Can't I Go Instead

Don’t let the pink cover fool you, Lee Geum-Yi’s story hits you in the gut. Fair enough, there are happy scenes, good times, but mind the setting of this historical fiction. Korea is occupied by Japan while Chaeryeong, a viscount’s daughter, and Sunam, her maid, grow up. Through the eyes of these two girls the reader experiences Korea in the first half of the 20th century while it is occupied by Japan. But history doesn’t stop there and the story for these two girls proceeds as well. They leave Korea and get to see other places of the world, travelling, fleeing, searching. Getting by as a woman isn’t easy and sometimes it is frightening. The occupation, the Second World War, comfort women, class and race division: the themes in this book may be heavy, but therefore even more important not to forget. Whilst big parts of the book are from Chaeryeong’s and Sunam’s point of view, we get to see other characters’ view as well, Chaeryeong’s father for example or the Japanese man Junpei. The characters are delightfully complex and through and through human. We get to see the human’s compassionate side and his cruel side. The human’s egoistical side and his humble side. The story of Sunam and Chaeryeong feels real and if someone told me they really existed, I probably would believe them. Progressing through the book I thought I wouldn’t cry, but there was of course a scene that had me shedding tears. An impactful book for fans of historical fiction set in the 20th century - no matter what gender.