Date/Time
Date(s) - March 10, 2019
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location
Hilton Hotel
Categories No Categories
An Afternoon with Lisa See
Author of The Island of Sea Women
Sunday
March 10, 2019
2-3 p.m.
Hilton Fort Collins
425 W. Prospect Road
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC; SEATING IS LIMITED
Doors open at 1:30 p.m. Seating on a first-come, first-served basis. A book sale and signing follow the program.
New York Times bestselling author Lisa See brings us a new novel about female friendship and family secrets on a small Korean island. The novel illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the women are in charge, engaging in dangerous physical work, and the men take care of the children. We are introduced to the fierce and unforgettable female divers of Jeju Island and the dramatic history that shaped their lives.
The Island of Sea Women is an epoch set over many decades, beginning during a period of Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by World War II, the Korean War and its aftermath, through the era of cell phones and wet suits for the divers.
Throughout this time, the residents of Jeju find themselves caught between warring empires. Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator, and she will forever be marked by this association. Young-sook was born into a long line of haenyeo (the name for female shellfish divers in the Korean province of Jeju) and will inherit her mother’s position leading the divers in their village. Little do the two friends know that after surviving hundreds of dives and developing the closest of bonds, forces outside their control will push their friendship to the breaking point.
Kristin Hannah, the author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone, shared the following: “I loved The Island of Sea Women from the very first page. Lisa See has created an enthralling, compelling portrait of a unique culture and a turbulent time in history, but what’s really remarkable about this novel is the characters — two women whose lifelong friendship is tested during impossibly difficult times. Compelling, heart-wrenching, and beautifully written, The Island of Sea Women will plunge you into a world and a story you’ve never read before and remind you how powerful women can and must be to survive.”
Jodi Picoult, author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things, wrote: “Lisa See excels at mining the intersection of family, friendship, and history, and in her newest novel, she reaches new depths exploring the matrifocal haenyeo society in Korea, caught between tradition and modernization. This novel spans wars and generations, but at its heart is a beautifully rendered story of two women whose individual choices become inextricably tangled.”
For more information, visit: lib.colostate.edu/author-series