5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Comfort Woman review, December 16, 2002
This review is from: Comfort Woman (Paperback)
This is captivating book about a former comfort woman, Akiko, and her daughter Beccah. Keller artfully weaves the tales of Akiko's comfort camp traumas with her new life as the mother of a teenage girl. Comfort Woman explores Beccah's hardships growing up with a less than normal mother, as the text serves as a journey for Beccah to understand her mother's past life. While discovering facts about her mother, Beccah finds herself on a journey of her own, as she begins to create her own self. Strangely, she finds much more of Akiko in her than she would ever have thought. Though parts of this book are painfully realistic, it is a deeply moving book. It is beautifully written and is certain to both warm and tear at your heart.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than the others think, December 21, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Comfort Woman (Paperback)
Comfort Woman is a beautifully written novel. The themes that run through most Asian American Women Literature are seen, but in an inventive way. The decentering of the story provides the story with an added dynamic play of not knowing who the protagonist is, and not needing to know. Postmodern in nature, this book rejects the typical beginning, middle, and end. Both the narratives of the mother and the daughter are necessary for this work. The daughter's are most important of all (I was shocked to read that someone thought they could be removed). This is not a fun read, it is shocking, moving, and requires much of the reader. If you are not willing to think while reading, then this book is not for you. It's a great book to use for discussion. I love the book, I own it, and I've bought it for many others.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best kind of ghost story, November 7, 2006
This review is from: Comfort Woman (Paperback)
Nora Okja Keller's 'Comfort Woman' is that troublesome sort of book: a shimmeringly beautifully written story about a shudderingly horrible event.
A Korean mother, spiritually dead as a result of mass rapes by Japanese soldiers, attempts to protect her half-American daughter from all harm while at the same time fighting off the ghosts and demons of her Korean heritage. Not surprisingly, the daughter is confused, not least because the mother never reveals to her what has driven her to despair.
Much of the action works out in dreams, trances and ravings, and Keller is masterful at the difficult task of transferring the insubstantial confusion of dreams to the rigid format of words on a page.
Though he does not occupy much space, the character of the husband is savagely drawn. The entire novel is economical, packing a great many stories and ideas into 200 pages.
The setting, in Honolulu, is not drawn in great detail but (unlike most other novels set in Hawaii) is authentic as far as it goes. The pidgen dialogue of Auntie Reno will bring a smile to anyone who has ever spent time around a genuine Hawaiian 'tita.' (Literally, 'sister,' figuratively, a tough cookie who pulls no punches.)
There is one minor flaw in the book. The daughter works writing obituaries at a newspaper. The description of how she goes about this is not the way it happens at real newspapers. This does not detract from the novel and will not be noticed by anybody who has not written newspaper obituaries.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
