The Island of Sea Women

 

I'm going to start off by saying that I highly recommend Lisa See's latest historical fiction novel, The Island of Sea Women. This novel is set in Jeju, an island of Korea, from the 1930s through 2008. As such, it covers lots and lots of history. And lots of conflicts.

The Island of Sea Women is the story of the friendship of two haenyeo, Korean sea divers, Young-sook and Mi-ja. They meet as 15 year old girls when hungry Mi-ja is caught stealing from Young-sook's family's sweet potato field. They become fast friends. But things change when they get married. Yet their lives remain connected.

The story begins in 2008 when an elderly Young-sook is approached by an apparently American family on the beach. The daughter of the family, Clara, reaches out to Young-sook. She seems to know who she is. Clara shows Young-sook an old photo of a young woman diver. Young-sook recognizes her as Mi-ja. But there seem to be memories associated with Mi-ja that she doesn't want to deal with.

This is a novel about women's friendships, about motherhood, and about the power of women. It's also about forgiveness.

I learned about Korean sea divers, something I knew nothing about. What a fascinating life those women led. And I learned about life over the years on Jeju and it's connection to mainland Korea. When I was teaching fifth grade, I'd learned by talking to my Korean students about the basics of Korean history. I'm glad I had that little bit of background as it helped me understand some of the political references a little bit better than I would have without that. However, I still have a lot to learn.