egads tells you to read a book: Post #2

Admittedly, I don’t read nearly as much as I used to. Likely the biggest blame for this lies with the glut and ease of streaming media. However, two other contenders have done their damage. First, returning to school to study literature, linguistics, and writing left me with little time for recreational reading. (And truthfully, it’s now difficult to turn off the analytic reading muscles and just enjoy the story.) Second, I got older, and when you get older your eyes get older, which means you might not be able to read in bed without your glasses like you used to, or worse, your progressive lenses mean you need to position the book just so in front of your face, which means you can’t lie comfortably and read like you had done since you could first hold a book on your own. I would tell you to not get older, but that doesn’t seem like a good recommendation.

So, in order to bring up my yearly completed books count, I’ve made an effort to be more mindful of the time I spend reading and to decrease the amount of time spent mindlessly watching shows that I’m not actively enjoying. This is not to say that I’m giving up dramas (yeah, no, that’s not happening), I’m just giving up watching the bad, the boring, and the rage inducing, while also trying to return to books. But truthfully, sometimes books can be bad, boring, and rage inducing, and I’m learning to let go of those too. By now, you all have either drifted away or are wondering if I’ll ever get to the book recommendation. I will. Here we go.

This week’s recommendation is the newest novel by Lisa See, The Island of Sea Women. I’ve been a fan of See’s work for years, but I think this is her most compelling novel in a while, and it appears that she has done some fairly deep historical digging in order to write about a particularly difficult period in Korean history.

The Island of Sea Women takes us to Jeju Island during the Japanese occupation, through World War II and the aftermath, and weaves in events during the year 2008. The haenyeo, the women divers, of Jeju Island harvest seafood to provide food and income for their families, and the novel gives us the first-person account of the diver Young-sook through her childhood, haenyeo training, marriage, and more.

As she does in most of her novels, See centers the novel on a friendship between two women. Here we have Young-sook and her childhood companion and friend Mi-ja. They learn to dive together, they go on lucrative assignments to the freezing waters Vladivostok, Russia together, and they marry and have their first children at nearly the same time. But just as colonial forces and war brutalize the Korean people and nation, so do they have lasting effects on the lives and relationship of the two women.

I don’t want to give spoilers, but if anyone has even a passing curiosity about Korea during the Japanese occupation and the aftermath of World War II, this book will reveal many of the day to day trials Korean citizens, especially the women, endured as they worked to keep their families fed and safe. I found the minutiae of the haenyeo craft fascinating, and learning the sheer physical and psychological toll this job entails, I’m even more boggled by their strength and courage. Add in the pressures of patriarchal cultural norms, subsistence living, war, and other challenges, and honestly, I’m floored.

One thing to note, this is not a light-hearted read. Not that it’s a dirge, but See does not romanticize the dangers the haenyeo face each time they dive, nor does she shy away from the cruel viciousness of occupation and war. (Warning: I was listening to the audio book in a public space when something particularly shocking and brutal happened, and I quite embarrassingly burst into tears.)

While not a perfect novel (I found the ending somewhat rushed and too emotionally “perfect.” Hmm, where have we seen that before?), I do think it’s one that should be read by those that do not understand the very deep scars embedding Korean society. Not only does See delve into the wounds caused by outside forces, but she also does not shy away from the corruption and violence Korea inflicted on its own people.

I also think, that you, as sophisticated drama watchers, will be able to see the cultural implications of the novel’s plot and characters that the average reader does not. Again, let me know what you think and if you have any recommendations of your own.