The book So Far From the Bamboo Grove is about a Japanese girl, Yoko Kawashima, who lives in northern Korea during WWII. During the end of the war Korea was a very dangerous place for Japanese people because the Koreans were trying to take back control of their country. This book tells the story of how Yoko and her family try to escape Korea for Japan. One night, Yoko, her older sister, Ko, and her mom are warned by their friend, Corporal Matsumura, that they must flee Korea immediately otherwise they will be killed. The women take his word and flee their hometown, Nanam, for the city Seoul in South Korea. Unfortunately they cannot flee as an entire family because Yoko's father is working in Manchuria for the Japanese government, and Yoko's brother, Hideyo, is away for the week working at a factory for the Japanese army. The three of them flee for Seol with sacks packed with food, some money, and clothes. They leave a note for Hideyo, in hopes that they will eventually be reunited with him in Seol. Their journey shows the horrors of war, and also the power of family, friends, and love.I thought this was a great book. The story is told through Yoko's eyes as a child, and seeing war through a child's eyes makes the story so much more real. It also gives the reader an insight into her thoughts, fears, and feelings.
In class we saw this book being taught to a fifth grade class. I hadn't finished the story at that point, and couldn't understand how fifth graders could handle this book. After finishing the story I think that fifth graders would have no problem reading this book, understanding it, and being able to handle the heavier parts of her journey. Yoko's journey isn't a pretty one and it talks about rape and death. Although both of these topics are very heavy topics I think that paired with class discussions the fifth graders will be able to handle the material. The book is also written in a way that shows Yoko's journey without being overly graphic. If I ever taught a fifth grade class I think that this story, paired with a book from the Korean perspective would work wonderfully. Students not only find these topics interesting, but the differing opinions of the two books would make great discussion topics. I thought this was a great book, and would definitely read it with my class.
This book is not worth reading because it was made for international political purposes, not for education. Most of the facts are distorted in this book:
ReplyDeleteThere were no North-Korean soldiers in 1945 (they existed after 3 years), and the location of where the author claims to have been when she was young did not have the right condition for bamboo trees to grow back then (Nanam). She also claims to have seen and heard bombs explode due to US air-force planes, but B-29s did not have fuel tanks large enough to fly all the way to Korea (nor were there ANY records of bombing in Korea at that time). Also, the United States ORDERED the Japanese soldiers occupying in Korea to be left ARMED until every Japanese civilians were escorted back to their homeland. Thus if Japanese civilians were REALLY raped, chances are, they were raped by their own people.
So what do we have left from this novel? Just a fictional book that distorts history in a very ironic way (Considering the fact that the Japanese soldiers RAPED and MURDERED Korean women at wartime for pleasure. They actually had the nerves to call these women 'Comfort Girls'). The book title should be renamed as "So Far from History and the Truth"
It's like Hitler claiming that he was tortured by the Jews in the Holocaust. Sounds like a nice book for young kids and adults eh?
This book is an excellent example of fictitious political propaganda. It covers everything from anti communism to American apologist attitude for their bombings on Japanese territory. However, the fact remains that there was no "Korean Communist Army" and US did not bomb Korea in 1945 as so vividly imagined and described by Yoko. This book can be a great discussion source at college level but I must respectfully disagree with your opinion that it is suitable material for impressionable 5th grade reading.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments I really appreciate them. We read this as a paired text with "The Year of Impossible Goodbyes" to show multiple perspectives for my college class. I was wondering if you have any sources you recommend that would help me find more information about this book, and the other side of this issue.
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