Daughters of the Dragon is written by William Andrews and is historically based around the women who were forced by the Japanese to be “comfort women” or ianfu during World War II.
A girl named Anna is a Korean who was adopted by an American family as a baby. When her American mother dies of cancer she finds that she is at an impasse in life and decides to travel to South Korea in an attempt to locate her birth mother to learn more about her past. She finds much more than she could have ever imagined.
I must commend Mr. Andrews on his ability to capture this story through the eyes of a woman. Included within Daughters of the Dragon are many heart wrenching and difficult to read passages are included in this book, and William was very careful and intimate with small details that he showed careful attention to.
This historical fiction story of a story told to Anna holds much fact from Korea’s history. I admittedly learned many details about the history, which hold true with the true accounts of what happened during this time. To date the Japanese have not formally apologized for the atrocities that were conducted against these women that have still never been fully acknowledged by either the Korean or Japanese governments. To date the remaining ianfu still march outside of the Japanese embassy weekly even though many of them are now in their 80s and 90s.
So many aspects of this book pulled at my heart, and I could feel myself there within these pages. There were some painful aspects to read of accounts that NEED to be told and NEED to be heard. There were times when I found tears in my eyes for the way that life had to be survived at a day at a time.
After surviving the horrors of being a “comfort woman”, Ja-hee found herself in an increasingly communistic North Korea, and after fleeing found that she was fighting to always try to escape the embarrassment and dishonor that she felt from what had been down to herself.
This book is an easy 5/5 stars, with its passion swept across the pages; passion for love, honor, survival, strength, independence, and for self-growth. This book spoke to my very soul and makes my heart ache for the pain my world sister had to endure during their time as comfort women and the hardships they encountered if they managed to make it out of their alive. EVERYONE should read this story and pass it on. This is one of those novels that I hope may reach other forums to reach further audiences. Hopefully we can see it portrayed accurately in a move theater one day soon as this story needs to be heard.
For more information go to http://www.comfort-women.org
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