The story focuses on the friendship and families of two women divers but also tells the history of this island through World War II, the Korean War, and to the present. This is not a subject matter that I was familiar with but found myself educated by the explicit horror stories of what went on during the turbulent times. As the island was strategically placed it was first the Japanise occupation, then the American occupation. The McCarthy era of fearing the Communists, and with it the Americans had a heavy hand in silent occupation and what went on on the island and elsewhere in the world. Im aware of the massacres that American politics inadvertently caused and then had to deal with the fallout (or in this case choose to ignore it).
The first half of the book sets the stage. It explains the life, in very simplistic way. It lack detail. Because of that I didn't really fall in love with the characters. It does explains how the family functions, what the water work was, the harvesting of land fields and wet fields. Men are portrayed as simpleminded bums who dont really do any work in either of the fields, only cook, and keep the house (only most of the house work was women work... we are told) so the men only really look after the kids, fix the house... and drink. So they dont seem to do much. No wonder outside Men disrespect the women. They are considered both women and men. And also they are unseemly and they are immodest, as they cant dive fully dressed.
TRIGGER WARNING!
Then there is the historical aspect. The ugly. I give the sensitive readers a fair warning that didn't come with the book cover. This is not for the faint hearted. There is plenty of rape, death, killing, breast cutting, and excess of refugee killing if there was no room for them and other atrocities described in minute detail. Committed by the Japanise, and the Koreans police under the watchful eye of the Americans. Please if you dont have the stomach for this do not pick up this book.
END OF TRIGGER WARNING!
Then there is the friendship of the two girls Young-sook and Mi-ja. Its the age old story of a misunderstanding and fear that leads to great tragedy and many years of bitterness. Though one does have to ask the question how would the other person react, would the situation been reversed? The answer probably would be, not any differently. But when people are hurt so much they do not think logically, they tend to pile all their blame and sorrows onto that which is in their center of their "concentration" even if it is illogical. The atonement Mi-ja pays to Young-sook, in the form of removing the taint of association from Young-sook's daughter (of being thought to be the daughter of a communist father) so the daughter can study at a university. Something Americans today cant possibly understand. This is a very unique gift for a provincial girl. A gift for which Mi-ja paid dearly. Returning to her abusive husband to be beaten and tortured for the res of her life. But this atonement gift to Young-sook turns into more bitterness when Young-sook's Daughter and Mi-ja's son decide to marry. Eventually Young-sook's daughter and Mi-ja's son emigrate to USA where Young-sook's daughter dies of breast cancer, leaving behind family, that will eventually seek elderly Young-sook in the year 2008, seeking reconciliation and forgiveness for Mi-ja from Young-sook. Which is how the book started and the end. The elderly Young-sook and her Grandaughter listening to the recorded voice of Mi-ja and telling her side of the story, begging for forgiveness. For sins that were really not hers. She never had the power to save anyone. Not even her self.
Like all the other Lisa See books, this is a complex book. But unlike the others, it is dark, fun of violence. And not for everyone. It is a great book to read, to understand just to what lengths the human animal will sink in the name of political power. We can all learn from it, jus as Young-sook was listening to all the grand speeches of unification and peace, shaking her head knowing there is none of that for her. And as Mi-ja looked for forgiveness in every religion she crossed from Shamanism to Christianity to Buddhism. There is no forgiveness unless we can make peace within our own soul. And sometimes the pieces that are left to us by others or by circumstances are so precise few, that it is this is a task that is nearly impossible. But we must try.
The first half of the book sets the stage. It explains the life, in very simplistic way. It lack detail. Because of that I didn't really fall in love with the characters. It does explains how the family functions, what the water work was, the harvesting of land fields and wet fields. Men are portrayed as simpleminded bums who dont really do any work in either of the fields, only cook, and keep the house (only most of the house work was women work... we are told) so the men only really look after the kids, fix the house... and drink. So they dont seem to do much. No wonder outside Men disrespect the women. They are considered both women and men. And also they are unseemly and they are immodest, as they cant dive fully dressed.
TRIGGER WARNING!
Then there is the historical aspect. The ugly. I give the sensitive readers a fair warning that didn't come with the book cover. This is not for the faint hearted. There is plenty of rape, death, killing, breast cutting, and excess of refugee killing if there was no room for them and other atrocities described in minute detail. Committed by the Japanise, and the Koreans police under the watchful eye of the Americans. Please if you dont have the stomach for this do not pick up this book.
END OF TRIGGER WARNING!
