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A review by theeuphoriczat
The Picture Bride by Geum Yi-Lee
4.0
"However, a mother doesn't have the power to determine the life of her children just because she has, she says, devoted her life to them."
Begins in 1917, were we meet three Korean women who decide to marry men they had never met on the world of a woman in their village. All three women have reasons for leaving home, one of them a young widow (Hongju), another the granddaughter of a shaman (Songhwa) and one (Willow) hoping that Hawaii would be the place the education that she cannot get in Korea. All three of them board the ship to Hawaii but on arrival, their husbands have a different disposition to there picture. Hongju's groom is 20 years older than his picture, Songhwa's groom is a drunkard and Willow's groom looks like his picture but he does not want her because he has loved and lost.
Through the events of the book, we follow them as they settle into their lives in Hawaii, with frequent relocations; all their dreams and hopes are dashed and rebuilt; they lost loved ones and built a community; and when they began to have children, they pushed for them to be better and in doing so ruined and built bridges.
I really enjoyed this book. It is one of those quiet books that just packs a mighty punch. And because it is an historical novel, we get to see the impact of so many wars on the family's represented in this book and the community they built to protect themselves. The book explores motherhood, family, culture, race and most importantly friendship.
Begins in 1917, were we meet three Korean women who decide to marry men they had never met on the world of a woman in their village. All three women have reasons for leaving home, one of them a young widow (Hongju), another the granddaughter of a shaman (Songhwa) and one (Willow) hoping that Hawaii would be the place the education that she cannot get in Korea. All three of them board the ship to Hawaii but on arrival, their husbands have a different disposition to there picture. Hongju's groom is 20 years older than his picture, Songhwa's groom is a drunkard and Willow's groom looks like his picture but he does not want her because he has loved and lost.
Through the events of the book, we follow them as they settle into their lives in Hawaii, with frequent relocations; all their dreams and hopes are dashed and rebuilt; they lost loved ones and built a community; and when they began to have children, they pushed for them to be better and in doing so ruined and built bridges.
I really enjoyed this book. It is one of those quiet books that just packs a mighty punch. And because it is an historical novel, we get to see the impact of so many wars on the family's represented in this book and the community they built to protect themselves. The book explores motherhood, family, culture, race and most importantly friendship.