The Island of Sea Women: ‘Beautifully rendered’ -Jodi Picoult
£4.70
Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends that come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility but also danger.
Despite their love for each other, Mi-ja and Young-sook’s differences are impossible to ignore. The Island of Sea Women is an epic set over many decades, beginning during a period of Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by World War II, the Korean War and its aftermath, through the era of cell phones and wetsuits for the women divers. Throughout this time, the residents of Jeju find themselves caught between warring empires. Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator, and she will forever be marked by this association. Young-sook was born into a long line of haenyeo and will inherit her mother’s position leading the divers in their village. Little do the two friends know that after surviving hundreds of dives and developing the closest of bonds, forces outside their control will push their friendship to the breaking point.
This beautiful, thoughtful novel illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the women are in charge, engaging in dangerous physical work, and the men take care of the children. A classic Lisa See story—one of women’s friendships and the larger forces that shape them—The Island of Sea Women introduces readers to the fierce and unforgettable female divers of Jeju Island and the dramatic history that shaped their lives.
‘For centuries, women on Korea’s Jeju island have been free-diving into the sea, a practice explored through this fictionalized story of two friends who struggle to stay close amid war, family rivalries, and a shifting cultural landscape. It’s riveting, historical, and heartbreaking all at once’ Marie Claire
‘Lisa See excels at mining the intersection of family, friendship and history… This novel spans wars and generations, but at its heart is a beautifully rendered story of two women whose individual choices become inextricably tangled’ Jodi Picoult, author of A Spark of Light
‘I was spellbound the moment I entered the vivid and little-known world of the diving women of Jeju… No one writes about female friendship… with more insight and depth than Lisa See’ Sue Monk Kidd, author of The Secret Life of Bees
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Additional information
| Publisher | 1st edition (5 Mar. 2019), Scribner UK |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 5657 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 383 pages |
| Page numbers source ISBN | 1501154850 |
by Tham Chee Wah
With extensive research and on-site experiences, the author has given us a recount the story of a community of women on Jeju Island. A group of astounding women who work practically in the waters which throughout history have intrigued the scientists and researchers. The women who dive for a living has the biggest and longest breathing capacity the scientists have discovered.
But in this story, the two women protagonists have the biggest hearts. The hearts to love and to forgive.
A beautiful story and a great way to learn about the island and its inhabitants.
by Christine McBurnie
this book is a must read. delicately laying the characters into play then bringing in the true life elements from outside the island and then the wars that changed their island and the people forever. this book was full of emotion, beautiful description and true historical facts intwinned. I loved it
by RD
This book taught me so much about the Korean/Japanese relationship and revealed to me the existence of a fascinating group of women on the South Korean island of Jeju who astoundingly achieved a hard earned living from diving to harvest seafood in extremely arduous circumstances—an amazing book.
by louise mcmaster
A book based on female friendships, family, loss, grief and joy all at once. Could not put this book down.
by Heather Tee
For me the most interesting aspect of the book is the vividly described historical background, relating to the Korean island of Jeju. Covering the years between 1938 and 2008 it gives a well-researched picture of the changing fortunes of this small island as it was in turn invaded by different occupying forces. It also gives a fascinating portrait of the Haenyeo women divers of the island, their extraordinary lifestyle, their matriarchal society and their resilience.
The author paints vivid pictures of the undersea world from which these women historically scraped a living and the constant danger in which they worked. Naturally the Haenyeo rely on each other for their very lives so close bonds are formed and the book details the development of one such friendship and the way in which outside circumstances and a lack of understanding finally forced it to crumble, with a timely warning on the destructive power of misjudgment and lack of forgiveness.
My only niggles are that the Korean war of the 1950s is skated over when it surely must have had some impact on the life of Jeju and I would have liked to see tighter editing as there is quite a lot of repetition. Do we, for example, need to be told quite so many times of the triangular relationship between latrines, pigs and pork?
by Charles
My wife is so happy.
Thanks
by N. Lewis
This book was really interesting. I have recommended it to others and also bought it as a present since. My whole book group enjoyed it, it led to one of our best discussions, and despite it being fiction, I also felt I learnt some historical facts about a region I don’t know a lot about
by Sandra L
Definitely worth reading as it reveals a lifestyle and history not commonly known about. I did feel it was overly long, and didn’t really believe in the issue that caused the rift between the friends. Any rational person would reflect differently. Interesting but flawed in my opinion.