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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
After a rough start, See’s books have become more optimistic and more enjoyable.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
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:
Complicated
“To understand everything is to forgive.” Buddha
A part of history and people I knew nothing about, so the historical part about the divers was really interesting, but the fictional part is so very sad. We are not punished FOR our inability to forgive but BY our inability to forgive.
A part of history and people I knew nothing about, so the historical part about the divers was really interesting, but the fictional part is so very sad. We are not punished FOR our inability to forgive but BY our inability to forgive.
I don't normally review the books I read for book club but this one was powerful. Most of the time for historical fiction books for book club I find them overly depressing and sad. There are incredibly painful moments in this book but it is also very moving and has amazing strong female characters. I had never heard of this island and their matriarchal society. I wanted to learn everything about the haenyeo, how they came to be and how their diving worked. The friendship between Mi-ja and Young-sook is powerful and complicated and even now I find myself thinking about it randomly, long after I've finished the book. There is just so much packed into this book to ponder: friendship, loyalty, forgiveness, culture, family. Really I could talk about this book for hours. I would definitely suggest this for a book club, or just for yourself to learn about a different part of the world.
Wow, what a fascinating exploration of gender roles and historical realities for the women on the Korean island of Jeju! Author Lisa See has outdone herself with in-depth cultural and historical research to create a sweeping fictional account of the Haenyeo, a collective of women divers who combine impossible work in grueling temperatures with spirituality, community, generational storytelling and parenting, often in the midst of political turmoil. This is a painful narrative, one rife with loss, but because of its heaviness, Lisa See seems to have earned the somewhat saccharine resolution to the tale. Read this if you’re curious about matrifocal societies or the Haenyeo in particular. It’s a history that’s not often talked about, and one that I won’t soon forget.
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
informative
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
Wow. I thought this would be a book that would predictably follow many of Lisa See's well-worn narrative tracks, but I was wrong. It gave me everything I love about her books and still managed to move and surprise me. I loved learning about the history and culture of Jeju and the haenyeo, and I couldn't put this book down despite some of the really painful and graphic descriptions of the violence that many on Jeju experienced through Young-sook's life. Lisa See is a master storyteller and I think she knocked it out of the park with this book. I can't recommend it enough.
This was absolutely the best book i’ve read so far this year. I loved the characters and the intensity of their love (and at moments deep hate). The story is about one woman and her community, and their life during the Japanese/USA occupation in Korea (and especially surrounding the Jeju 4.3 incident). Learning about the history of the haenyeo was such a gift and I really felt like I was on Jeju island. And you know multigenerational historical fiction is my FAVE! I wish I could forget this book and read it again fresh.