This book lays bare the practices of Japanese troops during WW2 enslaving Korean girls as comfort women. The subject matter is harrowing and distressing to read, but it is a story that must be told.

In a sense this book is absolutely terrible.
It is truly awful reading – simply because the truth it details is. Whilst the life of a Korean Comfort Woman would be expected to be dreadful, the real horror of the story is the uncertainty and the cruelty inflicted on them quite apart from their “work.” This also spreads to the grieving families.
In the case of the wizened old woman, she is actually the guilty nine year old who saw her sister carried off by a Japanese soldier and the eventual fate of her was never discovered. She did, however, witness the shocking killing of her beloved father and the disintegration of her mother and learns the terrible truth of her end. After years of a loveless marriage she is then able to allow grief for her big sister to surface.
Without the courage of the real life women we would all have remained ignorant. But even now Japan seems reluctant to accept the blame for the misery they caused. It seems not just whales that modern Japan is inhumane about.
I was aware of the Korean war having taken place in 1950 but had not realised that the poor Koreans were already suffering from 1930, this then flowed into WWll, and even then the brutality continued with civil war resulting in partition of North and South as it remains today.
This book is extremely well written and absorbing, at times to the detriment of the reader, it is a gruelling read, but really well done.

This is such an important story that needs to be told. So much of war is about combat and the theatre of war. This book tells the story of one girl who suffered unbelievable abuse, from such a young age. A Korean Comforter - I had no idea this happened.

The story is told in such a strong and powerful way, but what a harrowing story. It’s not an easy read, but its really worth it.

I forgot how much I love these historic books, after I stopped reading for a while, I started this book and it grabbed me from the first page. I love Asian cultures. Haenyeo, never heard of these women. I love reading new information . strong sea women in Korea .

What I liked is that the story talks about the victims of war suffering ( from their country men and from the enemy), it is too easy to talk about the heroes of the war ,the person that achieved the most important part of winning the war, but the victim also had courage to survive.
I felt so sad for the two sisters and angry that we can still see now how women are used and abused in wars.

You can see the author puts a lot of effort in researching the story. The shocking victims of war, and how women effected . The author notes at the end was interesting, to see how this book was written.
I absolutely loved this book, it was upsetting and sad but it worth the read

I am sure that this will turn out to be a lovely story but I am unable to read anymore about the sexual abuse of these poor souls by Japanese soldiers. I am finding it too distressing.

A harrowing story and another one about the cruelty of men and the horrors of war. But also something I wasn't wholly aware of - what a sad history Korea has had. Beautifully written but not an easy read.

It’s not often that I find myself using the words ‘delightful’ and ‘harrowing’ in the same book review, but here they are. ‘White Chrysanthemum’ by Mary Lynn Bracht is the harrowing story of two Korean sisters separated during World War Two; one snatched to become a ‘comfort woman’ for Japanese soldiers, the other saved by her older sister’s actions.
It is difficult to read of the violence, the arrogance, the misuse of power and the humiliation of this piece of war history – still being publicised and discussed - but this is leavened by the magical water sequences. Sixteen-year old Hana is a haenyeo, a female diver of the sea, she is taught by her mother, in the family tradition, to dive deep, hold her breath and withstand the cold. When she is abused, she retreats to her memories. She is a tough cookie.
One day, she and her mother are diving, their father is away fishing, and her younger sister Emiko sits on the beach, guarding the buckets that contain their day’s catch from interested seagulls; then Japanese soldiers arrive. Desperate to stop them taking her sister to a life of captivity, Hana races out of the water and distracts them. Throughout Hana’s capture and enforced slavery, at the most horrific moments of fear and violation, the thing that anchors her to the idea of survival is the thought of her sister, learning to dive, the memory of the water, the smell of the sea. “Hana is lying on the bottom of the ocean, looking upward at the sunlight shimmering above the surface. The great ocean’s heartbeat pulses against her eardrums. The current caresses her skin. A heaviness on her chest is an old ship’s anchor she has found. She hugs it close to weigh her down.”
Emi, Hana’s eleven-year old sister, is too young to understand what is happening when Hana is taken away. It is Emi’s story, told looking back when she is herself a grandmother, which brings contemporary perspective to the microscopic detail of Hana’s story. The complicated war history of this region is clarified as we learn of Emi’s silence about her experiences in World War Two and the Korean War which followed. Such is her shame she has never told her two children that they had an aunt. But once a year Emi travels to Seoul to take part in the Wednesday Demonstration to demand official recognition for the ‘comfort women’.
The bibliography at the end of the book is testament to the author’s research but this never weighs heavily in the story. When a little historical exposition is necessary, Bracht adds it with a light hand. This is a solemn book with flashes of beauty and love which give you hope to read to the end. I admired Hana’s strength and honour. And I did not guess the ending. A delightful read.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

Wow. I read this book whilst on holiday. An excellent read. Extremely well written. An incredible and emotional story, I learned so much about a subject I knew so little; a story that needs to be told.

This book about how World War 2 tore families were torn apart in Korea was a long read but well worth it.
Hana and Emi are Sisters and when Hana is taken by the Japanese army she never sees her family again. Stolen to become a ‘comfort wife’ for the Army Hana suffers particularly at the hands of one of the soldiers. Emi knows that Hana saved her from the same fate and has never forgotten her Sister.
The writing brought the scenes vividly to life and I could imagine the fear and upset for the family as they were torn apart. I found Hana a great character, feisty and strong who clearly adored her family.
I thought it was a great addition at the end to give further details about the war and the books that inspired the Author.
This book will certainly make you think about the devastation that the Japanese Army caused for their own pleasure and gave me admiration for the woman who suffered at the hands of these men, casualties of war which probably few people, myself included, knew about.

