Hana is only 16 when she gets indoctrinated as a ‘comfort woman’ for Japanese soldiers who believe that they deserve a few moments of pleasure before going off to die in the Emperor’s war. So it was, naturally, her instinct to sacrifice herself when the time came to protect her sister from the Japanese soldiers. Hana is the older sister entrusted with the safety of younger Emi. The story of White Chrysanthemum follows two Korean sisters, Hana and Emiko, through the years of suffering during the second world war and beyond. Wars create millions of widows and orphans who are then exploited but never commemorated during peace times. It is disturbing that most of the time, it is the suffering of the women and the children that remains undocumented. Suspenseful, hopeful, and ultimately redemptive, White Chrysanthemum tells a story of two sisters whose love for each other is strong enough to triumph over the grim evils of war.“Įvery war has more casualties than is officially recorded. Seeing the healing of her children and her country, can Emi move beyond the legacy of war to find forgiveness? Emi has spent more than sixty years trying to forget the sacrifice her sister made, but she must confront the past to discover peace. But haenyeo are women of power and strength. There she is forced to become a “comfort woman” in a Japanese military brothel. Until the day Hana saves her younger sister from a Japanese soldier and is herself captured and transported to Manchuria. As a haenyeo, a female diver of the sea, she enjoys an independence that few other Koreans can still claim.

Hana has lived her entire life under Japanese occupation. I was really excited when Binder’s Book Club picked White Chrysanthemum as their Book of the Month. While I knew about the existence of comfort women, I hadn’t read much on the topic so I was interested to see where the story would lead.

I hadn’t found many accounts of what the Asian continent went through during the World Wars. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres to read.

Mary bracht