The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See FIC See

      Lisa See never fails to entertain and enlighten me.  The story begins in the WWII era and ends in modern times.  The background of the book tells us the story of a Korean Island called Jeju.  It is a horrific tale of what these people went through during a tumultuous time of history.
     The main characters are Young-sook and Mi-ja.  Their backgrounds were different but they became the best of friends as they became members of the all-female diving collective.  In their community these women are the bread-winners for their families and the men support them by cooking and watching the children.
The life of these divers is fascinating!  It is hard work and quite dangerous.
      Young-sook and Mi-ja support each other has tragedy after tragedy is visited upon their families and their community.  But there comes a time when their tight bond is cut.
      This book is about a culture, Korean history , traditions and most of all about friendship, family and the difficult path to forgiveness.