The Picture Bride: A Novel

· Sold by Forge Books
2 reviews
Ebook
336
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

Winner of the Nautilus Award for Historical Fiction

“Lee Geum-yi has a gift for taking little-known embers of history and transforming them into moving, compelling, and uplifting stories. The Picture Bride is the ultimate story of the power of friendship—a must read!” —Heather Morris, #1 New York Times bestselling author


“Your husband is a landowner,” they told her.

“Food and clothing is so plentiful, it grows on trees.”

“You will be able to go to school.”

Of the three lies the matchmaker told Willow before she left home as a picture bride in 1918, the third hurt the most. Never one to be deterred, Willow does all that she can to make the best of her unexpected circumstance. But it isn't long before her dreams for this new life are shattered, first by a husband who never wanted to marry her in the first place, and then by the escalation of the Korean independence movements, unified in goal, but divergent in action, which threaten to split the Hawaiian Korean community and divide Willow's family and friends.

Braving the rough waters of these tumultuous years, Willow forges ahead, creating new dreams through her own blood, sweat, and tears; working tirelessly toward a better life for her family and loved ones.

“A beautiful testimony to those women bold and determined enough to leave behind all that was familiar, seeking a better life.” —Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author


At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Winner of the Nautilus Award for Historical Fiction “Lee Geum-yi has a gift for taking little-known embers of history and transforming them into moving, compelling, and uplifting stories. The Picture Bride is the ultimate story of the power of friendship—a must read!” —Heather Morris, #1 New Yor...

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Ratings and reviews

2 reviews
orchidbeautiful21
January 3, 2023
The Picture Bride started out good and very interesting. I enjoyed reading about the picture brides, including Willow, Hongju, and Songhwa where what they had been told about life in Hawaii with husbands and the paradise it would be, ended up not being true and how each one of them reacted to the truth and carried on, or not. That would have been really hard and was interesting to read about. However, that whole plot seemed to peter out as Willow struggled through hard times and good in Hawaii
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Karen Dowling
October 11, 2022
I learned a lot from this book, but I didn't actually enjoy the experience of reading it. I found myself completely unconnected to Willow and her plight, and it's written as a series of things that happened to her, but without any real emotional attachment.
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About the author

LEE GEUM-YI was born in 1962, in her grandmother's house in the small, mountainous village of Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea. She became enthralled with the charms of storytelling early on, having spent her childhood under the influence of her grandmother's bedtime stories. Since then, Lee Geum-yi has published over fifty books in South Korea, and her work has been translated around the world. Beloved by readers and literary critics alike, many of her books have been adapted into TV series, musicals, and webtoons. The author lives in Seoul, South Korea, with her husband, son, and her old rescue dog, Lulu. The Picture Bride is her first novel to be translated into English.

AN SEONJAE (translator) has lived in Korea since 1980. He was born in Cornwall in 1942, and since 1969 has been a member of the Community of Taizé, where he is known as Brother Anthony. He has published some 50 volumes of translated Korean poetry, as well as the translations of several Korean novels.

LEE GEUM-YI was born in 1962, in her grandmother's house in the small, mountainous village of Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea. She became enthralled with the charms of storytelling early on, having spent her childhood under the influence of her grandmother's bedtime stories. Since then, Lee Geum-yi has ...

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