Lisa See's latest novel, The Island of Sea Women (#818) deals with an unusual culture on the Korean island of Jeju where the women divers are the bread winners and the men cook and take care of the babies. It's a difficult and dangerous life, especially in the period in which the novel is set. I found this book grim. Yes, there is understanding at the end, but most of the book deals with the betrayals and deaths of those surrounding main character Young-Sook and her close friend Mi-Fa.
The Japanese occupation, World War II and the subsequent 4.3 Incident, part of the brutal Korean War, all make life even more uncertain and tenuous. Saying or doing the wrong thing in front of the wrong person could lead to arrest, torture and disappearances. Conditions on Jeju particularly during the Korean War were so horrendous with the divers forbidden by the government to dive, that starvation stalked every village home. Whole villages were destroyed by rebels, partisans and the government in retribution while the Americans nominally overseeing the island let the massacres happen. Yet there were some positive elements as well; the strong connections and loyalties of the diving collectives and their guardianship of the food the sea yielded.
I found The Island of Sea Women a difficult read. It really seemed too much of a "Life sucks and then you die." type of story. There is redemption on the last few pages, but it seems to take forever to arrive there. Put on your slogging boots for this one.
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