Customer Reviews

The Color of Water (Color of Earth)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

kim Dong Hwa has crafted a remarkable trilogy. The Color of Earth, Water and Heaven are a symbolic, poetic, and charming story of Ehwa's coming to womanhood.

It is not graphic. It is not crude. Rather, it unfolds (in the Color of Water) like a delicate flower coming to bloom. Hwa uses flower imagery effectively throughout the books. The art, while understated at times, is truly an extension of the story. Sometimes complex, sometimes simple, Hwa illustrates with a soft touch I appreciate.

In the 2nd volume, three young women experience different levels of the quest for womanhood. One is envied for her upcoming marriage until it is unveiled that her husband is 9 years old. Another, explores the world of boyhood/manhood. Ehwa gradually realizes that the young wrestler she meets is her future husband and must mature in love while her mother experiences her own romance/affair.

This series has been compared to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I heartily agree with that and even go further to suggest that this is destined to be a classic, in any language.

Tim Lasiuta

Kim Dong Hwa has created a lovely masterpiece with his "Color of Water." This is the second of the trilogy; it has blossomed beautifully just like the lead character Ehwa. The author illustrates in a loving fashion life in rural 19th century Korea through the eyes of Ehwa and her mother. How lovely the landscape pages are! Surrounded by butterflies, flowers and trees, the two women discuss their yearning through metaphors. Ehwa has some awkward moments on the path through adolescence that might offend some very conservative readers. However, Kim Dong Hwa never treats any of Ehwa's sexual awakenings with prurience or explicitness. The budding desires of a young woman are treated with dignity, subtly, and beauty.

I found this volume of the trilogy to be even more insightful and lovely than the first one, perhaps because I had so much emotionally invested after the first book.

Highly recommended- but parents, read it yourself first to determine what age is suitable for your daughter. You will enjoy it yourself even if you decide you want her to wait a few years to read it.

"The Color of Water" takes off where "The Color of Earth" ended and extends the tale of a mother and daughter in a timeless Eastern countryside. A few years have passed, and the strangeness of adolescence has deepened for another tale of these two incredible characters. New loves are found, sex is further explored, and both woman find themselves in an inbetween situation that makes for remarkable storytelling; indeed, Kim has found a more solid plot than the first book that drives plenty of drama and a smidgeon of humor into this world.

Kim is a brilliant storyteller who relies on the contrast of the natural world with the stages of womanhood. It's a lovely idea that works well in this pastoral story that is as much visual as it is literal. The illustrations are gorgeously detailed, and the characters are beautifully drawn. The writing is musing, artsy, and prone to more thought and metaphor than usual dialogue; this may annoy some and please others.

Much of the book revolves around the exploration of sex, both physical and emotional and all in line with where the two women are in their lives. There is plenty of romance, plenty of characterization, and one charming story.

It's a lovely and thoughtful tale and a worthy sequel.

In the second book of the trilogy, The Color of Water, after The Color of Earth, Ehwa is now a growing girl and boys are on her mind all the time, but readers can see the beautiful woman she will become. And yet she still has a lot to learn about life, the world, and more importantly, men and what they can be like. Fortunately she has her mother to educate her on the ways of the world and the ways of men and their desires. Ehwa is a naïve young girl, but a fast learner. With the expression "third time's the charm," Ehwa has high hopes for this third, new boy in her life, Duksam. Friction grows between Ehwa and her mother, as the girl is always wanting to go out and find Duksam, while ignoring her duties and chores. Ehwa has also attracted the eye of an old man who will do everything he can to get her. There is also jealousy growing between Ehwa and her mother, who receives infrequent visits from her "picture man." Kim Dong Hwa continues his beautiful artwork and wonderful poetic words that combine simile through nature to educate Ehwa and readers about love and life. Readers will be left anxiously waiting for the conclusion of the trilogy, The Color of Heaven.

Originally written on July 18th, 2009 ©Alex C. Telander.

For over 500 book reviews and exclusive author interviews, go to [..]

I received free copies of this series for my middle school library. Thank goodness I looked through the books before making them available to my middle school students. In my opinion, this series is DEFINITELY not appropriate for ages 9-12 as stated in Amazon's review. Before you buy this book for your children who like graphic novels, you should be aware of some of the dialogue:

Then do you wanna do it yourself?

How?

Put your hand on your stomach.

Then let your hand pass your bellybutton and continue going down.

Like this?

A little bit more. Keep going.

I feel like I'm touching a small forest.

The forest rests atop a small swollen hill and any place my hand touches gets hot.

I have to admit I haven't read the whole book, but please check this book out before giving it to your children.