The Pearl Diver

In 1948, a nineteen-year-old pearl diver's dreams of spending her life combing the waters of Japan's Inland Sea are shattered when she discovers she has leprosy. By law, she is exiled to an island leprosarium, where she is stripped of her dignity and instructed to forget her past. Her name is erased from her family records, and she is forced to select a new one. To the two thousand patients on the island of Nagashima, she becomes Miss Fuji.

Although drugs arrest the course of Miss Fuji's disease, she cannot leave the colony. Instead, she becomes a caretaker to the other patients, and through the example of their courage, she gains insight into the deep wellspring of strength she will need to reclaim her freedom. Written with precision and eloquence, The Pearl Diver is a dazzling meditation on isolation and community, cruelty and compassion.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Anchor Books
Published: 04/12/2005
ISBN: 9781400034918
Pages: 240
Weight: 0.42lbs
Size: 8.08h x 5.24w x 0.56d

Review Citations: Kliatt 05/01/2005 pg. 31
Ingram Advance 04/01/2005 pg. 79