This was an amazing book, and it opened my eyes to the harsh conditions that many people suffered during World War II. Yoko leaves her home with her sister, Ko, and her mother. Their journey to Japan highlights many realities that Japanese suffered during the war. One part that really shocked me was when the woman in the train jumped off after they had thrown out her dead baby. It shows how emotionally cold people have to be -- that they can just throw a dead baby out of a moving train. The conditions in the small traincar are not condusive to having a dead infant aboard. I was also very shocked when Ko's mother died. It was totally unexpected and I have so sad! After the entire journey they had gone through and what they had survived so far, I was surprised that she died. It was a harsh realization and made me feel sad that even having paper for school was scarce for Ko. I think that I take many things for granted in my life and I don't realize how priviledged I am compared to some people in other countries. I definitely don't think very often about how easy it is for me to get a pencil or a notebook and folder, necessities for school.
I had read this book before, in junior high. I didn't remember much about it except that I really liked it when I read it the first time. I think that after reading it this time I understood a lot more of the events that happened. I noticed more of the small details and the implications that some situations carried with them. I didn't realize that it is actually a fictional autobiography. It would be interesting to know what parts are fictional and what parts are completely true. Overall, this was a great book and I definitely recommend it to others, whether they're looking to learn about WWII or just enjoy a good book!
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:
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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?