{"product_id":"the-mermaid-from-jeju-9781643854403","title":"The Mermaid from Jeju","description":"\u003cb\u003eA transporting masterpiece. --\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e starred review \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eInspired by true events on Korea's Jeju Island, Sumi Hahn's entrancing  debut] novel, brimming with lyricism and magic (Jennifer Rosner, \u003ci\u003eThe Yellow Bird Sings\u003c\/i\u003e) explores what it means to truly love in the wake of devastation. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the aftermath of World War II, Goh Junja is a girl just coming into her own. She is the latest successful deep sea diver in a family of strong haenyeo. Confident she is a woman now, Junja urges her mother to allow her to make the Goh family's annual trip to Mt. Halla, where they trade abalone and other sea delicacies for pork. Junja, a sea village girl, has never been to the mountains, where it smells like mushrooms and earth. While there, she falls in love with a mountain boy Yang Suwol, who rescues her after a particularly harrowing journey. But when Junja returns one day later, it is just in time to see her mother take her last breath, beaten by the waves during a dive she was taking in Junja's place. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSpiraling in grief, Junja sees her younger siblings sent to live with their estranged father. Everywhere she turns, Junja is haunted by the loss of her mother, from the meticulously tended herb garden that has now begun to sprout weeds, to the field where their bed sheets are beaten. She has only her grandmother and herself. But the world moves on without Junja. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe political climate is perilous. Still reeling from Japan's forced withdrawal from the peninsula, Korea is forced to accommodate the rapid establishment of US troops. Junja's canny grandmother, who lived through the Japanese invasion that led to Korea's occupation understands the signs of danger all too well. When Suwol is arrested for working with and harboring communists, and the perils of post-WWII overtake her homelands, Junja must learn to navigate a tumultuous world unlike anything she's ever known. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOriginal, luminous, and lyrical (Kirsty Manning, \u003ci\u003eThe Song of the Jade Lily\u003c\/i\u003e), \u003ci\u003eThe Mermaid from Jeju\u003c\/i\u003e deftly captures the resilience of the human spirit, and the courage required in love and survival. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSumi Hahn is a dream weaver whose poetic and powerful prose makes us believe in magic and reconfirms the transformative power of storytelling. --Nguyen Phan Que Mai\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Alcove Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/08\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781643854403\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.05lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.80h x 6.20w x 1.20d","brand":"Sumi Hahn","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":38027485577397,"sku":"9781643854403","price":22.94,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_1dccb477-9a60-4026-94a3-f481373237f5.jpg?v=1609192965","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-mermaid-from-jeju-9781643854403","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}