Always love her books and learning about other cultures. She develops the characters so well it is hard to stop reading.

This is an amazing story about friendship, betrayal, trauma, resilience, and human self-preservation. Lisa See's reach into a relationship, spanning across war-torn generations, was touching and unremarkable. It is evident that See spent a lot of time and effort in researching the history of the haenyeo and of South Korea/Jeju Island, but I think where the book fell a bit short for me was in her intertwining of the fact and fiction. These sections seemed to be compartmentalized; either I was completely drawn into the story between Young-Sook and Mi-ja or I was bored to tears reciting war facts and events. It felt as there was very little "build up" to major catastrophes and more drawn out breaks between them. How could I enjoy and appreciate this storyline and connect with these characters so much yet equally have to barrel through monotony? (and there were times I did consider not finishing...but I am so glad I did). I so did love the story though. It harps on themes so relevant to relationships enduring generations, family, cultural binds, traumatic events, and national growth and despair. The hearts and souls of these Sea Women will stick with me far beyond the struggle I experienced in some mundane parts of the book.

I do not give star ratings lightly and have always felt many books reviewed here are rated too highly. However for me this might have even been a 4.5. I also like to read the reviews that are opposite of my ratings....so I will tell you ...those that rated it lower had the following consistent criticism:
depressing, draggy, repetitive, boring, story not compelling, difficulty connecting with characters.
All though agreed, the author did an extensive amount of research on a topics (the role of the sea women in Korea and Korean history) that many know little about.
having said all that, it still did not persuade me away from giving it the rating I did. I did find that I had to read slower than I usually do to make sure I caught anything. But still, I thought this an excellent book!
A reviewer mentioned that if you like PACHINKO, you would probably like this book and vice versa. i tend to think she is correct.....I have read many of Lisa See's books and usually like them. This is on e of my favorites!

It was pretty good, but I felt like I’ve read something similar in the past. Parts were boring.

We thought the women divers were amazing and the research into the history of this Korean island was exhaustive. The overall theme to the book, though, was how much you miss when you don't forgive. The book followed for eight decades the lives of two fictional friends who were divers in the same collective of women divers on the Island of Jeju, with the background of historical events that took place there. Women divers there are real and can be seen on the Internet.

The Island of Sea Women-A Novel, Lisa See, author; Jennifer Lim, narrator
This is a very well researched piece of historic fiction that takes place from 1944 and continues until 2008. It also is a very dark, difficult read because of the sudden unexpected interjection of brutal violence fairly often in the narrative. The story is about a unique community of women in a matriarchal society in which females were more desired than male children as the women do everything to insure their own and their family’s survival. However, they possess none of the benefits of their responsibilities. All forms of inheritance and all ultimate decision making is in the hands of the men as the power rests with them. The novel takes place over a period of several decades as it goes back and forth in time from about 1944 to 2017 and is set in a remote area of the Korean Province of Jeju.
The women of this island are the worker bees and the men, deemed weaker and less intelligent, live up to their reputation as drones. They care for the children and spend their days chatting and drinking, without producing anything of true value. The women are like family to each other, gossiping freely. They dive deep into the ocean and collect mollusks, while the elderly divers collect algae near or on the shore. These prizes are sold for their subsistence. They garden, breastfeed, bear children, without the benefit of birth control, and seem relatively happy to serve the prurient needs of their spouses, spouses who are usually chosen for them along class, genetic and other background lines.
Young-Sook is a fairly naïve, uneducated, but very strong young woman who has been trained by her mother to be a Haenyeo, a diver. Her mother is the leader of their collective of female divers. These women truly exist, although they are far fewer in number, today. They have been studied for their unique ability to dive, hold their breath and withstand unusual cold water temperatures.
Mi-ja is a child that is abused by her aunt and uncle. They practically starve her when she is orphaned. They are forced to care for her because of their familial duty. Her parents are viewed as collaborators with the Japanese, whom the Koreans hate because of their abusive regulations. Most villagers believe the sins of Mi-ja’s parents were visited upon her, as well, so she too is tainted and shunned by most people, except for Young-Sook’s mother who soon cares for her like one of her own. The two young girls become fast friends and are as close as sisters.
The story is told through their life experiences, their friendship and their marriages. The narrative exposes their deprivation, customs, superstitions, lack of creature comforts and simplicity of lifestyle. The greater sophistication of Mi-ja, who is somewhat educated, is contrasted with the illiteracy of Young-Sook, who often behaves far more nobly and bravely, until she is hurt and betrayed beyond repair. How that injury and wound is healed is the crux of the story.
When Janet, Jim, Clara and Scott, arrive in Jeju, from America, looking for the friend of Mi-ja, the history of the friendship and the times, complete with the awful brutality and injustice that occurred in Jeju, especially on April 3, 1948, is starkly revealed. It is hard to read because the cruelty and carnage were monumentally inhumane.
Still, I found the book to be profoundly interesting because of its history and detailed information about a community of females that I had never heard about, and I was therefore prompted to do some research. A book that encourages learning is a gift. However, I found the author’s often anti-American comments to be disingenuous. It wasn’t until near the final quarter of the book that the author admits that the Americans were not participants in the pain caused by the rebels, but rather they were faulted for their lack of intervention to stop their madness. The South Korean rebels they supported, after Korea won its independence from Japan, were brutally cruel in their violence. They slaughtered those they believed were communists and collaborators. They burned their homes, hunted their relatives. They engaged in the performance of horrific acts of violence that rivaled those of Hitler’s storm troopers and sadists. There is little attention paid to the Holocaust, or the rest of the world, in this novel, although a major portion of it does take place during that terrible time period of torture, starvation and death.
America is portrayed as imperialistic, and as an accessory to the suffering of the Jejuans. Their intention, it was believed, was to wipe out communism there. The islanders were shocked that rather than being abused by the Japanese from whom they were now free, they were being horribly brutalized their own countrymen, countrymen they had viewed as peaceful and certainly not as violent torturers and murderers. From articles I read, I learned that it was the South Koreans and the police, whom the Americans supported, that committed one of the most brutal massacres of the war, against the Jejuans. Staunchly anti-communist, they viewed the Jejuans as “Reds” and brutally put down their uprising, *committing a significant amount of the terrorism, torture and murders on Jeju Island over the period of time of the revolt, from 1948-1954.
While I recommend the book highly, I warn the reader to be prepared to witness the horrors these simply people were forced to endure without ever truly understanding why.

Taking place over many decades the story follows the lives of the haenyeo, the female divers of Jeju. Here the women are in charge and the men take care of the children. There is much turmoil, Japanese Colonialism, WW11 and the Korean War. Young-sook and Mi-ja are best friends, until something out of their control happens and the women have no contact with each other for many years.
While I found the story riveting and educational, there were some parts, which I have found out to be true, that were just a bit too graphic for me. I do not think this would be a good fit for my bookclub of senior ladies.