Scan barcode
A review by bites_of_books
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Lisa See wrote a most incredible story of friendship, family, trauma, love, war, all set in the island of Jeju. It also takes place over many decades as we follow our main character, Young-Sook, from the time when she was a child to when she is a great grand mother. We see through her eyes how she learned to become a part of the group of women who dive into the sea in order to collect food to sustain their families.
Something that stands out from the start is that this is a matrifocal society, this means that the women are the providers for their families while the husbands and sons stay home cooking and caring for their children. The bonds that all the women have in their diving collective are unique and stronger than some blood-relations.
The story of Young-Sook and Mi-ja, her best friend, is set against the background of the political turmoil caused by the Japanese colonialists as well as by WWII and the Korean war. I learned a lot about the history of Korea from the perspective of the people in Jeju island. They suffered famine, terrible violence, deep trauma while seeing people die all around them, all while trying to continue their traditions and sustaining their families.
I'm amazed at the amount of research that had to go into this book and how, even though there was a lot of detail, things still moved forward at a great pace. The slowest parts for me were when trying to understand the political interactions between the citizens of Jeju, the Japanese colonialists, the American soldiers, and the various Korean groups that all contributed to what happened in the island.
I was taken by surprise when about 250 pages in I was just weeping because of what was happening in the book. I mean, I slowly but surely grew to love these characters but also the whole community of Jeju island and I didn't quite realize it!
I'd recommend this book because it is so well written, so well researched, and the world really needs to know about this beautiful community of women divers of Jeju island. Do be prepared for difficult and violent events and to just fall in love with the characters and the island as a whole.
Something that stands out from the start is that this is a matrifocal society, this means that the women are the providers for their families while the husbands and sons stay home cooking and caring for their children. The bonds that all the women have in their diving collective are unique and stronger than some blood-relations.
The story of Young-Sook and Mi-ja, her best friend, is set against the background of the political turmoil caused by the Japanese colonialists as well as by WWII and the Korean war. I learned a lot about the history of Korea from the perspective of the people in Jeju island. They suffered famine, terrible violence, deep trauma while seeing people die all around them, all while trying to continue their traditions and sustaining their families.
I'm amazed at the amount of research that had to go into this book and how, even though there was a lot of detail, things still moved forward at a great pace. The slowest parts for me were when trying to understand the political interactions between the citizens of Jeju, the Japanese colonialists, the American soldiers, and the various Korean groups that all contributed to what happened in the island.
I was taken by surprise when about 250 pages in I was just weeping because of what was happening in the book. I mean, I slowly but surely grew to love these characters but also the whole community of Jeju island and I didn't quite realize it!
I'd recommend this book because it is so well written, so well researched, and the world really needs to know about this beautiful community of women divers of Jeju island. Do be prepared for difficult and violent events and to just fall in love with the characters and the island as a whole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, Death, and War