To Swim Across the World

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This book takes you to another time and place--a time and place that some may find uncomfortable at first, but which you become a part of as the story progresses. Eventually, you no longer feel like an outsider looking into a snowglobe world, but a silent onlooker who's part of the scenery of Korea.

An unusual setting for a classic love story--and an uplifting, life-affirming tale.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully told, from start to finish
Review: This book takes you to another time and place--a time and place that some may find uncomfortable at first, but which you become a part of as the story progresses. Eventually, you no longer feel like an outsider looking into a snowglobe world, but a silent onlooker who's part of the scenery of Korea.

An unusual setting for a classic love story--and an uplifting, life-affirming tale.

Rating:
Summary: the drama of personalized history
Review: To Swim Across the World is a book which will offer insights and rewards to a variety of readers in a variety of contexts. The story itself presents a concise review of the upheavals experienced by the Korean peoples during the midpoint of the 20th century. It presents some serious lessons in history as a backdrop to the lives of two quite different Korean families. The journey of self-discovery taken by its authors Frances and Ginger Park will unquestionably enkindle similar quests on the part of Korean-American readers who will wish to learn more of their own family and its reaction to these times.

The book presents a story in which personal losses through the blind processes of war and occupation are countered through a deepened understanding of the possibilities of redemption. One of the most touching episodes in the book gently and realistically depicts the healing of the emotional scar tissue of a Korean woman by the quiet courage of a Japanese farmer who extends support and then physical protection to a hunted Korean family. The book is wonderful in its shaded nuances where people are drawn in a variety of hues rather than simply pure good or pure evil.

The writing draws the reader into the story and invokes the terror of the flight from North Korea which marks a pivotal point in the story.

I found in this novel glimmers of a personal history which could connect to Frances Park's earlier book When My Sister was Cleopatra Moon. This book takes place in America and addresses the lives of two complex Korean American sisters. It is a masterful exploration of the complexity of sibling relationships and provides a poetic journey towards a reconciliation with the images and conflicting memories of a deceased father which will reward the serious reader. Its insights into the Korean world and its affects upon the "second generation" will be appreciated by all who enjoyed To Swim Across the World.

Rating:
Summary: A story of personal heartache and courage
Review: To Swim Across The World is the fictional tale told by Frances Park and Ginger Park -- the real-life daughters of a star-crossed Korean couple who fell in love in the wake of the Korean War. A woman from the North and a man from the South found each other even as their nation was torn in two. Written in a lilting, lyrical style, To Swim Across The World is a story of personal heartache and courage, amidst the stark reality of a nation divided. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: "To Swim Across the World" Provides Inspiration
Review: We all seem to question our place on this earth from time to time. It's during those moments of self-reflection that I like to draw inspiration from others. Ironically, the latest insights into my own purely American life came from a novel based on a completely different time and culture.

A friend recently turned me on to "To Swim Across the World." My tastes generally lend themselves to historical or political non-fiction. Knowing this, she suggested that I read To Swim as it would meet those criteria and offer "even more." She described it as the most thought-provoking read yet among her book club friends.

I bought the book prior to an extended business trip thinking I'd appease my friend and have a novel I could turn to from time to time over the next couple of days. I accomplished only the former as I started the book on my flight and ended it that evening in my hotel room. I couldn't put it down.

She was right. It was the "even more" that I found most fascinating. Superbly written, the book chronicles the lives in Korea of a young man (Sei-Young) and a young woman (Heisook) during and preceding the Korean War. But it was the characters' efforts to better their surroundings in the face of tremendous adversity that really struck me.

Certainly, my hurdles in life don't compare to a young woman crossing the 38th Parallel to flee the dangers of a Communist North Korea or of a young man supporting his family as a youth to eventually become an advisor to the first president-elect of the Republic of Korea. But the basis of their stories should be familiar to everyone on some level. We all face obstacles in life and we all have roots in other cultures.

Authors Frances Park and Ginger Park share theirs in a way that successfully brings the reader back to 1940's and 1950's Korea and genuinely makes you care for Sei-Young, Heisook and their families. This was a time I knew little about. The book's characters walk you through what I'm sure you'll agree is a very compelling history lesson.

"To Swim Across the World" is the classic American dream tale updated to reflect a new generation of Americans-a generation in which we all have roots in other cultures.

Rating:
Summary: ~Escaping to a better life~
Review: Wonderfully written story detailing the lives of two people from Korea. One was raised in North Korea, the other in South Korea. One pheasant, the other privilaged. When war breaks out our storyline characters are fraught with struggling to find a better life, and in the end they keep the faith that they almost lost...and learn a great lesson. Highly recommend *****