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Comfort Woman
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Comfort Woman Paperback - 1998

by Nora Okja Keller

Possessing a wisdom and maturity rarely found in a first novelist, Korean-American writer Nora Okja Keller tells the heart-wrenching and enthralling tale of Akiko, a Korean refugee of World War II, who was forced to serve as a "comfort woman" to Japanese soldiers. "A poignant and impressive debut".--"The Los Angeles Times".


Summary

Possessing a wisdom and maturity rarely found in a first novelist, Korean-American writer Nora Okja Keller tells a heartwrenching and enthralling tale in this, her literary debut. Comfort Woman is the story of Akiko, a Korean refugee of World War II, and Beccah, her daughter by an American missionary. The two women are living on the edge of society—and sanity—in Honolulu, plagued by Akiko's periodic encounters with the spirits of the dead, and by Beccah's struggles to reclaim her mother from her past. Slowly and painfully Akiko reveals her tragic story and the horrifying years she was forced to serve as a "comfort woman" to Japanese soldiers. As Beccah uncovers these truths, she discovers her own strength and the secret of the powers she herself possessed—the precious gifts her mother has given her.

A San Francisco Chronicle bestseller
In 1995, Nora Okja Keller received the Pushcart Prize for "Mother Tongue", a piece that is part of Comfort Woman.

From the publisher

Possessing a wisdom and maturity rarely found in a first novelist, Korean-American writer Nora Okja Keller tells a heartwrenching and enthralling tale in this, her literary debut. Comfort Woman is the story of Akiko, a Korean refugee of World War II, and Beccah, her daughter by an American missionary. The two women are living on the edge of society--and sanity--in Honolulu, plagued by Akiko's periodic encounters with the spirits of the dead, and by Beccah's struggles to reclaim her mother from her past. Slowly and painfully Akiko reveals her tragic story and the horrifying years she was forced to serve as a "comfort woman" to Japanese soldiers. As Beccah uncovers these truths, she discovers her own strength and the secret of the powers she herself possessed--the precious gifts her mother has given her. A San Francisco Chronicle bestseller
In 1995, Nora Okja Keller received the Pushcart Prize for "Mother Tongue", a piece that is part of Comfort Woman.

Details

  • Title Comfort Woman
  • Author Nora Okja Keller
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: First
  • Pages 240
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Books, E Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.A.
  • Date 1998-03-01
  • ISBN 9780140263350 / 0140263357
  • Weight 0.43 lbs (0.20 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.76 x 5.1 x 0.66 in (19.71 x 12.95 x 1.68 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1950-1999
    • Cultural Region: Oceania
    • Ethnic Orientation: Asian - Korean
    • Geographic Orientation: Hawaii
  • Library of Congress subjects Mothers and daughters, Domestic fiction
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 96035458
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

Citations

  • New York Times, 06/21/1998, Page 32

About the author

Nora Okja Keller was born in Seoul, Korea, and now lives in Hawaii with her husband and two daughters. She received the Pushcart Prize in 1995 for "Mother Tongue," a piece from her first novel, Comfort Woman, winner of a 1998 American Book Award.
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