Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

해녀들의 섬 by Lisa See

86 reviews

niklit's review against another edition

It just kept getting more and more sad and awful. Very well-written, I was totally invested in the characters. But knowing the events depicted are based on real ones made it that much more impossible to continue reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Rape

meredithamadee's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I have never read a book about haenyo so this was fascinating! It is very well reasearched. In my mind, the plot of this book goes between being super relational and super informative of the current events. It is a very sad book, but extremely beautiful. It’s about pride and shame and guilt and forgiveness and the tension between progress and tradition in a culture that relies on tradition to survive. I thought the ending was rushed and would enjoyed seeing more of the relationships and conclusions fleshed out but overall it’s a beautiful and worthwhile read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

corriejn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.75

I checked out this book based on a recommendation, and because I'd heard of the haenyeo before and was interested in learning more. Clearly I didn't look much into the details of the book beforehand, as I started it expecting nonfiction-- when it was apparent it was a novel, that was fine and I just adjusted that expectation. The story is still very informative about the lives and traditions of the Korean women sea-divers. What I wish I had realized beforehand, though, is that the book covers much of mid-19th-century Korean history and includes some really graphic and traumatic descriptions of atrocities committed during occupation and wartime (such content is mainly in the latter half of the book). It is still a powerful and artfully told story, but do be aware of that going in, and don't pick this one up if you're looking for a light read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, War, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Genocide, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Classism, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, and Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Medical content, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

elly29's review against another edition

challenging dark informative inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A slow burn of a novel, that suddenly dissolves. I loved that it was about women divers (in Jeju, an island off of South Korea's coast). The best part of the book was the society of haenyeo -- as a woman, who works, (and who just got some scuba certification), it was a joy and delight to hear of classic gender roles turned on their head.

Junbu, Young-Sook's husband, seemed like a woman's fantasy of a husband. 

I also didn't know about the Bukchon Massacre, or anything about Jeju Island and the struggle between insurgent and anti-communist government forces. There is a brutal scene that involves lots of things like rape, torture, murder, and child murder. (Also makes me sick at the thought that these things are happening in Ukraine.)

In the end, this is a story about diving, survival, and forgiveness. I love that the sea is a constant, a grandmother who will never leave you even when everything else has changed. I like the phrase, "To understand everything is to forgive." Using Young-Sook and her life as an example of what we should not do: may we be patient, may we ask questions, may we never assume, may we be perceptive.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: War, Gun violence, Police brutality, Rape, and Torture

Minor: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit

friendofhayley's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I got this book as a gift from my partner, since I'm half-Korean and I have been trying to learn more about that side of my family.

It was so interesting (and heart-breaking) to find out the chaos and deaths American imperialists (not just the Japanese) subjected Korea too, which is something I never learned before.

It was so interesting learning about the hanyeo as well. 

However the historical context and events were my favorite parts of the book.

I disliked the main character and the actions she took, although I definitely understand that it was realistic because she acted just like my own estranged mother.

But this might just be a personal taste thing.

I also was waiting until the end to see if perhaps the relationship between Young-Sook and Mi-Ja had at least a one-sided romantic attraction, but alas.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Death of parent, Suicide, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Child abuse, Colonisation, Rape, Sexism, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

larkken's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Mass/school shootings, Child death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Rape and Domestic abuse

bites_of_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Lisa See wrote a most incredible story of friendship, family, trauma, love, war, all set in the island of Jeju. It also takes place over many decades as we follow our main character, Young-Sook, from the time when she was a child to when she is a great grand mother. We see through her eyes how she learned to become a part of the group of women who dive into the sea in order to collect food to sustain their families.

Something that stands out from the start is that this is a matrifocal society, this means that the women are the providers for their families while the husbands and sons stay home cooking and caring for their children. The bonds that all the women have in their diving collective are unique and stronger than some blood-relations.

The story of Young-Sook and Mi-ja, her best friend, is set against the background of the political turmoil caused by the Japanese colonialists as well as by WWII and the Korean war. I learned a lot about the history of Korea from the perspective of the people in Jeju island. They suffered famine, terrible violence, deep trauma while seeing people die all around them, all while trying to continue their traditions and sustaining their families. 

I'm amazed at the amount of research that had to go into this book and how, even though there was a lot of detail, things still moved forward at a great pace. The slowest parts for me were when trying to understand the political interactions between the citizens of Jeju, the Japanese colonialists, the American soldiers, and the various Korean groups that all contributed to what happened in the island. 

I was taken by surprise when about 250 pages in I was just weeping because of what was happening in the book. I mean, I slowly but surely grew to love these characters but also the whole community of Jeju island and I didn't quite realize it! 

I'd recommend this book because it is so well written, so well researched, and the world really needs to know about this beautiful community of women divers of Jeju island. Do be prepared for difficult and violent events and to just fall in love with the characters and the island as a whole. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, Death, and War

elliedeg's review against another edition

emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, and Hate crime

jennywinder's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Beautiful and heartbreaking, this story of friendship and trials is one I will be thinking about for awhile. It’s everything you want historical fiction to be and introduced me to a culture I knew little about but had me riveted to learn more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Rape

alayamorning's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Torture, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Excrement, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Miscarriage, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism and Cancer