bookabecca 's review for:

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

4.0

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Wow, what a fascinating exploration of gender roles and historical realities for the women on the Korean island of Jeju! Author Lisa See has outdone herself with in-depth cultural and historical research to create a sweeping fictional account of the Haenyeo, a collective of women divers who combine impossible work in grueling temperatures with spirituality, community, generational storytelling and parenting, often in the midst of political turmoil. This is a painful narrative, one rife with loss, but because of its heaviness, Lisa See seems to have earned the somewhat saccharine resolution to the tale. Read this if you’re curious about matrifocal societies or the Haenyeo in particular. It’s a history that’s not often talked about, and one that I won’t soon forget.