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A review by vangalapriya
The Picture Bride by Lee Geum-yi
4.0
I loved the picture bride. The story starts off with Willow, a girl from a small village in Korea, raised by a single mother and the only daughter of her household. When Willow hears that she can become a picture bride, or a bride sent to America to marry a Korean man settled in Hawaii and attend school she agrees. She leaves with the only home she’s ever known with her childhood friend, who is also to be a picture bride. When she arrives, she learns that a lot of the men who sent for picture brides lied about their age, their means, and the life they’d have in Hawaii. Soon after her wedding Willow finds that her husband wasn’t willing to marry, and she was forced on him.
Through sheer will Willow makes a place in her husband’s heart and with hard work and strength she learns how to take care of herself and her family. I found Willow a deeply admirable character. She puts in hard work wherever she can, and she never expects anything from anyone. She deals with discrimination, alienation, and poverty but she never lets any of it keep her down. She’s resilient and when one thing fails, she’s good at finding something else to make it work
I feel this book also taught me a lot about the history of Hawaii and the Korean Independence movement. I had no idea about the two opposing factions and that taking sides led to breaks in family and friendship.
One of the things I really admired about this book is the concept of found family and creating a support system for yourself. Willow’s friends Hongju and Songhwa help her through her struggle of taking care of her family when her husband abandons her. They are the strength for each other when the men fail them. I think this book is moving, informative and clearly well researched. The author paints beautiful pictures of Hawaii and of the past. I recommend to everyone.
Through sheer will Willow makes a place in her husband’s heart and with hard work and strength she learns how to take care of herself and her family. I found Willow a deeply admirable character. She puts in hard work wherever she can, and she never expects anything from anyone. She deals with discrimination, alienation, and poverty but she never lets any of it keep her down. She’s resilient and when one thing fails, she’s good at finding something else to make it work
I feel this book also taught me a lot about the history of Hawaii and the Korean Independence movement. I had no idea about the two opposing factions and that taking sides led to breaks in family and friendship.
One of the things I really admired about this book is the concept of found family and creating a support system for yourself. Willow’s friends Hongju and Songhwa help her through her struggle of taking care of her family when her husband abandons her. They are the strength for each other when the men fail them. I think this book is moving, informative and clearly well researched. The author paints beautiful pictures of Hawaii and of the past. I recommend to everyone.