So Far From the Bamboo Grove
by, Yoko Kawashima Watkins
This book tells the story of 11 year old Yoko and her Korean family, fleeing from Japan during World War II. This emotional and heart-wrenching account of Yoko's journey provides readers with a unique insight into one family's experiences during this troubling time.
I thought this was a very powerful book, and I found myself marveling at the resilience of children and families in the face of trauma. This was an emotional book to read, and although I "enjoyed" it-- I couldn't put it down-- it definitely left me feeling sad for children who are forced to endure such hardships. I also felt extremely thankful and fortunate that my family has not suffered in this way.
My son is very interested in World War II, and I told him that I was reading this book for class. I thought he might find it interesting, but I warned him that it is very sad. He replied, "What about World War II isn't sad?" While this is true, I think the fact that this story is told from a child's perspective makes it even more personal and emotional.
This book is not worth reading because it was made for international political purposes, not for education. Most of the facts are distorted in this book:
ReplyDeleteThere were no North-Korean soldiers in 1945 (they existed after 3 years), and the location of where the author claims to have been when she was young did not have the right condition for bamboo trees to grow back then (Nanam). She also claims to have seen and heard bombs explode due to US air-force planes, but B-29s did not have fuel tanks large enough to fly all the way to Korea (nor were there ANY records of bombing in Korea at that time). Also, the United States ORDERED the Japanese soldiers occupying in Korea to be left ARMED until every Japanese civilians were escorted back to their homeland. Thus if Japanese civilians were REALLY raped, chances are, they were raped by their own people.
So what do we have left from this novel? Just a fictional book that distorts history in a very ironic way (Considering the fact that the Japanese soldiers RAPED and MURDERED Korean women at wartime for pleasure. They actually had the nerves to call these women 'Comfort Girls'). The book title should be renamed as "So Far from History and the Truth"
It's like Hitler claiming that he was tortured by the Jews in the Holocaust. Sounds like a nice book for young kids and adults eh?