Then there is the friendship of the two girls Young-sook and Mi-ja. Its the age old story of a misunderstanding and fear that leads to great tragedy and many years of bitterness. Though one does have to ask the question how would the other person react, would the situation been reversed? The answer probably would be, not any differently. But when people are hurt so much they do not think logically, they tend to pile all their blame and sorrows onto that which is in their center of their "concentration" even if it is illogical. The atonement Mi-ja pays to Young-sook, in the form of removing the taint of association from Young-sook's daughter (of being thought to be the daughter of a communist father) so the daughter can study at a university. Something Americans today cant possibly understand. This is a very unique gift for a provincial girl. A gift for which Mi-ja paid dearly. Returning to her abusive husband to be beaten and tortured for the res of her life. But this atonement gift to Young-sook turns into more bitterness when Young-sook's Daughter and Mi-ja's son decide to marry. Eventually Young-sook's daughter and Mi-ja's son emigrate to USA where Young-sook's daughter dies of breast cancer, leaving behind family, that will eventually seek elderly Young-sook in the year 2008, seeking reconciliation and forgiveness for Mi-ja from Young-sook. Which is how the book started and the end. The elderly Young-sook and her Grandaughter listening to the recorded voice of Mi-ja and telling her side of the story, begging for forgiveness. For sins that were really not hers. She never had the power to save anyone. Not even her self.
Like all the other Lisa See books, this is a complex book. But unlike the others, it is dark, fun of violence. And not for everyone. It is a great book to read, to understand just to what lengths the human animal will sink in the name of political power. We can all learn from it, jus as Young-sook was listening to all the grand speeches of unification and peace, shaking her head knowing there is none of that for her. And as Mi-ja looked for forgiveness in every religion she crossed from Shamanism to Christianity to Buddhism. There is no forgiveness unless we can make peace within our own soul. And sometimes the pieces that are left to us by others or by circumstances are so precise few, that it is this is a task that is nearly impossible. But we must try.
Spanning the decades from 1930 to 2010, The Island of Sea Women is a fascinating story of the women sea divers living on the Korean island of Jeju-- women who are now rightfully considered a cultural heritage treasure. On Jeju, these divers (haenyeo) are the heads of their households. Their men take care of the children, cook, and sit under trees and gossip while the haenyeo are the breadwinners. I couldn't get enough of the depiction of their culture. What they ate. What they believed. (For example, the word for grandmother in their language also means goddess.) What they wore. And--most importantly-- their diving. These women had no modern diving equipment. They braved incredibly cold temperatures; their hearing would become damaged from the water pressure during their dives. Possibly the two most profound things I learned is how they looked out for each other and how they carefully farmed both land (dry fields) and sea (wet fields), ensuring that neither would ever be stripped of its bounty and destroyed.
Where The Island of Sea Women fell slightly--ever so slightly-- flat for me was in the story of the friendship between Young-sook and Mi-ja. It was a bit soap-opera-ish because it was clear from the beginning that the friendship between the two was not as magical as it was advertised. When something truly horrific occurs on Jeju, Young-sook holds Mi-ja responsible and refuses to have anything else to do with her. She closes her eyes and ears to any attempts Mi-ja or her family members make to try to tell her the truth. Honestly, I wanted to shake a little sense into her.
But regardless of how I felt about Young-sook, nothing could keep me from reading this book to the very last word. The haenyeo culture of Korea is incredible, and Lisa See enriched my world by telling me about it.
Where The Island of Sea Women fell slightly--ever so slightly-- flat for me was in the story of the friendship between Young-sook and Mi-ja. It was a bit soap-opera-ish because it was clear from the beginning that the friendship between the two was not as magical as it was advertised. When something truly horrific occurs on Jeju, Young-sook holds Mi-ja responsible and refuses to have anything else to do with her. She closes her eyes and ears to any attempts Mi-ja or her family members make to try to tell her the truth. Honestly, I wanted to shake a little sense into her.
But regardless of how I felt about Young-sook, nothing could keep me from reading this book to the very last word. The haenyeo culture of Korea is incredible, and Lisa See enriched my world by telling me about it.
I was amazed by this book!! I had never read about this aspect of Korean culture before, and it prompted me to do some more research. These women were so strong, and brave. Lisa See did such a fantastic job with this book that I felt like I was really there diving with them. When the hardship struck, it was all the more heartbreaking to read. DEFINITELY have tissues ready! I bawled my eyes out at some of the horrific things they went through.
I enjoyed this book, I had never heard of the lady divers. Amazing what they trained their bodies to do. Also amazing that a whole culture came to rely on women to make the money and men to stay home and keep the house and kids. Yet many turn to gambling and drugs.
Set on the Island of Jeju, a small island off the coast of South Korea, the story follows Mi-ja and Young-sook. These two girls are from very different backgrounds, they begin working in the sea with their village's all-female diving collective. Over many decades -- through Japanese colonialism in the 1930-1940's, WWII, the Korean War, to modern day -- the two girls develop the closest of bonds. After years of friendship, hundreds of dives, circumstances push their relationship to the breaking point. I had a very hard time getting into this book at first and actually stopped for several months. I will say that the description of some of the atroscities left me having a hard time falling asleep. I am glad I stuck with it nonetheless. Powerful ending.
