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A review by kindredbooks
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
adventurous
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? No
5.0
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh caught my attention when it was described as the feminist retelling of the Korean folktale "The Tale of Shim Cheong" with Spirited Away vibes. I was definitely intrigued as I am a huge fan of Miyazaki (I mean, who isn't?) and while I was quite familiar with the name Shim Cheong from my education of watching Korean dramas and having lived in Korea for two years in my 20s, I realized that I actually didn't know the story of Shim Cheong in its entirety. That did not keep my from preordering the book of course, especially once that cover was revealed. And it truly is such a lovely cover. But on to the book itself.
For those of you who, like me, are not too familiar with "The Tale of Shim Cheong", I would suggest that you don't look into it until you read The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. I think it will help with diving into the story and just getting lost in Axie Oh's storytelling. I Googled Shim Cheong's story when I was almost finished reading and I think the timing was perfect because I was able to really appreciate the aspects of the original folktale that Axie Oh used while also seeing the creative changes she made. Personally I think that if I knew the original folktale beforehand, it may have spoiled parts of the story for me - but maybe that's not the case as I'm sure many better-informed and Korean folktale-educated readers still enjoyed the story.
I really enjoyed reading Mina, our main character who starts off in the story already strong-willed and determined in the way she loves her family. I found that to be so refreshing as opposed to having to always look for "strong character development" in a story. Why can't our female heroines start off strong and continue to rock the world and solve problems throughout the stories? Mina certainly can and does in this story as she seeks a way to break the curse on the Sea God that is creating so many problems for the humans who live in the world. Her love for her family and people continue to drive her in this story - as does her affection for her new friends that she makes in the Spirit Realm.
I was looking forward to reading the romance aspect of the story. And I did see certain parallels between The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea and Spirited Away. No spoilers here though ... I'll just say that I did like Shin's character but I did want more out of the romantic development of our characters. It was there, there was a love triangle of sorts, there was just so much potential and while I still did like it - there was still just something missing. I'll have to get back to you once I figure out what that is.
I really enjoyed The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea - it is a magical tale of family, love, duty, obligation and sacrifice. It had all the makings of a Korean historical drama with the magical elements that I love from Spirited Away.
For those of you who, like me, are not too familiar with "The Tale of Shim Cheong", I would suggest that you don't look into it until you read The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. I think it will help with diving into the story and just getting lost in Axie Oh's storytelling. I Googled Shim Cheong's story when I was almost finished reading and I think the timing was perfect because I was able to really appreciate the aspects of the original folktale that Axie Oh used while also seeing the creative changes she made. Personally I think that if I knew the original folktale beforehand, it may have spoiled parts of the story for me - but maybe that's not the case as I'm sure many better-informed and Korean folktale-educated readers still enjoyed the story.
I really enjoyed reading Mina, our main character who starts off in the story already strong-willed and determined in the way she loves her family. I found that to be so refreshing as opposed to having to always look for "strong character development" in a story. Why can't our female heroines start off strong and continue to rock the world and solve problems throughout the stories? Mina certainly can and does in this story as she seeks a way to break the curse on the Sea God that is creating so many problems for the humans who live in the world. Her love for her family and people continue to drive her in this story - as does her affection for her new friends that she makes in the Spirit Realm.
I was looking forward to reading the romance aspect of the story. And I did see certain parallels between The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea and Spirited Away. No spoilers here though ... I'll just say that I did like Shin's character but I did want more out of the romantic development of our characters. It was there, there was a love triangle of sorts, there was just so much potential and while I still did like it - there was still just something missing. I'll have to get back to you once I figure out what that is.
I really enjoyed The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea - it is a magical tale of family, love, duty, obligation and sacrifice. It had all the makings of a Korean historical drama with the magical elements that I love from Spirited Away.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child death, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage