For fans of Lisa Wingate’s Before We Were Yours and Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko, a deeply moving novel that follows two Korean sisters separated by World War II. Korea, 1943. Hana has lived her entire life under Japanese occupation. As a haenyeo, a female diver of the sea, she enjoys an independence that few other Koreans can still claim. Until the day Hana saves her younger sister from a Japanese … Hana saves her younger sister from a Japanese soldier and is herself captured and transported to Manchuria. There she is forced to become a “comfort woman” in a Japanese military brothel. But haenyeo are women of power and strength. She will find her way home.
South Korea, 2011. Emi has spent more than sixty years trying to forget the sacrifice her sister made, but she must confront the past to discover peace. Seeing the healing of her children and her country, can Emi move beyond the legacy of war to find forgiveness?
Suspenseful, hopeful, and ultimately redemptive, White Chrysanthemum tells a story of two sisters whose love for each other is strong enough to triumph over the grim evils of war.
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Hana and her mother are “haenyo”, who make their living deep water diving from Jeju Island off the coast of South Korea. It is the summer of 1943 and Hana spots a Japanese soldier heading towards her little sister Emi, who is guarding their catch on the beach. In order to protect her sister from a desperate fate, Hana swims as fast she can for shore…
She is captured and becomes one of thousands of Korean women known as “comfort women” or military sexual slaves.
The reader is transported between 1943 and beyond, following Hana’s journey and that of Emi in 2011, as she journeys to Seoul to attend a Wednesday Demonstration and the unveiling of a Statue of Peace.
White Chrysanthemum is both shocking and compulsive reading, based on the reality that upwards of 50,000 Korean women are believed to have been sexual slaves for the Japanese military.
A powerful, page-turning story dealing with the cruelties inflicted on Korean women during the WWII Japanese occupation. I honestly read this in one day and will remember it for a long, long time.
A wonderful story of an incredible and horrible experience. Things not spoken about at a time when the whole world faced uncertainty!
It was tragic what happened to so many women.
A touching and pathos evoking novel which delves into the lives and suffering of the “comfort women” during WWII.
This was a haunting, tragic story. I enjoyed learning about the amazing strong Korean women of JeJu Island and in particular the fate of 2 sisters during and after WW2. I cried more than once while reading this book.
This was NOT an easy book to read. 1931-1945 tens of thousands of women and girls enslaved by the Japanese military and sold into sexual slavery….AKA “comfort women”. They say there were at least two hundred thousand women…. I can’t even imagine.
This is one of the best books I have read this year. I had never heard of Comfort Girls before this Novel and the unspeakable trama that these girls faced sticks with me. It was beautifully written, the characters were well developed and the story was simply amazing!
This was a very interesting story about events which are never discussed. It broke my heart to read about it, but at the same time, I couldn’t put it down for more than a few minutes. How brave and enduring the characters are.
Loved the book….story well told.
Great historical fiction if you are interested in the Haenyeo (diving women) of Korea and how they were impacted during the war
I could not put this book down! Excellent read
I had never read a book about the “comfort Women,” stollen by the Japanese during WWII. The book was enlightening and the characters were believable and realistic. The story is haunting. I would definitely recommend the book although it was painful to read, I thought the ending was redemptive.
I am in love w this book. The characters were so rich and appealing- I learned some historical facts and did not want this book to end. Will definitely read more of this author.
This story evoked so many deep emotions that I had to put the book down often to work through my pain for these characters. We need more stories like this to raise awareness of the global sex trafficking epidemic Which is a centuries-old blight on humanity.
This was hard to read because of the ache in my heart for the reality of these women. Although not Comfort Women Hana’s sister and mother suffered the effects of war.
It saddened me that children/women would be abused in such a way. Unimaginable what Hana especially endured.
Hana and Emi are sisters living a happy life on Jeju Island off Korea. Hana dives into the sea for food along with her mother. Their father is a fisherman. Emi guards the catch. The Japanese are a constant threat. When WWII starts, at sixteen Hana is kidnapped and sent to China to be a “comfort woman”. She must service the Japanese soldiers. Emi is devastated to lose her sister.
Told in alternating viewpoints, Hana’s experiences are harrowing as she’s brutalized by men. Emi’s side is many years later as she hides her heartbreak from her family. Based on fact, the “comfort women” were denied by the Japanese for decades. The story is beautifully told, though some scenes are dragged out too long. I’m glad I read it.
I enjoyed this book very much, it was heartbreaking and sad at times but also inspirational.
Opened my eyes to the other issues that go along with war.
I really knew very little about “comfort women”. Thank you for educating me and painting a picture of what their life must have been like.