The Island of Sea Women in Around the World in 80 Books

Jun 13, 2019 Ginger rated it it was ok

I'm bringing out the classic Auden response for this one: "I can see this is good but I don’t like it." (Anne talks about them here: https://modernmrsdarcy.com/for-an-adu....) Lisa See writes her epic in a lyrical voice that mirrors the sea tide--sweeping in and out.

Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for a gentle read at the moment, or perhaps my mistake was choosing to listen to this on audio. (I didn't love the narrator's voice; she chose to do a high-pitched thing when doing the voices and it ...more

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Jun 18, 2022 Rachel N. rated it liked it

Shelves: friendship, historical-fiction, read-in-2022, korea

Young-sook and Mi-ja become friends as children. They live on the island Jeju, which is part of Korea. They both train to become haenyeo, women sea divers. The book follows Young-sook from childhood to her eighties.The book also goes into some very violent events that happened on Jeju. I found the parts of the book focused on the diving and the perils associated with it to be very interesting. I feel like I got to know next to nothing about Mi-ja. Young-sook is pretty self centered which fit as ...more

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Feb 23, 2021 Kay Green rated it really liked it

Shelves: bookclub

I thought of this book in two parts. I loved all of the stories of the Women sea divers, their relationships with their families, children and husbands. The matrifocal society. The dangers and rewards of their diving business. The friendship between the two main characters was deep, complicated and filled with highs and lows. But I had difficulties with the horrors this island went through with all the wars, occupations and conflicts with the Japanese. So much of that reminded me of stories of N ...more

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May 29, 2019 Sunflower rated it really liked it

Shelves: e-books, fiction-read-2019

As a scuba diver whose previous knowledge of these amazing women was sadly lacking, I really enjoyed this. It didn't hurt that the story was interesting, and I have previously liked books by this author, but it also introduced me to some historical events that I have subsequently read about. If you swim, dive, freedive or are interested in the camaraderie and intrigue of groups of women, this book is for you. ...more

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Jun 07, 2020 Natasha rated it it was amazing

A masterpiece! Has everything you want form a novel. A great plot, powerful language, history, relatable characters. 10 stars. I learned a lot. I won’t forget this book.

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