Island of Sea Women - Structure of the book

[Lily]

I am still struggling with the way Lisa See has put this book together. For me, it seems to jump around in times, in events, in places, in activities, without my grasping the flow of it. But I know that is at least in part because right now I am having a hard time concentrating on anything, whether reading or listening (I tend to doze....). Perhaps the reactions here of those of you who are more alert?

[Mark]

It feels like two books to me, a YA novel about "life in foreign lands," and a fairly conventional women's fiction story of friendship and resentment.
--- For the YA part, events are simplified and translated. Even the title shows this; "sea women" is a translation of "haenyo," as I understand it. Each time she mentions a rank such as "baby-diver" rather than " aegi haenyeo," I felt it. Strangely, she doesn't feel the need to constantly translate other common parts of their world; a bultoek is not called "wind shelter-clubhouse" or something, and their floats are known as tewaks after their first introduction.
--- In the second part, beginning, it seems, with Young-Sook's marriage, See seems to be on more familiar territory. Events, resentments, and dreams occur and feel related in a more natural feeling sense.
--- I've enjoyed reading both parts. One of my central interests is what might be called "virtual tourism," with titles ranging between At Play in the Fields of the Lord or The Tiger's Wife stretching my awareness far beyond my American suburb.
--- Lily, Lisa See seems like she is interested in making this story approachable. I figured out the plan of the book fairly early. The transition between "today" and "before" is fairly well signposted. Later in the before sections, time jumps ahead in uneven leaps, but they too are fairly well flagged. After reading other "new fiction" that delights in pulling readers through puzzles (such as Ali Smith's hatred of quote marks), a category such as "beach reading" isn't a pejorative.
--- The hyphens are to separate paragraphs when being viewed on the App version of Goodreads, Sigh.

[Sam]

I haven't gotten to the second half yet so I can only comment on what I have read but glad you brought up the young adult aspect. I don't view that label perjoratively any more than my beach read description and think it praiseworthy of See to take the effort to make her novel as accessible to a wide audience. It seems to her that clarity and understanding for the reader is more important than how her work will be judged by academics. I cannot fault that.

I think there is a element where See is trying to impart the conscious thought structure of her characters and this results in some awkward moments when considering cultural appropriation. Anyone else have thoughts on this before I continue?

[Lily]

Mark, Sam -- your comments are helpful!

All readers -- keep them coming! Very "Adler"! (How to Read a Book).

I felt as if See set up conflict in the very first section, the present, where some had converted their homes to profit from tourism versus a past that seemed to resent, even fear intrusion, and wanted to protect what was. So far, that seemed to flow into the jump back to the past, where the two young girls got into sad trouble on seemingly an initiating dive, which should have been sort of an exciting initiation into adulthood. Somehow, although teenagers are stereo-typically rebellious and finding their own ground, that incident felt 'out-of-character' to me for those particular two girls. Why? They had lived that world long enough to have seen the dangers. They seemed to have caring leadership. Of course, that added tragedy to the story, but it felt contrived more than flowing from the circumstances to me. And I haven't figured out if it was "plot-setting."

[Mark]

Yes, the danger encountered on the first dive was melodramatic. I did free diving on the California north coast for five years with a group. I NEVER personally saw that kind of mortal danger. There were stories in the group of drownings; the half life of a scary story is pretty long. I don't doubt that Ms. See heard many such stories, and they do move the plot along!
--- Sam, I'd like to see how you feel the author approaches a culture that is so new to her.

[Sam]

I think you are asking how I feel about See taking on Korean culture when not Korean? I am fine with it looking at the novel as a commercial fiction or read for entertainment purposes, but See uses a first person approach entering the thoughts of her main character and that is a tricky path to navigate when it comes to beliefs and other cultural idiosyncrasies. I cannot tell if she got it right;there have been criticisms of her depiction of Chinese. I think you have to look at the book like Styron's The Confessions of Nat Turner or Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha and hope the heart of the author was in the right place but acknowledge it is an appropiation and probably has inaccuracies or unintended bias. The story of the Jeju uprising was one that needs to be told though.

[Lily]

Sam wrote: "See uses a first person approach entering the thoughts of her main character and that is a tricky path to navigate ..."

As I have stated before, I have great trouble concentrating on anything right now. The evening this week I was most miserable, I was listening to the horrors that violence reigned on .., -- yes, I'm not even keeping names straight .... Created by empathy or based on "real" heard stories, the horror brought me to the Ukraine and other places in our current world; and my own troubles, from my comfortable room and good health insurance, seemed self-pity. Later, journaling to heal, a group in which I participate, we wrote a bit about how words can bring perspective, even gratitude, to our own journeys.