Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Island of Sea Women

Just realised I never reviewed this, it’s been a few months so I can’t be as clear with the review but I highly highly recommend this book.

Firstly a TW: It deals with extremely heavy subjects of loss, war, corruption, all kinds of abuse, murder including all ages, all very graphically so please be warned if you think you can’t handle that.

But if you’re unsure, don’t let that put you off. This book tells the true story of the people of Jeju and all they have gone through in the last century through a fictional narrative and the graphic elements are there because they happened, reading them feels similar to the sobering feeling of going to a concentration camp has, it’s horribly sad but feels like a necessity to be able to respect and remember - in my case as a European who was taught nothing about Korea’s history, it felt so important to acknowledge and learn about these events for the first time.

The author is masterful at weaving history and fiction together, none of the fictitious story line feels forced to bring in a historical event, while at the same time the story does not steal from the history, I would actually say it helps give it more blood and feel more tangible rather than cold facts on a page about somewhere far away.

Highly highly recommend.

Content Warnings

tiadots's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

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fannylaine's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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rachelwierick's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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jedore's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

“You should be more careful out there,” the doctor says. “You have a dangerous job. I mean, do you see men doing it?”

“Of course not!” Young-sook exclaims. “The world knows that the cold water will cause their penises to shrivel and die.”

This is my fourth Lisa See book...and the second one that made my all-time favorite list (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is the first). Lisa is an amazing author, goddess of research, and master of character development.

I've gotten a glimpse of the horrific treatment of Koreans by the Japanese (Pachinko) and the U.S. (The Peoples' History of the United States), but this story was an intimate and personal journey into the lives of those living on the island of Jeju. Wow, just wow...as I close the cover of what feels like every book I read these days, my faith in humanity lessens. The ability of one "tribe's" ability to completely disassociate and commit horrors against "outsiders" is mind boggling.

The story also cemented a personal opinion that I've been pondering for some time now, one based both on my own life experiences and the thousands of books I've read.

Women are, in general and by far, the stronger sex.

In the face of poverty, war, and other intense hardships, I've observed (personally or literally) many a man fall apart and their women carry them (as well as their children). The haenyo divers of Jeju took this to a whole other level as they were not only capable of carrying their men emotionally, but physically as well.

A week after closing the back cover of this book and I still find myself thinking about the perfectly imperfect heroines of this story and replaying many of the scenes in my mind. Add this to the fact that I have a more complete knowledge about history (so I can do what I can to stop it from repeating) and it's no wonder it's an all-time favorite.

Content Warnings

galexy_brain's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative 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? Yes

4.5

Sheesh. I've never read a book that's made me cry this much before. This book was an eye-opening look into a world that I'd heard very little about before and left me floored and humbled.

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alexisgarcia's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

wow this book is heavy. i did not expect this book to make me so devastated and upset. please check the content warnings!!!! my only issue with this book is the ending. i felt the ending was a bit rushed and anti-climactic.

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annaclaire18's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

This book… is so dark… There are not enough trigger warnings in the world to cover this novel, but it is such an important story. I learned so much from this book about Korea, the Korean War, and a hidden genocide I knew nothing about.

The characters are convincing and complex, and the plot drags you under and doesn’t let you up for air.

I was less fond of the modern timeline that wove in and out of the story, but it did serve to help break up the heavy topic of the novel.

Warning: this is not a light read. Prepare for graphic descriptions of violence.

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