All Woman And Springtime. B.W. Jones (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
What to do with this book? When I first finished the book, I simply thought it wasn’t a great read for me, but as time as has gone on – I am realizing I actively dislike this book for a number of reasons. The book begins as the story of two orphans working in a factory in North Korea. The backstory of how these two girls became orphans and came to the point where we meet them is somewhat lightly sketched, as is some background about the woman running the orphanage, the man overseeing the factory, and some other minor characters. The writing is a little shallow, but beautifully written and we have moments of really feeling connection to each girl (including the title quote describing Il-sun, on the cusp of womanhood and coming into her feminine power, as “all woman and springtime”.And then – THEN this thing goes completely off the rails. Il-sun’s secret boyfriend sells them into sex slavery in South Korea and the book becomes a litany of torture and abuse. Along with a third girl also lured by the bad boyfriend, the girls are split up and made to work in different parts of a massive, seedy network of flesh peddling. The split happens not so much for any real narrative reason but to give the author a chance to describe three very different paths of horrific victimization and abuse. About this point in the novel we also start losing any real inner perpective on the girls and at times the writing style verges on purple prose in its ridiculousness. At one point one of the girls is overcome with anger and hatred towards their owner/pimp and we are subjected to ruminations about how the hate burned her innocence out of her more than any of the humiliating acts she’d been forced to perform…which…yeah. Also, she manages to make the owner feel overwhelmed with shame and guilt – by glaring at him. Yes, I realize the author is trying to make a point and shine light on something that is all too common, both here and around the world, but the book turns into a lecture or a bloodless slideshow of abuse so fully, we lose all connection with and compassion for these characters. The last 1/5 of the book is just outright insulting as, through a ridiculous turn of events, the girls end up in the US, escape their enslavement, and get a sort of happy ending that zooms through homelessness right into college enrollment. In the end, I have a number of problems with this book. I am uncomfortable with the way the details of these women’s enslavement and victimization are presented as lurid entertainment without much character development. It’s right on the edge of torture porn for me – which ewwww. Second, having these girls grow up in North Korea provided a brilliant framework in which to explore the secondary ways in which this group is further victimized by their government – that even when they escape, they can sometimes be perfect victims after a lifetime of learning to deny reality and show absolute obedience. Great idea – and one that I realize *I* projected onto the writing, not one the author actually presented. And lastly, I am livid at the way the story wraps up in neat little bows with not a single acknowledgement of the struggle these young women would face in regaining any sort of normal life or solid mental health. It’s like the author wants us to think that the minute the rapes or beatings stop, everything is great. I not only disagree with this idea, but I find it actually offensive and potentially harmful to the real victims of these sorts of abuses. A mesmerizing book that many will find hard to read. Gi, the main character, changes from a brutalized, terrified 10 year old to a near catatonic teen to a woman of untapped strength in this tale of a North Korean girl condemned and then rescued from a concentration camp. She finds a friend in the orphanage but when it is their time to leave the orphanage and strike out on their own, they are betrayed by Il-Sun’s lover and sold into trafficking in South Korea. When they try to escape they are transported to the US in a sealed container on a ship and become sex slaves. Eventually Gi is able to escape and finds a new life because of her ability with numbers. North Korea and human trafficking are shown graphically, but not exploitively. The sex (and there is indeed sex) is used to convey the horror and terror of young girls trapped in a life they cannot escape. I read this nearly 400 page book in just two days, compelled to keep reading and sorry when they book ended. Although horrifying, the book is also a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit. Americans may find themselves seeing the homeless and immigrants with a sense of unease and guilt after reading this book.
What do You think about All Woman And Springtime. B.W. Jones (2012)?
very moving book. the way North Korea views the world was eye opening to say the least.
—brkspeed
Really enjoyed it. Loved the character development and history.
—MIKHI
