Thank you NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review. The story revolves around 3 generations of a Korean family as lived by the women; grandmother, two sisters and the daughters. I felt that the story of Sunyuh, one of the sisters, was the most interesting and harrowing part of the book. She was abducted by the Japanese military during WWII and used as a "comfort woman". She was a sex slave and her time in the "comfort station", as it was euphemistically called, was hard to read about. I wish the book had centered on her life more. The parts that centered on her niece, Angelina, were unnecessarily long and I was not as interested. The descriptions of Korea were beautifully depicted. I enjoyed the story but it dragged on a bit too much with Angelina's love life.

I really, really enjoyed 'Stone Angels'.

It's a fascinating examination of how insidious the idea of Class and Culture can be.
How it can translate and impact the lives of three generations of women from the same family across continents and decades.
A story of loss, tragedy, betrayal and ultimately selfless love.

It's not an easy read. I like reading about other cultures and countries so I was already aware of the practice of the Japanese military to kidnap women and force them into camps to perform as 'comfort women' and the horrors that were perpetrated upon them. Even still, the details are ghastly to imagine. It truly was a HUGE human rights violation and subsequent cover-up. I was NOT aware of the true scope of the Sino-Asian War and the broad net that was thrown across multiple countries to steal such women.

I was also aware of the haenyeo free diving culture of the women of JuJu Island in South Korea and their efforts to support themselves and their families from the sea on a volcanic island with little rich arable land. A fascinating subject in it's own right that I've read and reviewed some other books on.

The genius of 'Stone Angels' is presenting all this information thru the lineage and memories of a single family of women.
Gongju, her third daughter Angelina (also Korean name Sunyah) and Gongju's long lost elder sister Sunyah (kidnapped at 17 to be imprisoned as a 'comfort woman.')

How the expectation of the perfect docile, submissive Korean wife and the act of 'saving face' for either family or husband ingenders guilt and denial that destroys two marriages. The pain that Gongju, and subsequently her daughter Angelina suffers from unfaithful husbands and their unwavering adherence to presenting a facade to cover their pain. Angelina's subsequent emotional awakening after finally accepting the hard truths of her actions, and denials.

(Some really, REALLY crappy men and one good one that may redeem the gender.) :p

I really, really appreciated the author's addition in italics of the translation for the various Korean items of food and drink, etc. immediately after the term. Really beats having to check an index at the back of the book or a footnote!

I've highlighted two passages in my copy that hit particularly hard with me:

"Sacrifice can be a cowardly act sometimes, and it can breed resentment and bitterness."

"You must live like you have nothing to lose, so you regret nothing."

Almost sixty revolutions around the sun and you think I'd know myself better than this. Every now and then, I like to step outside my normal genre because apparently I think I'm more cultured than I really am or that I should be. So I try, but I don't have many successes. This was a perfectly lovely story told in a perfectly lovely way. I think many will enjoy it. Me, I think I'll just stick with my thrillers, contemporary romances, and some occasional historical fiction when I'm feeling the need to get some much needed culture street cred.

This is a historical novel that takes place mostly in Korea. A woman is searching for her aunt who was taken by the Japanese during WWII and forced into service as a “comfort woman.” During her search we learn a lot about Korea and the war, about the women divers. This is also a love story and a story about family.

I had never heard of the “comfort women” before reading this book. Wow is all I can say for this story of Angelina and her search and the life she lived. Keisuke was such an interesting person in this narrative.

The charaa a caters and scenes were so well developed I could see everything in my minds eye while reading this book.

I highly recommend this book. It is such a great read!

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.