A Gift of the Emperor [Paperback]

Therese Park (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

Fiction. Asian Studies. A poignant, fictional account of real-life atrocities inflicted upon approximately 200,000 Asian women during World War II. Narrated by Soon-ah, a Korean schoolgirl, whose world is shattered when Emperor Hirohito's soldiers abduct her from her village. She is shipped to a house of relaxation in the South Pacific, on an island of almost lyrical beauty, where she is forced into prostitution as a comfort woman to the Japanese military. The searing horrors of history come alive in stories that add flesh and blood to the dry bones of evidence and news reports. We cannot read her words without being made more compassionate and committed to peace -- Rita Nakashima Brock.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Newcomer Park offers a graphic but stilted addition to the growing fiction (Nora Okja Keller's Comfort Woman, p. 161; Paul West's The Tent of Orange Mist, 1995, etc.) about Japanese exploitation of thousands of Asian women during WW II. Soon-ah's father, a Presbyterian minister, is murdered by the occupying Japanese, her mother is raped, and her elder brother is drafted and sent to fight in the Pacific. Then the 17-year-old Korean schoolgirl herself is dragged from the cellar where she's been hiding. Like her classmates, she is chosen to be one of ``the Emperor's special gifts to the soldiers,'' a cynical euphemism for a cruel reality. Within days of their capture, Soon-ah and her friends are transported to a Japanese troopship bound for the Pacific war zone. Soon-ah, who narrates her own story, vividly describes the mass rapes by the drunken soldiers on board; the numbing life of bad food and daily multiple sexual encounters once at the camp; the outbreak of one disease after another; her own aborted pregnancy; and her growing friendship with Sadamu, a war correspondent, who interviews her so that he can expose the actions of the Japanese military. Eventually, Soon-ah is moved to a brothel that services only officers, and where conditions are slightly better, but Sadamu, now in love with her, suggests they escape. The two take a boat to a tropical island, but even it has been contaminated by war--they find and bury bodies of US Marines recently killed there. After the US Navy rescues them, the couple must part: Sadamu joins the OSS, and Soon-ah stays in Hawaii. At war's end, she's repatriated to a now-divided Korea for a bittersweet reunion with her remaining family. War crimes against women are memorably described here, but, sadly, by characters that seem more like one-dimensional witnesses than vibrantly complex fictional creations. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About the Author

A retired symphonic cellist, Therese Park is author of two published novels and more than 30 essays and articles that have appeared in the United States, Canada, and South Korea. Her second novel When a Rooster Crows at Night, published in 2003, is based on her experience of the Korean War. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: Spinsters Ink; 1st edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883523214
• ISBN-13: 978-1883523213
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #795,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Strong, vivid account of war atrocities, November 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Gift of the Emperor (Paperback)

I read "A Gift for the Emporer" in one sitting last night. I couldn't put it down! Compelling storyline and an authentic narrative voice! I found the main character of Soon-ah to be quite real and three-dimensional. The graphic and horrifying descriptions of what the Korean "comfort women" endured is a testimony and reminder of the horrors of war. Yet, there were several poignant scenes that made me hope Soon-ah would survive. I've read a number of novels inspired by the "comfort woman" history (Nora Okja Keller's "Comfort Woman" and Chang-rae Lee's "A Gesture Life"). Although those books contain lyrical and beautiful prose, I find that "A Gift of the Emporer" is the only novel that truly shows in great detail what atrocities these women suffered, and the strength and grace they showed in the face of the enemy. I enjoy literary fiction and beautiful poetic prose, but I think Ms. Park's clean and clear language, along with her ability to blend historical fact with fiction, makes "A Gift of the Emporer" one of the better fiction books on this topic. I highly recommend this book, especially for students. I also met Therese Park when she was on a book tour in California, and was very impressed with her passion and dedication towards creating more awareness for victims and survivors of war crimes. She is a gifted writer who shows great promise. I look forward to her next book.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent debut!, October 23, 1999

By 

Joseph Kimsey (Kansas City, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gift of the Emperor (Paperback)

This is apparently Therese Park's initial foray into writing, and this first attempt is very satisfying. Soon-ah, the book's protagonist, is presented with warmth, tenderness, and with a passion that is very tangible, but that never actually descends into being overly melo-dramatic. The horrors of Soon-ah's captivity as a "comfort woman" by the Japanese are graphically described, not for the sake of gratuitousness, but to allow the reader to understand the circumstances. This is a moving fictional account of the horrible reality of war.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling Description of Man's Inhumanity to Man, January 1, 2000

By 

Sharon K. Martinez "pusanskm" (Ansbach, Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Gift of the Emperor (Paperback)

As a woman and an avid student of Asian culture and history, the tragedy of Korea's so-called Comfort Women of WWII is a subject about which I read everything I possibly can.

Therese Park did an outstanding job of compiling the stories of many of these sad souls into a novel which, I believe, accurately depicts the conditions under which these women were forced to live.

I have lived in Korea for 10 years. I have read some documentary-type information about the later lives of the surviving Comfort Women. This novel would have been even better if the author had included some of the types of experiences the Comfort Women faced upon return to their Homeland.

I highly recommend this novel for those who desire to read fiction based strongly on historical fact.