Sunja is a pregnant teenager in the 1900’s. The baby daddy is an older married man with a sketchy profession, so sketchy she doesn’t know what he does. Bringing great shame to her family Sunja is saved by a holy man. A lodger in her parents boarding home offers her an out, by marrying her and claiming the child as his own. Sunja accepts, leaving behind her old life and moving to Japan so her husband can be a minister.
Thrown into this new world where she must endure poverty, racial discrimination, war…she is determined to provide a better life for her offspring. This book takes so many unexpected turns. Deserving of every accolade it’s received.
It’s so important to read from other cultural viewpoints, to understand that our differences make us beautiful. I had no idea how much racism Koreans faced from the Japanese. A must read.
