HOW WE DISAPPEARED- Jing-Jing Lee
HOW WE DISAPPEARED: emotional and moving tale of the ‘Comfort Women’. Jing-Jing Lee weaves together two separate timelines of Wang Di, the protagonist of this powerful and heart-rendering tale that at times was a difficult read. The chapters of Wang Di bounce between then and now- a clever and impactful way to showcase the effects of the war within Singapore on the people involved. You could feel the emotion within the writing as you began to understand the long-term impact on Wang Di, especially as you delve deeper into her story. This for me was eye-opening and a welcome opportunity to learn more about the comfort women and what they endured as well as learning about different cultures.
For me the downfall was the secondary storyline of Kevin- a 12 year old boy- whose story is set in the year 2000. These chapters are interspersed between Wang Di’s story which I felt disrupted the flow. Additionally, I didn’t feel like his chapters added much worth to the overall story, and whilst it added a twist towards the end, I personally felt like their were other secondary characters whose stories would have added more to the book and that would have helped you to grasp and understand the topic of the comfort girls more. I was particularly intrigued by the girls that Wang Di befriended who were also captured by the Japanese and Mrs Sato the lady who ran the brothel; these characters would have provided an interesting perspective that could have made a hard-hitting novel more enthralling.
Overall I enjoyed the premise of the book, however the execution was slightly lacking and I felt the impact of Kevin’s chapters within Wang Di’s story interrupted the more compelling storyline resulting in a loss of interest at points. With that being said, I personally feel the story of the comfort girls was important to tell and is equally important for people to learn about.
I was gifted this copy by Oneworld Publications in exchange for an honest review.
Rating 3.5
For me the downfall was the secondary storyline of Kevin- a 12 year old boy- whose story is set in the year 2000. These chapters are interspersed between Wang Di’s story which I felt disrupted the flow. Additionally, I didn’t feel like his chapters added much worth to the overall story, and whilst it added a twist towards the end, I personally felt like their were other secondary characters whose stories would have added more to the book and that would have helped you to grasp and understand the topic of the comfort girls more. I was particularly intrigued by the girls that Wang Di befriended who were also captured by the Japanese and Mrs Sato the lady who ran the brothel; these characters would have provided an interesting perspective that could have made a hard-hitting novel more enthralling.
Overall I enjoyed the premise of the book, however the execution was slightly lacking and I felt the impact of Kevin’s chapters within Wang Di’s story interrupted the more compelling storyline resulting in a loss of interest at points. With that being said, I personally feel the story of the comfort girls was important to tell and is equally important for people to learn about.
I was gifted this copy by Oneworld Publications in exchange for an honest review.
Rating 3.5
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