I received this book for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
