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miniando's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
swaksha_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
jannythelibrarian's review
3.0
3/5 with POC bump. historical fiction. translated from korean. set in hawaii 1917 girl (18 year old). immigrates to hawaii as a "picture bride" to meet new husband and start new life. gets to hawaii and life is hard. touch of racism. writing felt weak. powerful women
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
4.0
A moving multigenerational family drama following a Korean 'paper bride' who travels to Hawaii to wed a man not really looking for a wife. Willow's journey is incredibly brave and admirable as she fights for the life she's dreamed of, one of education, motherhood and love. Perfect for fans of Peach blossom spring or Pachinko. I really enjoyed learning about the Korean American immigrant experience in Hawaii during the mid-20th century - it's not a place/time period t hat I've read about much in fiction and I found this book incredibly well written and interesting! Great on audio too narrated by Joy Osmanski! Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital audio copy in exchange for my honest review!
rawlo93's review
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
A historical fiction book focusing on the lives and hardships of 3 women, who carry a sister like bond throughout the many years that this story takes place.
The book gives us an insight into the early Korean communities within Hawaii and delves into the personal experiences of the women who moved there to marry, known as picture brides.
Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. I do wish I could give 2 and a half stars for this reason. On one hand, I found the bond between our three main women endearing and I think the passage of time is demonstrated rather well in parts of the story. On the other hand, some of the time jumps are a little unnecessary and confusing.
The book is divided into 3 sections and part 3 felt more rushed than the rest, where the focus switches to one of our protagonist’s daughters. I do think this was to show how the story came ‘full circle’ and how times had changed during the years that passed. Our main character was 18/19 when she became a picture bride and the story concluded with her 19 year old daughter, Pearl, wanting to venture out into America.
My final thoughts are, it’s a very educational and interesting historical piece of literature however, I felt no attachment to the characters due to the pacing of the story.
The book gives us an insight into the early Korean communities within Hawaii and delves into the personal experiences of the women who moved there to marry, known as picture brides.
Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. I do wish I could give 2 and a half stars for this reason. On one hand, I found the bond between our three main women endearing and I think the passage of time is demonstrated rather well in parts of the story. On the other hand, some of the time jumps are a little unnecessary and confusing.
The book is divided into 3 sections and part 3 felt more rushed than the rest, where the focus switches to one of our protagonist’s daughters. I do think this was to show how the story came ‘full circle’ and how times had changed during the years that passed. Our main character was 18/19 when she became a picture bride and the story concluded with her 19 year old daughter, Pearl, wanting to venture out into America.
My final thoughts are, it’s a very educational and interesting historical piece of literature however, I felt no attachment to the characters due to the pacing of the story.
sofia_the_scholar's review
4.0
In 1918, Willow left her home in Korea as a picture bride, to go to Hawaii and get married. But not everything is as exciting she thought it would be. With her husband (Taewan) who didn't want to marry her in the first place, and with the rise of different Korean independence movements, bound to bring arguments and strife to Willow's life.
One thing is clear: this book made me more knowledgeable on Korea's history of the time. It depicted the struggles of everyday immigrant life of the time pretty well, how much Koreans felt like outsiders, but how they formed their own community, how they worked until they couldn't function.
The female power on this book is strong: Willow was a 20-year-old when she reached Hawaii, and her evolvement and inner strength to pull it off and make her marriage and family work, was admirable and respectable. But, she had the support of her friends: firstly, Hongju, who even though I didn't like at the beginning, as she grew older, she won my respect. Sonhwa, this precious human being, deserved so much better and she was misunderstood and under-appreciated her whole life. Who I also liked was Pearl, who was just trying to find her place in the world and she felt like not having a proper identity.
I learned so much of the Korean culture and history, and yet I feel like I only know small bits. If you like historical fiction and want to learn a bit about Korean history, this book is for you!
Thank you @netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review! The book is out on October 11th!
One thing is clear: this book made me more knowledgeable on Korea's history of the time. It depicted the struggles of everyday immigrant life of the time pretty well, how much Koreans felt like outsiders, but how they formed their own community, how they worked until they couldn't function.
The female power on this book is strong: Willow was a 20-year-old when she reached Hawaii, and her evolvement and inner strength to pull it off and make her marriage and family work, was admirable and respectable. But, she had the support of her friends: firstly, Hongju, who even though I didn't like at the beginning, as she grew older, she won my respect. Sonhwa, this precious human being, deserved so much better and she was misunderstood and under-appreciated her whole life. Who I also liked was Pearl, who was just trying to find her place in the world and she felt like not having a proper identity.
I learned so much of the Korean culture and history, and yet I feel like I only know small bits. If you like historical fiction and want to learn a bit about Korean history, this book is for you!
Thank you @netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review! The book is out on October 11th!
aliireads's review
4.0
Good book with interesting characters. A plot twist at the end with the real Pearl finding out who she is and who her mom is. I would recommend this one. It reminded me of a k drama
arrabellea's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.0
nearly_empty_nesting's review
3.0
This was a solid historical fiction, highlighting the immigration process for "picture brides" in the early 1900s. Starting in Willow's childhood in Korea, we follow along as she makes the decision to leave her family to marry a man known only through limited correspondence. We see Willow's dreams of a better life and how she has to work to make that a reality when she lands and her expectations are very different from her reality.
For most of the book, I really connected with the main character Willow, who was our eyes into the story for 85% of the book. . The reason I gave this a three-star rating was for the sudden change in perspective to another character to deliver an unexpected twist. It didn’t transition well. In my opinion, it would have been better to be either written as a family saga early on or to stick with the same perspective throughout.
For most of the book, I really connected with the main character Willow, who was our eyes into the story for 85% of the book. . The reason I gave this a three-star rating was for the sudden change in perspective to another character to deliver an unexpected twist. It didn’t transition well. In my opinion, it would have been better to be either written as a family saga early on or to stick with the same perspective throughout.
sarah_reading_party's review
3.0
Overall, I felt that The Picture Bride was a fascinating story. I was intrigued by the history of women brought to Hawaii as brides for the Korean (and Japanese) men working plantations there in the early 1900s. I can't imagine the kind of courage required to set out on such a journey in that era. As I read about Willow, and her friends Hongju and Songhwa I just couldn't imagine myself in their shoes!
Which leads me to the fact that this book was a bit boring at times. Though it is a novel, there was a good bit of straight-up history. It was hard to keep the emotional connection with the characters where there are multiple pages in a row of Korean history (that was honestly a bit hard to follow since it was interspersed with story). I think that the translation of this novel didn't help matters either.
Overall, this book was just okay. I really liked the ending though I would have liked to know even more about Pearl!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this eARC. All opinions are my own.
Which leads me to the fact that this book was a bit boring at times. Though it is a novel, there was a good bit of straight-up history. It was hard to keep the emotional connection with the characters where there are multiple pages in a row of Korean history (that was honestly a bit hard to follow since it was interspersed with story). I think that the translation of this novel didn't help matters either.
Overall, this book was just okay. I really liked the ending though I would have liked to know even more about Pearl!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this eARC. All opinions are my own.