For those who have read Lisa See’s The Island of Sea Women, you’ll be familiar with the haeneyo, the women who are deep sea divers in Korea. But, this is a very different story.
Told in two parts, divided between post-WW2 Korea and present-day United States, we learn about Junja, a teenage girl who has become a successful haeneyo, following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother. She convinces her mother to allow her to make the annual trip to trade abalone for a piglet, and while she’s gone she discovers a new, wealthier world and falls in love with Suwol. When she returns home, she finds her mother dying after a diving accident — during the dive Junja was supposed to do — and she falls into deep mourning. But her grandmother has other plans for her besides letting her sink into her grief, and when Suwol is arrested for harboring communists, Junja has to act.
The second part of this book deals with Junja’s husband coping with her death (which we learn about right at the beginning of the book,) while being haunted by ghosts of the past. He makes a pilgrimage back to Korea — where he hasn’t been since he and Junja left the country — to try to regain some control and say goodbye.
I loved the magical realism elements in this book; the gods and ghosts and superstitions were taken as absolute truth. It was especially interesting later in the book when we find out that Junja embraces Christianity as an adult, and I would have liked to see that develop a bit more, in terms of how she balanced her past beliefs with her future ones. I also really enjoyed learning more about the history of Korea, especially following WW2 as everything was changing and dividing.
I really liked the female characters in this book, especially Junja’s grandmother. Some of her background is alluded to, and it was nice to see a strong, smart female character who successfully balances her beliefs and customs with a changing and oftentimes violent world where she manages to fight for a positive change. And I liked how Junja seemed to be aware of this, even without knowing all the backstory. I also really liked the sisters who own the restaurant where Junja gets help, and I appreciated how they were tied in later in the book instead of just disappearing as side characters. On the other hand, ,most of the men were just eh and came off as more two-dimensional than the women. Even Junja’s husband, who I liked when he was a young man in Korea, seemed to lose some of that oomph in the second part of this book.
I also had a bit of trouble when switching between Part One and Part Two of this book. It felt like an airbag deployed in the switch between the two stories. And while they did come together well in the end, I think I would have liked a Part 1.5 to learn more about their lives in the middle. Perhaps a later book could explore some of that?
Overall, though, I really enjoyed this book. It is beautifully written.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.