White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht was included on the Dec 2017/Jan 2018 Librarians' Choice Top 10 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56d74c4004426214f2d28631/t/5a16ab42e2c483f5ad6ffa79/1511435094605/Top10+December+January18+A4+Flyer.pdf

I love it when I not only enjoy reading a book but also learn something at the same time. I, like probably most other people outside Korea, had no idea of this dark part of recent history. I thought the subject was handled extremely sensitively and was beautifully written. I liked both sisters’ stories and understood their motivations and drives. I’m going to recommend this book to my friends, especially female friends as I think they would have a similar reading experience as me.

WOW = this is a fabulous book. The taking of Korean women to use as "comfort women" during the Japanese occupation of that country. I had never heard of this situation but Bracht tells it superbly. Told through the eyes of two women experiencing the same event from different perspectives. I cant really do the writing justice it is both simple and complex and draws the reader into the lived experience of the dual narrators. The characters are portrayed with sympathy and as part of their culture and experience. For a first book (i can't find any other on GR) this is absolutely breathtaking

This is the story of two sisters ripped apart by the Japanese and Korea war. Hana is sixteen years old and made a promise to protect her little sister - no matter what it takes. Whilst she is diving deep in the ocean with her mother she sees a Japanese solder making his way across the beach to where her sister sits watching over their daily catch. Terrified she will be found - Hana rushes back and draws the soldiers attention away from her sister. She is taken prisoner and suffers the abuse and beatings on a daily basis as a sex slave for the Japanese soldiers. Each day she dreams of her life in the sea and the thought of one day returning is the only image that keeps her going and striving to escape. Her captor - Corporal Morimoto continually returns to take from her what he wants and beats her when she fights back.

The story switches to Hana's little sister - Emi who lives a life trying to forget the day her sister saved her from the Japanese soldier and not knowing where she was taken and what she is suffering. As the war continues and her father is killed, she lives with her broken mother until one day, a policeman comes and forces her to marry him. She buries the memories of her sister deep inside but as she grows older - the memories start flooding back and she sets out to search to find what happened to Hana.

A heartbreaking story of the the survival of two sisters, made all the more sad knowing that it is based on true events of the women and girls who became known as the "Comfort Women".

The inevitability of what happens to our premier first character is just heart stopping and dreadful. Her capture clashes directly with her youthful innocence and makes her experience at the hands of her Japanese captors deeply harrowing. Few people in the world really know about the "comfort women" taken from Korea and other places to fulfil the sexual needs of a widely flung occupying army of Japanese soldiers. What is also shocking is that the practice began before WW2 and carried on right up to the time Japan was defeated. Sexual violence and cruelty is not easily depicted and it would have been easy to have turned horrific acts into some form of titillation. Do not be fooled there is nothing but horror at the sex in this book. Revulsion and emotions approaching hatred follow the Japanese perpetrator from beginning to end. The second main character is the young sister of the first girl. The younger one is saved from capture by the actions of her elder sister and her lifelong secret search and the traumas it brings to her simple life are heart-wrenching too. Despite being mentally assaulted by the story one cannot put the book down. It has a power and force one rarely finds in any book. That it is difficult to read is a testimony to the author who gives a true and authentic voice to both main characters. And like the very best "faction", real life means we have an end that is not quite the end we want but is satisfying even so. A wonderful book for the modern age and a story that must be told. A great "art-house" movie lurks within these pages. If there were Oscars for books this one would win.

A beautifully written tale, on a heartbreaking & fascinating topic of the Korean 'comfort women'. The dual storytelling from the two sisters works well, the anticipation pulling you along to find out their fates. A lyrical & effective way to give a voice to this issue.

The book opens in Korea in 1943. Hana is a haenyeo, a. sea diver, taught by her mother in a family tradition and eking out a living diving for fish. They live in troubled times, the Japanese have invaded and impose a harsh regime, they live in constant fear that any of the village girls will be snatched. Hana has a younger sister, Emi who she fiercely protects. One day the worst does happen but Hana manages to hide Emi from the Japanese soldiers but in doing so she sacrifices herself. She is shipped to Manchuria where she becomes a “Comfort Woman” in a Japanese soldiers brothel.
The book flips between Hana’s wartime story and Emi’s story in 2011. Emi has hidden what happened from her own children but wants to correct that before she dies. The book weaves fact and fiction and highlights the terrible circumstances that these woman were forced to endure during the war years. Whilst the subject matter is grim it is tastefully written and very enlightening.

A heart wrenching and graphic account of the effects of war in a place I knew very little about. A challenging but compulsive read.

I could not put this book down. I became enmeshed in the story of the two sisters and the horrendous plight of the ‘Comfort Women’. The author’s descriptive writing enthralls and captivates the imagination so that the unimaginable horror of that time becomes reality. A gripping read one I think I will never forget!

A hard read, because the subject matter is so shocking and throughout I could not help but feel this was the least I could do in honour of women like Hana.
Thank you NetGalley for a thought-provoking and intense read.

This was a difficult book to read because of the subject matter. At times I felt like I couldn't go on reading but I kept coming back to it. It's well written and stays with you long after the last page. It's heartbreaking and tells a true story of which I knew very little, and though the subject matter is harrowing it is also a story about hope.