Scan barcode
tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.5
‘All along the island’s storm-beaten coastline of black rock, flattened cuttlefish hang from scrub pines like lost kites, and the cool air reeks of brine.’
This novel is based on two separate episodes in Korean history: the shipwreck of the Dutch East India Company’s Sparrowhawk in 1653, and in 1942 when Korea is under Japanese control. Both are written in the present tense; each addresses a pivotal point in Korean history.
The novel opens in 1653, with van Persie surviving shipwreck on Jeju Island. He is treated as a freak by a local shaman who has him on display in chains, together with deformed fish, birds, and animals for profit. The experience is traumatic, as is his subsequent journey to Seoul in search of his surviving shipmates. Van Persie travels with Yi Hae-jo, a local fisherman who has never been to Seoul.
During his travel to Seoul, van Persie encounters Korean language and culture, and is aware of the spirit world which is so much a part of life for the people of Jeju. As they travel, Van Persie remembers the woman who treated his wounds while Yi Hae-jo communicates with the Jeju Grandmother spirit about what lies ahead of him at the hands of the king. Yi Hae-jo has a difficult choice to make, complicated by the king’s determination to keep his country isolated from outsiders who might exploit it.
In 1942, during the Japanese occupation of Korea, Park Yoo-jin is taken from her family and forced to become one of the ‘comfort women’ servicing Japanese troops. Men from remote villages, including Kim Won-jae, join the resistance against the Japanese. After the Japanese defeat, and General Douglas Macarthur’s speculation that atomic bombs could be used on Communists everywhere, the Korean War begins over a line drawn arbitrarily by the Americans just north of Seoul. A Korean woman survived the Japanese brothels because both her language skills and knowledge in treating the sick, made her valuable to the Japanese. She is sustained by communicating with her grandmother’s spirit, and remembers a blue-eyed Korean fighter, Kim Won-jae.
In these two stories from the past, with 17th century Korea avoiding outsiders and 20th century Korea divided by war, I wonder what the future holds?
This is a beautifully written novel which captured and held my attention from beginning to end.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
More...