The Summit Bookends first would like to thank Susan for choosing this magnificent book, The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See and giving us consent to discuss it in her absence.  We certainly missed you today!  Secondly, a huge thank you to Nina for volunteering to host us to discuss it.  Lunch was a joint effort so we thank all of our contributors for the Korean influenced appetizers, chili, toppings, cornbread, pumpkin bread and ice cream.  Nina, your Fall table setting was beautiful and we appreciate you taking over “clean up” duty.

 

Lisa See is an award winning, best selling author who has written numerous novels, many of which focus on close women’s relationships.  She was born in Paris but grew up in LosAngeles, where she spent time with her father’s family in Chinatown.  She is of Chinese-American descent.

 

The Island of Sea Women spans the seventy year period from 1938-2008.  It is the story of two girls, Mi-Ja and Young Sook who meet as children on the Korean Island of JeJu.   The girls become best friends despite their different backgrounds.  They become haenyeos (female divers) together under the guidance of Young Sook’s mother.  After the girls are both married, their friendship is tested by the political upheavals of WWII, the Korean War, and the April 3,1948 incident during which Young Sook’s son, husband, and sister-in-law were brutally murdered.  Young Sook found it unforgivable that Mi-Ja wouldn’t help save her family that day with her husband’s influence. See focuses on the families of Mi-Ja and Young Sook through many decades.  In the end with help from MiJa’s granddaughter Clara, Young Sook finally understands the struggles MiJa went through and finds it in her heart to forgive.

 

The novel covers many themes like anger and forgiveness, love and loss, and the enduring strength of a matriarchal society.  It was so beautifully written, though extremely graphic at times, with such depth of characters, we all loved this book.

 

Upcoming:

December 13 at noon- Christmas lunch at Elaine’s.

January, Dee will host, date TBD, to discuss Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer.

 

We discussed how to disperse our donations this year and with over $600 in our kitty we agreed to give to Tunnel to Towers, Building Hope, The Cycle Effect, and Café Food Rescue.  Many thanks to Laura, Mickie, and Maggie for getting our donations to these worthy causes.

 

We missed our travelers today and hope to see you in December.  We continue to keep Carla in our thoughts and prayers as she recovers from her surgeries!  Hope you feel better real soon.

 

Belated birthday wishes to Nina who celebrated her big 80 earlier this month.  Hope this is a special year for you!  We’re so happy that you are part of the Summit Bookends.

 

Maggie recommended a fun book called Sylvia’s Second Act by Hillary Yablon.  Nina recommends The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday by Alexander McCall Smith ( and other books in this series.)

 

If you are interested, there is a documentary The Last of the Sea Women on Apple+ which is about the haenyeos.  The Extraordinary Life of Attorney Woo on Netflix was also highly recommended.

 

Many thanks to all of the Summit Bookends for the years of camaraderie, great books, and support as we celebrate this month of Thanksgiving! 

 

Love to all,