The Island of Sea Women: A Heart-Wrenching Tale of Female Friendship and Strength

Christine McBurnie: this book is a must read. delicately laying the characters into play then bringing in the true life elements from outside the island and then the wars that changed their island and the people forever. this book was full of emotion, beautiful description and true historical facts intwinned. I loved it

United Kingdom on Oct 25, 2023

Amazon Customer: I appreciated the writing and the story. I learned a lot about Korean history and now better understand their position in the world.

Canada on Oct 25, 2023

Redbegonia: This novel, based on the real life women sea fish divers, held my attention throughout. The characters came alive, and the story is unique to many of us westerners. Sad but still hopeful. The writing is good and it's often a page turner. I recommend it.

United States on Oct 18, 2023

Denise D.: I enjoyed the book as did my book club members!

United States on Oct 15, 2023

Valerie E Anders: Reading for pleasure.

United States on Oct 15, 2023

Katelyn: Just received this book and couldn't wait to start reading it. One of my co-workers told me about this book and that's why I ordered it. I'm an experienced Diver and I Love the Ocean. I also; like to read about History. It's based on a true story and still happens to this day. It's a fascinating story. I'm enjoying it.

United States on Oct 04, 2023

just me: Lisa See never disappoints. Read this book and then go on YouTube to watch documentaries about the Korean Sea Women

United States on Sep 30, 2023

N. Hall: This book was really interesting. I have recommended it to others and also bought it as a present since. My whole book group enjoyed it, it led to one of our best discussions, and despite it being fiction, I also felt I learnt some historical facts about a region I don't know a lot about

United Kingdom on Aug 09, 2023

Jill Crossland: Book reviewers tend to make full use of the vernacular of the day; they want their review to highlight the things that are most important to the reader. So used in abundance to describe Lisa See's Island of Sea Women are words like female friendship, historical novel, women's strengths, powerful women, multigenerational story, and so on. All these adjectives are accurate but don't do justice to See's book regarding its full scope.

This is the story of Korea as told through the friendship of Young-sook, the daughter of the head haenyeo diver, and Mi-ja, the orphaned daughter of a Japanese collaborator. It is unique, beautiful, and sometimes brutal, but most of all, its historical context is authentic. I was fortunate enough to have once lived in South Korea, and while the book enabled me to revisit some familiar words and places, the story of the Island of Jeju and the haenyeo was sadly unknown to me. See's research and how she weaves it into the storyline is flawless. Her writing is clear and honest and never wavers towards unnecessary melodrama or superfluous emotions. To read this book is to immerse oneself in the best and worst of humanity.

One cannot help but...

Canada on Jun 21, 2023

Marie: This book makes us travel through history from Japanese occupation to contemporary Korea , through darkest times to forgiveness and reconciliation.
We dive and vibrate with the haenyeo of Jeju, admiring their strength, resilience and sacrifice.

France on Jul 30, 2022