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I read this book with my local reading group. It‘s not light Christmastime reading that‘s for sure! It‘s quite harrowing and deals with some disturbing stuff. I can‘t say I enjoyed it but it is compelling, a dark and difficult read and I can appreciate that it is a good book.

I‘m reading this with my local book group. Not sure it‘s my thing especially at Christmastime (I usually pick something lighter) but I‘m giving it a go.

"It's been many years but I remember everything. That's something I hadn't counted on. I remember everything."
This is an incredibly hard book to read. Wang Di a young girl in Singapore is captured by the Japanese and forced to be a Comfort Woman. I had known about Comfort Woman of Korea, but this is my 1st reading of them in Singapore.
We also follow the story of her husband who dies at the beginning of the book and a boy named Kevin.

I couldn't stop thinking about her...... "How painful her bewilderment was to Jeomsun & me, not just because of her certain, inevitable doom, but because of the reminder it served us, how we had come into this place. How the months and years had chipped away our horror, and what we had to get used to to survive."
This is not a book for the faint of heart ?

#bookspin - How We Disappeared
#doublespin - The Black Flamingo

Thanks @thearomaofbooks!

A very well written book on a very hard subject. Written so that you could have empathy with all of the characters. The ending has left me wondering or is it that I don't really need to know?

This book explores two timelines and narratives - one during the Japanese occupation of Singapore and another a few decades after it.

I think books like these are really important for humanity to retain its horrifying history.

While the work could have been shorter by a few chapters, overall it was illuminating. The two narrators deserve a standing ovation for their commitment to bringing this book to life.

I haven‘t read many wartime books. I am reading this as a Buddy read with a couple of friends. I am 160 pages into the books and I can say that the writing is indeed captivating so far.

This gave me Pachinko-vibes, which is high praise for me. We follow dual time lines about the Japanese occupation of Singapore during WW2 and around the beginning of 2000. We learn about Wang Di‘s experiences in a brutal time and about Kevin‘s quest for knowledge about his family. Wang Di‘s story was stronger imo, and the ending got a bit too neat, but it was a pleasure getting there. 👌

Thanks again @erzascarletbookgasm ❤️

#DoubleSpin #Bookspin

What a wonderful book. A story about events in history I had no idea about. Told in an understated way. I wasn't sure about the Kevin chapters but by the end felt they were hugely necessary to the story. A shift near the end took us down a road I wasn't expecting. A beautiful read.

She began in the first month of the lunar year.

Today's buzz word was procrastination. To avoid work I moved the furniture. Cosied it up a bit and have a comfy little reading spot.

This is what we call an exercise avoidance reading session. 📚 or 🏃‍♂️? No contest!

Next up. I've read a few books set in Asia recently. Can't lie was drawn to the cover of this one. Sooooo pretty 😍

I have had a day..... but coming home to some surprise #bookmail makes it all a bit better 😍 I have a feeling this might be from @erzascarletbookgasm but I‘m not sure? ☺️

We went past servants with their starched white blouses, and mothers with babies strapped to their backs and said good morning to the garlic and ginger man with his baskets full of ginger roots large as hands and the fruit seller with his piles of tangerines and melons waiting to be picked. Everyone was calling out for customers with croaky morning voices. The itch of dried shrimp and chilli in my nose.

Fiction often introduces me to periods in history I was unaware of in a way that I find so much more accessible than non-fiction. This story follows Wang Di who was taken from her family by the Japanese military when they invaded Singapore in WWII. Wang Di was taken to serve as a sex slave for said invaders. She was then treated with disgust and contempt when she was freed. A very sad, moving story told sparingly and with dignity.

This novel, on the Women‘s Prize for Fiction longlist, tells the story of Wang Di, who was kidnapped in Singapore during WWII and forced to endure a Japanese rape camp.

There are two other storylines too which, unfortunately, detract from Wang Di‘s powerful story. The missing child does tell its own tale, which could have stood alone, but the inclusion of 10 year old Kevin in the current day is, I feel, a mistake. As a character we don‘t learn ⬇️

#womensprize2020 #hoopla This was a traumatic story about a woman who was abducted during the Japanese occupation of Singapore in WWII for service as a “comfort woman”. A lot of the details of the families trying to survive during the occupation was sad and horrific, but the second, present day timeline seemed unnecessary to the story and just didn‘t appeal to me in the end. 3⭐️

(eARC) Switching between 2 stories & timelines - The life of Wang Di as a comfort woman who served the Japanese soldiers during WW2 & Kevin whose grandma left him a mysterious message that led him to finding his family roots. But what do these 2 individuals have in common?

I just couldn't connect to the characters, & the ending was a little unsatisfactory. Full review on my blog. ⤵️

This beautiful heart-breaking debut is multi-narrated around two timelines and centers around Japan‘s atrocities during their occupation of Singapore in WWll; and modern day when a 12yr old learns of his grandmother‘s hidden secret.
Artfully crafted and utterly gripping this novel evokes the strong resilience women needed to survive through the horrible crime of being taken and made into “comfort women.” Not for the faint at heart. 4 ☆

Review catch up. Moving, beautifully written novel about a tough subject-a young woman's experience as a "comfort woman"-forced into sexual slavery at a brothel at age 17 during Japan's WWII occupation of Singapore. Wang Di's past intersects with the present in 2000 Singapore & with Kevin, a 12-year-old boy who overhears his grandmother's confession. Not an easy read, but a good one. With Stir-Fried Choy Sum & Rice for my book tour review-link??

My #audiosouping pick was set in Nigeria with "My Sister the Serial Killer" & my soup is a South Indian Kerala Fish Stew with Lime & Curry Leaves from a Nigel Slater (a Brit) recipe--my lunch & #soupersundays blog post. Finally I am starting this #ARC for review, set in Singapore. Feeling very global this Sunday. ?
Link to soup recipe ??is ??

A beautiful, moving novel, set in Singapore. The story of Wang Di, a sex slave during WW2, & Kevin, who is is solving a mystery about his grandmother. I loved the clean writing - the images are so clear, characters finely drawn. Shows the plight of ‘comfort women‘ & the long-lasting effects of WW2 traumas. It‘s well-paced with action & suspense, but Lee gives her characters room to breathe. They‘re outsiders but resilient; they break your heart.

It‘s slippers weather and I‘m so happy. Just started this book and I‘m really liking it so far. 😊👌🏼

It‘s slippers weather and I‘m so happy. Just started this book and I‘m really liking it so far. 😊👌🏼

Our new episode is up! A chat with the fabulous Jo Dyer, director of Adelaide Writers‘ Week. I‘m adding How We Disappeared to my list on her recommendation. 👏🏼📚