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The Mermaid from Jeju
The Mermaid from Jeju: A Novel | Sumi Hahn
9 posts | 7 read | 9 to read
"A transporting masterpiece." --Booklist starred review Inspired by true events on Korea's Jeju Island, Sumi Hahn's "entrancing [debut] novel, brimming with lyricism and magic" (Jennifer Rosner, The Yellow Bird Sings) explores what it means to truly love in the wake of devastation. In the aftermath of World War II, Goh Junja is a girl just coming into her own. She is the latest successful deep sea diver in a family of strong haenyeo. Confident she is a woman now, Junja urges her mother to allow her to make the Goh family's annual trip to Mt. Halla, where they trade abalone and other sea delicacies for pork. Junja, a sea village girl, has never been to the mountains, where it smells like mushrooms and earth. While there, she falls in love with a mountain boy Yang Suwol, who rescues her after a particularly harrowing journey. But when Junja returns one day later, it is just in time to see her mother take her last breath, beaten by the waves during a dive she was taking in Junja's place. Spiraling in grief, Junja sees her younger siblings sent to live with their estranged father. Everywhere she turns, Junja is haunted by the loss of her mother, from the meticulously tended herb garden that has now begun to sprout weeds, to the field where their bed sheets are beaten. She has only her grandmother and herself. But the world moves on without Junja. The political climate is perilous. Still reeling from Japan's forced withdrawal from the peninsula, Korea is forced to accommodate the rapid establishment of US troops. Junja's canny grandmother, who lived through the Japanese invasion that led to Korea's occupation understands the signs of danger all too well. When Suwol is arrested for working with and harboring communists, and the perils of post-WWII overtake her homelands, Junja must learn to navigate a tumultuous world unlike anything she's ever known. "Original, luminous, and lyrical" (Kirsty Manning, The Song of the Jade Lily), The Mermaid from Jeju deftly captures the resilience of the human spirit, and the courage required in love and survival. "Sumi Hahn is a dream weaver whose poetic and powerful prose makes us believe in magic and reconfirms the transformative power of storytelling." --Nguyen Phan Que Mai
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ICantImReading
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Mehso-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a fresh historical fiction novel. I was more engaged with Part 1 where we singularly followed Junja‘s story; Part 2 felt disjointed with the dual timeline and POV changes. Some parts were hard to read because they were really sad. Hahn‘s writing and the gorgeous cover evoke the beauty of the island, and I‘m glad I was able to learn more about this piece of Korea‘s past and culture.

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Creme_de_la_them
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Pickpick

Book # 15 of the year: The Mermaid of Jeju” by Sumi Hahn. Beautiful and sad, it tells the story of a young haenyeo who comes of age during the US invasion of Korea. I highly recommend reading this.

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ICantImReading
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#bookmail from #thebookdrop today! This book looks so unique and compelling!!

24 likes1 stack add
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rambiepaige
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Time to start this one! I went to Jeju when I was 14 years old, and I‘d give anything to go back. 🧜‍♀️

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JustReadingJess
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Pickpick

I loved how unique The Mermaid from Jeju is. Junja is a very interesting and complex character. Hahn did a great job expressing Junja‘s emotions. The past and present storylines were interesting.

Thank you Alcove Press, Crooked Lane Books, Dreamscape Media, Libro.fm and NetGalley for The Mermaid from Jeju.

Full Review: https://justreadingjess.wordpress.com/2021/01/20/book-review-the-mermaid-from-je...

68 likes3 stack adds
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nelehelen
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Pickpick

Focused on the history & folklore of the island rather than the hanyeo, the author provides vivid descriptions of the island and life on Jeju. The evocative writing transported me back in time and it was both magical and heartbreaking. However, I felt the writing to be a bit jarring at times, switching from beautifully long & detailed descriptions of the landscape to the sudden change in short dialogue. I also wanted a bit more character growth.

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rachelm
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Pickpick

I cannot tell you how lush this wonderful audiobook was. The Mermaid from Jeju covers an important era of world history-- set in Korea during a time of multiple, rapidly shifting occupations-- as well as a current day timeline. I'm so grateful to have been given a LibroFM ALC copy in exchange for my honest review, and I highly recommend checking it out in that format. Dual narrators, lushly recorded. Really great novel for historical fiction fans.

monkeygirlsmama Loving your review. May have to look for the audio of this one myself. 4y
rachelm @monkeygirlsmama tell me if you do! 4y
67 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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rachelm
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Just started this and already super into it. A really fresh historical fic of a place and period I haven‘t read much about. Thank you LibroFM ALC program for the free copy!

57 likes3 stack adds
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LittleMummyMe
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Pickpick

The Mermaid from Jeju by Sumi Hahn is published tomorrow, 8th December 2020.

A beautiful debut about a young woman's life in Korea in 1944 and how her experiences and choices in life resonate over decades.

Full review on my blog (link in bio)

#littlemummymebookchat #themermaidfromjeju #netgalley #sumihahn