Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Трава

Wow. What a powerful story with such strong artwork. The illustrations feel oppressive, obviously since Lee Ok-Sun was oppressed through most of her life.

The author / illustrator, Keum Duk Gendry-Kim, met and interviewed Lee. They became friends of a sort, with Gendry-Kim working for three years to complete her biography. It begins when Lee was a child, sold by her parents to alleviate their poverty. From there things got progressively worse with her being abducted and sent to a “comfort station” at the age of 16 or 17.

Things were almost as bad after the war. The newly liberated women were shunned as whores, unable to find food or work. Lee told Gendry-Kim that her life was miserable from the moment she was born, and that’s all too clear.

Gendry-Kim tells Lee’s story in a straightforward fashion without sensationalizing the violence and misery. I confess I can’t conceive of this level of pain and anguish.

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nikereadsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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goizi's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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albernikolauras's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

4.25

Grass is a non-fiction graphic novel that uses information Keum Suk Gendry-Kim received during interviews with Osekon Lee herself. It discusses Lee's life as a child who ended up getting forced into sexual slavery as a comfort woman.

The writing was great and the art portrayed such sadness and trauma without being overly explicit. It was a quiet story that left you to sit in Lee's stories.

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mapscitiesandsongs's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

"I've never known happiness from the moment I came out of my mother's womb" - Lee Ok-Sun

A harrowing but necessary read. In her afterword Keum Suk Gendry-Kim writes that she didn't want to sensationalize the violence, pain and suffering of the characters, which she succeded in. I think the inclusion of really graphic scene would have been a disservice to the life story of Lee Ok-Sun and I am glad the author thought the same way. There weren't necessary at all, since the story in itself is harrowing enough.

I would have given the graphic novel 5 stars if it wasn't for the self-insertion of the author. It kind of rubbed me the wrong way how she was complaining about mundane things such as deadlines or air conditioning/air pollution, after we just read about the horrifying atrocities the "comfort women" had to endure. Not only that, but it also took me out of the story. I also found it quite weird how she frequently admits to not being in contact with Lee Ok-Sun and not having seen her in forever. As another reviewer mentioned, it felt like the author got her story and it's not interesting anymore.

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hillie_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

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