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This was an ambitious topic, not only is Andrews writing historical fiction, about another culture, but also as a female. For the most part, I would say he pulls it off. The difference in the rating for me between a four and a five star review is that the narration was made up of short choppy sentences and this abrupt writing style between the passages of dialogue was distracting for me as a reader and the story then became a bit forced.

This book deals with events that took place during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Now long since past, they are but bitter memories that an old “comfort woman” survivor imparts to her long lost granddaughter who was adopted as an infant and raised in America. Though a work of fiction, the novel is based on historical facts depicting horrific acts against innocent Korean girls. A story of courage and resilience well worth reading.

I so loved this book. The story pulled me in and during reading I absolutely had to travel down the rabbit hole for more information on a subject I knew nothing about. The story of "comfort women" who were sent to rape camps to provide sex to the Japanese soldiers during WW II was at times hard to take.
It was a brutal read at times but the story was beautiful.

Finished this work of fiction last week, but couldn't post earlier. Excellent story, albeit tough at times. The subtitle says it all: "A Comfort Woman's Story."

I learned a lot about Korean culture and history, which is always a treat when reading. To know that these women fought so hard to simply be acknowledged as victims of rape, and not willing participants, speaks volumes of their courage and tenacity.

Yes, read this, even though...