healing process by allowing her to meet new people, have new experiences, and discover fulfillment in this creative art form. This was a very cozy, uplifting story!

I know next to nothing about pottery, so this was fascinating from that standpoint, too. Really makes me want to take a pottery class!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

This story follows thirty-year-old Jungmin after she suffers a breakdown from the stress of work and confines herself to her apartment. Shunning the outside world for a time, what finally slowly brings her back to the world is a pottery workshop and it's owner and patrons.

This book explores healing and recovery in a calm, quiet manner. When first beginning to read, it took me a moment to really get into the story but then suddenly, I didn't want to put it down. The elements of introspection and observations of the world fit in style-wise with a lot of recent Korean translations. The author's descriptions of creating, of food, of simple cups of coffee all evoke a comforting feeling you don't want to leave. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The perfect fall/winter weather, cozy read!