The Island of Sea Women, set largely on the remote Korean island of Jeju, is a stunning and gripping story centering around two best friends, and spanning decades. Filled with heartache and hardship, with deep friendship, first love and devastating losses, and set across times of national and global upheaval, this was a story I really lost myself in and that I didn’t want to end. 

Young-sook and Mi-ja meet as young girls, drawn together by Mi-ja’s harsh family situation, and the oppressive colonial regime their island is under. As they grow up together, much of their time spent honing their skills as part of their village’s all-female free-diving collective, their bond blossoms into something strong and beautiful. But circumstances beyond their control are set to test them beyond measure. 

Lisa See’s writing is striking and immersive. The descriptions of the sea both beautiful and unpredictable, that gives as much as it takes; the evocative writing about life as a haenyeo, the female divers of Jeju; the hardship, the fierce sense of community and solidarity, and the great pride in work; the deftly moving between the intimate portrayal of this small community and the sweeping portrayal of the far-reaching effects of colonialism and foreign intervention; the tender exploration of female friendship, and of mother-daughter bonds. 

We follow the two girls in life from youth, to adolescence, into marriage and to grandmothers, seeing their most formative and pivotal moments along the way. As the story unfolds, and light is shed on situations that have caused so much hurt, there is a deeply moving sense of the sacrifices often made but not always recognised, and the rifts that can ensue. This is a story brimming with female strength and wonderfully drawn characters. A story about the search for understanding and for forgiveness. About generational trauma and the quest to move beyond. About the power of tradition and ritual, and the influx of the modern world and its ways. I listened to this as an audiobook, perfectly read by Jennifer Lim, but this is one I will definitely go back to to read in physical copy.

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The Island of Sea Women was published by Scribner UK in 2020.

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Lisa See is the New York Times bestselling author of The Island of Sea Women, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, Shanghai Girls, China Dolls, and Dreams of Joy, which debuted at #1. She is also the author of On Gold Mountain, which tells the story of her Chinese American family’s settlement in Los Angeles. See was the recipient of the Golden Spike Award from the Chinese Historical Association of Southern California and the History Maker’s Award from the Chinese American Museum. She was also named National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women.