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A review by livrad
The Picture Bride by Lee Geum-yi
3.0
In 1918, three Korean young women set off as picture brides to Hawaii. They’ve been promised all the things one could dream about life in the U.S., plus handsome and rich land-owning husbands. When they arrive, they soon learn that they were lied to.
The novel covers a few decades and shares a lot of information about Korean immigration to Hawaii, Hawaiian history, and Korean/Japanese relations, plus the Korean Revolution.
However, I was hoping for a more immersive read. The sense of place was lacking, and there’s a distance between the reader and the prose. There was a lot of “telling” Vs, “showing,” causing it to read more like a summary of the novel. It was still nice to contrast the Korean experience with the more popular stories of Japanese picture brides.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the access to this book.
The novel covers a few decades and shares a lot of information about Korean immigration to Hawaii, Hawaiian history, and Korean/Japanese relations, plus the Korean Revolution.
However, I was hoping for a more immersive read. The sense of place was lacking, and there’s a distance between the reader and the prose. There was a lot of “telling” Vs, “showing,” causing it to read more like a summary of the novel. It was still nice to contrast the Korean experience with the more popular stories of Japanese picture brides.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the access to this book.