Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - White Chrysanthemum

Title: White Chrysanthemum
Author: Mary Lynn Bracht
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: January 20, 2018

T H R E E • W O R D S

Unsettling • Enlightening • Redemptive

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Korea, 1943. Hana has lived her entire life under Japanese occupation. As a haenyeo, a female diver of the sea, she enjoys an independence that few other Koreans can still claim. Until the day Hana saves her younger sister from a Japanese soldier and is herself captured and transported to Manchuria. There she is forced to become a comfort woman in a Japanese military brothel. But haenyeo are women of power and strength. She will find her way home.

South Korea, 2011. Emi has spent more than sixty years trying to forget the sacrifice her sister made, but she must confront the past to discover peace. Seeing the healing of her children and her country, can Emi move beyond the legacy of war to find forgiveness?

💭 T H O U G H T S

I was gifted a copy of White Chrysanthemum by a friend a few years ago, and when I needed a book to fit a 'flower in the title' prompt, it was easy to grab off of my shelf. I didn't know much besides that it was a historical fiction, and I decided to tandem read the physical book along with the audio.

I was instantly drawn into the eye-opening account of the war crimes committed against 1000s of Korean women during WWII. The history of the Japanese sex slavery, and these women known as 'comfort women' is something I knew very little about. As detailed in the author's note, it's another heinous aspect of history governments have tried to brush under the rug, yet needs to be told. The detailed descriptions of what when on with these women were hard to read, yet really drew me into the story. I also appreciated learning about haenyeo culture.

As I kept reading, my interest waned as the story moved away from the central aspect. And I don't think the dual POVs worked for the story Bracht was trying to tell. While I knew they were connected, it felt like two separate stories being told parallel to one another. Emi wanted justice and healing with what happened to her sister, and Hana was always searching for home and eventually had to adjust to a new meaning for the word 'home'.

Mary Lynn Bracht handles the unsettling content with care in her debut. I preferred the first half of the story, and the ending left me satisfied, but something throughout the middle left more to desired. I would definitely read more of Mary Lynn Bracht books in the future.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• historical fiction fans looking for something different
• readers who like stories about sisters

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Words are power, her father once told her after reciting one of his political poems. The more words you know, the more powerful you become. That is why the Japanese outlaw our native language. They are limiting our power by limiting our words."

Content Warnings

rspades's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Content Warnings

bookycnidaria's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

mscgrl05's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I knew nothing of “comfort women”, so this was a bit of a shock to learn what and who they were and how it happened to them. My heart breaks for all who suffer through

sex

trafficking. This was not an easy read in regards to subject, but I think Mary Lynn Bracht did a respectful telling of it. This may be a fictional story with fictional characters, but the situation is very real, I believe. I would not recommend this story to anyone younger than 16…maybe; but it should be a read for a better understanding of these situations that are still happening in other countries around the world.

Content Warnings