The Island of Sea Women

“No one picks a friend for us; we come together by choice.”

4/5⭐

A common rebuttal to the phrase “Someone’s always got it worse than you” is “You can drown just as easily in 7 feet of water as in 20.” That may be true, but sometimes I read a story of suffering so deep that I feel silly struggling in my own kitty pool of problems.

This book is one of those times.

But I don’t think that is why we read these stories. I don’t think we are meant to sigh and think, “at least I don’t have it THAT bad.” But I also don’t think we are meant to feel guilty for our own struggling, no matter how small the trail.

So, why do we read about hardship? I don’t know. But I have been thinking about it since I started this book, which is evidence enough it was worth the read.

As I was reading, a single thought repeated in my head over and over:

I can’t believe what people are capable of.

I thought that in the context of bravery, perseverance, and love, but also in the context of cruelty, violence, and greed.

In terms of writing, I think Lisa See did an incredible job interweaving history with fiction. I have become a recent fan of historical fiction because I love feeling like I am doing double-duty—learning and being entertained. Especially in this story, which focuses on Korea before, during, and after World War Two, which I knew less than nothing about before.

On a sentence-by-sentence level, though, the writing was lacking. I usually have too many “underline-worthy” quotes that I have to leave some out, but in this book, I struggled to find enough. The writing style was bland and unexciting, but the power of the story made up most of the difference.

This book is a challenging read, a history lesson, and a heartbreaking tale of powerful friendships, clashing cultures, and bitter resentments.

Some underline-worthy quotes:

“Every woman who enters the sea carries a coffin on her back.”

“Her house is the nest where she hides the joy, laughter, sorrows, and regrets of her life.”