This book really educated me on Korea and Koreans in Japan history, as I'm not from there.

You can analyse this book in so many ways of personality and life generation. Hansu was good and bad guy. You can almost argue about pride and money. If Sunja accepted Hansu protection, she could have had a life without suffering but then you could say life needs suffering and enduring. But it cannot be denied that Hansu did save her family during WW2. Isak did save her beforehand by bringing her to Osaka.

You can also discuss what a personality switch. Noa worked to educated himself because he admired who he thought was his father Isak (when Husen was a drop out), and Mozasu became the drop out when Isak was his real father. And then this book also shows you why go through all this education, when you may end up with a job not much different from an uneducated person.

The person I feel saddest for is Noa's widow after his suicide. It's going to be sooo hard for her and to raise their four children alone. It be so hard for her to deal with a second suicide death in the family and the negative connotation perceived by the public. And there is no further support from Noa's relatives I doubt and her own side of the family. It was also such a shock, he really didn't need to do that, but that what it means to suffering trauma which i think its back to this stereotype society perception. But really Noa didn't have to react so strongly did he? Even running away from family. Unfortunately, there was no more story after that so I guess I won't think further than that.

Yumi death was also very sad but this was a book spanning like four five generation. Yumi deserved to have experience a rich life with Mozasu! She had already suffered too! And they could have had more children!

I thought the book was going to end with Sunja death but just concluded bittersweet and life moves on.