the island of sea women a novel book review

But every family in the seaside village of Jeju was most grateful for the birth of a daughter, because she would always be a provider” (37). “It was a wife’s social and familial duty to birth a son, who would lengthen her husband’s lineage.Here are 5 parts I want to talk about in The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See. ***Everything below this will contain spoilers. If you’ve read this book and love historical fiction in South Korea, you may also like The Living Reed by Pearl S. I knew a lot of the history of mainland Korea during WWII and the Korean war, but very little of what happened on Jeju Island. Even if you haven’t visited Jeju Island or South Korea, Lisa See’s writing will make you feel like you’re there. Initial Thoughts: The Island of Sea Women is a beautiful book of historical fiction. After hundreds of dives and years of friendship, forces outside their control will push their relationship to the breaking point. Nevertheless, their differences are impossible to ignore: Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator, forever marking her, and Young-sook was born into a long line of haenyeo (diving women) and will inherit her mother’s position leading the divers. Over many decades-through the Japanese colonialism of the 1930s and 1940s, World War II, the Korean War, and the era of cellphones and wet suits for the women divers-Mi-ja and Young-sook develop the closest of bonds. Summary of The Island of Sea Women : Set on the Korean island of Jeju, The Island of Sea Women follows Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls from very different backgrounds, as they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective.

The island of sea women a novel book review