Archive for the ‘Lisa See’ Tag
History and fiction meet in Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See in 1870 when the lives of three Chinese women of different backgrounds intersect in the rustic, violent Los Angeles pueblo.
Dove, the daughter of an Imperial Scholar, and Petal, from a poor farming family, are sent to California for very different reasons: Dove to be married to a merchant many years her senior; and Petal to work in a brothel. Moon, one of the fewer than three dozen women already in Los Angeles, is married to the well-liked doctor who practices traditional Chinese medicine.
All three have seemingly impossible dreams: Dove to be loved; Petal to know freedom; and Moon to have a child.
Each chapter primarily focus on one of the women, although there are references to all throughout the narrative. First person voice is used for Moon and Petal; including chapters in Moon’s voice looking back on the events from 1926. Chapters centered on Dove rely on an omniscient narrator.
Except for the few initial interactions among the women, kindness is a rarity since prejudice toward the Chinese in general, and women, in particular, is a major theme. Two kidnappings and tensions between two gangs reach a boiling point that soon involves Anglos and Mexicans pitted against the Asians.
See recounts, in horrific, vivid detail, the real-life events known as the Night of Horrors, when much of the Chinese population is brutally decimated. This is what ultimately brings the trio together in their quest for survival.
Daughters of the Sun and Moon
Four and a half bookmarks
Scribner, 2026
363 pages, includes a note on the history and acknowledgements
I’m drawn to novels about women’s friendships: the premise of The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See and I was not disappointed.
Set on the Korean Island of Jeju, the author provides an in-depth look at Korean culture involving female sea divers, an ever-changing political climate and the bonds of friendship that beautifully flourish before painfully disintegrating.
The elderly Young-sook narrates this captivating story of her friendship with Mi-ja. They are different in their experiences and backgrounds. Young-sook’s lineage boasts the respected sea women, divers who carefully harvest from the ocean for their livelihood. Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator. They learn to dive together; they share secrets, joys and losses.
As they grow-up their island undergoes numerous political changes beginning with Japanese colonialism to World War II then the Korean War. Poverty is a way of life for the villagers, but the sea women find solace beneath the water’s surface. Through vivid descriptions, See recreates the rural lifestyle of the islanders and the heartbreak they endure in war.
When marriages are arranged for Mi-Ja and Young-sook, they wonder how they’ll survive being apart from one another. Facing the harsh influences of the outside world, their friendship falters until rendered irreparable.
The progression of time is marked through the different regimes, cell phones and indoor plumbing.
Among the novel’s many beauties are the memory of the rich friendship, the presence of Mi-ja’s great granddaughter and, finally, the reader’s awareness of a single perspective being shared.
The Island of Sea Women
Four-and-a-half bookmarks
Scribner, 2019
374 pages
At nearly 600 pages, Amy Tan’s recent novel, The Valley of Amazement, is not just long-awaited, it’s just long. Very long.
It’s the exhaustive story of Chinese courtesans, mothers, daughters, unattainable love, and mistakes repeated from one generation to the next. And, it’s so dang long. Tan clearly did her research to impart so much about the life of a courtesan. The trouble is that other authors have written on this topic much more succinctly. Lisa See comes to mind.
Two thirds of the work is told from Violet’s perspective, which begins when she is seven years old growing up in a Shanghai courtesan house run by her mother, Lucia, an American. Violet is initially unaware that her father, whom she has never met, is Chinese. At 14, Violet is sold to become a courtesan herself when her mother sets sail, unwittingly without her daughter, for San Francisco. Thus begins the lengthy downward spiral Violet endures as things go from worse to worse, interspersed with moments of rare happiness or brief tolerance to her life’s harsh realities. Much of what Violet endures is predictable.
The book’s final third provides Lucia’s view. By comparison, the brevity, although a relief, is puzzling. Yes, Violet is the focus, but this is a narrative about mother-daughter relationships. Even with Tan’s excessive details, Violet is an intriguing character as are several others. After spending so much time with them, they do find their way into our hearts; it just could have been sooner rather than later.
The Valley of Amazement
Three-and-a-half Bookmarks
Ecco/HarperCollins, 2013
589 pages
The Blue Page Special 