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A review by sarah_reading_party
The Picture Bride by Lee Geum-yi
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.