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A review by lisamshardlow
Daughters of the Dragon by William Andrews
5.0
20-year-old Anna travels from America to Korea to learn about her birth mother - she was adopted from a Korean orphanage. When Anna arrives at the orphanage, she discovers that her birth mother died whilst giving birth to her. Outside, a mysterious old woman hands Anna a package containing an antique comb and an address. After going to the address, Anna soon learns that the mysterious old lady is her maternal grandmother, Jae-hee. Jae-hee tells Anna her story. It’s an epic narrative that starts with the Japanese occupation of Korea and China during WWII, when Korean women were forced to be “comfort women” for the Japanese troops - Jae-hee was one of them. Anna learns that the precious antique comb has been passed down through generations of strong and resilient women, of which she is descended from.
This was very good. Although it is fiction, it is based on actual events that happened in Korea’s history. It is true that “comfort women” did exist, and they were basically forced sex slaves for the Japanese. It was quite difficult to read in some places, but I do think that it’s important for us to learn about these events to try to ensure that they don’t happen again. I really loved Jae-hee, she was a very strong woman who was somehow able to stay positive and optimistic even at the bleakest of moments, she never gave up and she carried on no matter what. I really cared for both Jae-hee and her daughter Soo-bo, and I just wanted everything to be better for them. The story was extremely well written throughout, and I think the subject was handled very well.
I don’t think there was anything that I didn’t love about this, it was emotional, heartbreaking and horrific, but also eye opening, interesting and made you feel for the characters. Because of this, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
I highly recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction, stories of WWII, Korean culture, strong resilient women, and mythical two headed dragons.
This was very good. Although it is fiction, it is based on actual events that happened in Korea’s history. It is true that “comfort women” did exist, and they were basically forced sex slaves for the Japanese. It was quite difficult to read in some places, but I do think that it’s important for us to learn about these events to try to ensure that they don’t happen again. I really loved Jae-hee, she was a very strong woman who was somehow able to stay positive and optimistic even at the bleakest of moments, she never gave up and she carried on no matter what. I really cared for both Jae-hee and her daughter Soo-bo, and I just wanted everything to be better for them. The story was extremely well written throughout, and I think the subject was handled very well.
I don’t think there was anything that I didn’t love about this, it was emotional, heartbreaking and horrific, but also eye opening, interesting and made you feel for the characters. Because of this, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
I highly recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction, stories of WWII, Korean culture, strong resilient women, and mythical two headed dragons.