White Chrysanthemum review

I try not to judge books by their cover, but sometimes I pick up one to read based on it.

This was certainly the case with White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht.

The photo of the woman with her feet dipped into the water, goggles on her head and net flung over her shoulder caught my attention. She looked strong, important, like she had a purpose. I immediately knew I wanted to read about whoever this was. Besides, I was really curious what any of this had to do with chrysanthemums. If you want someone to pick up your book then having a cover like this is definitely the way to go.

I wasn’t disappointed with the story, but it was far different than what I expected from such a beautiful cover. The story itself was not as beautiful.

White Chrysanthemum tells the heartbreaking story of a sister’s sacrifice and the horrors the people of Korea faced during WWII under the Japanese occupation. Split between two narratives and time periods, the plot follows sisters Hana and Emi who were torn from each other when Hana sacrifices herself to save her younger sister from a horrible fate.

Set shortly after her abduction by a Japanese soldier, Hana’s narrative follows her horrific journey as she is forced to become a “comfort woman” in a Japanese military brothel. Meanwhile, Emi’s storyline follows her present-day search for answers on what happened to her older sister after that fateful day.

Due to the sensitive nature of the plot, this book is not meant for everyone. Some sections can be downright disturbing at times and hard to swallow. Bracht has done an amazing job tackling such a difficult story. She has a beautiful style of writing that flows easily and this helps when she writes about particularly gruesome scenes. Her descriptions are done in such a careful way, giving the reader insight into the situation without being graphic.

Those who enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha will most likely be fans of this book as they have similar writing styles and plot lines. In fact, that seemed to be my main problem with the story: it felt too unoriginal. Some people may like this about the story. Instead, I felt like I was having déjà vu as I read. I’ve also become bored of the split narrative that takes place over two time periods. I understand why Bracht did it, but I would have much rather followed only Hana’s story. Emi’s was a bit lackluster.

Despite my own personal objections, I did still managed to enjoy the story – not necessarily for the storyline, but for the history behind it.

I am grateful that Bracht chose to write this story because it is a subject that is not written about in fiction a lot. When I picked up the book I was fairly unfamiliar with the Korean comfort women. I didn’t even realize that it was still a sore subject between Japan and Korea to this day. The protest Emi goes to every year in the story is actually a real protest. For the past 25 years, Koreans have gathered every Wednesday in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul demanding that the Japanese government apologize and compensate the women (an estimated 200,000) who were forced into prostitution. It is the world’s longest-running protest. Right beside these protesters is the same bronze statue Bracht writes about in her story – the small barefooted Korean girl with the shoulder-length hair. It is called the “Statue of Peace” and has become a symbol of the protest and an object of remembrance of these girls.