All Woman and Springtime

March 5, 2012
In Jones’s dramatic debut novel, 17-year old North Korean orphan girls, Il-sun and Gyong-ho, work hard and go hungry, yet believe that they live well because of “the grace of the Dear Leader.” Headstrong and beautiful, Il-sun begins an affair with a handsome, connected man who promptly sells her and Gyong-ho into the South Korean sex industry, starting them on a harrowing journey into human trafficking and forced prostitution, where survival depends on acclimating oneself to being a commodity. Their servitude takes them from South Korea to a Seattle brothel owned by the Korean mafia. With two other prostitutes, they endure beatings, weeks in a shipping container with little water and food, and the pain and daily humiliation of their work, only made better by smoking “hiroppong,” or crystal meth. Eventually Il-sun disappears, and Gyong-ho escapes the brothel to find her. Though the daring move may not save Il-sun, it could lead to a happier life for Gyong-ho. Jones’s well-paced story gives a peek into a disturbing, shadowy world, where women are sold and traded, but the author never effectively renders the psyche of his female characters; they lack dimension, and their pain and privation never feels as real to the reader as it does to them. Agent: Wendy Weil, the Wendy Weil Agency.

March 1, 2012
A debut novel about the plight of young women in North Korea (written before the recent death of dictator Kim Jong-il), with its socio-political insights undermined by cliches, stereotypes, plot devices and sentimentality more appropriate within a romance or even young adult novel. The Author's Note provides an unusual warning: "Parts of this novel reveal the physical and psychological traumas associated with human trafficking and sexual slavery. Because of the graphic and mature nature of these themes, the contents of this book may not be suitable for young readers." A novel aimed at adults wouldn't seem to require such a disclaimer, but it's perhaps more fitting here. Particularly early on, both the tone and the subject matter seem more appropriate for readers of a similar age as the novel's teenage girls, Gi and Il-sun, who become close friends at an orphanage and a factory despite the significant differences that will ultimately distinguish them. The opening part reads like a primer of everyday drudgery and illusion in the totalitarian regime, where they learn that they live in a "Worker's Paradise," in contrast to the oppression of South Korea, where "imperialist Americans were harsh overlords." Gi is comparatively plain and boyish, with a gift for numbers (that she keeps to herself), while Il-sun is "ripening into womanhood in the way some girls do, like a bomb exploding." Though the two consider their friendship as "two halves finding unexpected completion," there is little doubt that as Il-sun's budding sexuality (whether ripening or exploding) leads her to sexy but dangerous men and ultimately to her pride in her sexual allure, she is headed for a fall. A very different fate awaits Gi, whose looks don't give her as much to barter for her survival, but whose mathematical gifts lead to a surprising conclusion in a surprising place. A novel for those who like lessons in international culture spiced with lines about "a dapper, flashy, dangerous bad boy whose smile had the effect of sliding her panties off her legs."

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March 15, 2012

This terrifying and masterfully realized debut novel about human trafficking and sexual slavery is not for the faint of heart and certainly not for young readers. One of its most impressive achievements is the rendering of main character Gi, who is brought powerfully and beautifully to life. A painfully innocent young North Korean woman who knows very little about the world except the privations of living in a modern police state, Gi endures years in a forced-labor reeducation camp in North Korea before being sent to an orphanage, where she demonstrates a genius for mathematics and befriends Il-sun, whom she describes as "all woman and springtime." Eventually, the two are betrayed and sold into bondage as sex workers in South Korea. Jones depicts both the innocence of his protagonist and the pathologies and violence of the South Korean underworld with great skill and emotional power. VERDICT Impossible to put down, this work is important reading for anyone who cares about the power of literature to engage the world and speak its often frightening truths.--Patrick Sullivan, Manchester Community Coll., CT

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2012
Debut novelist Jones conducts a compelling psychological tour of life inside the socially and politically restrictive borders of North Korea via the poignant stories of two young girls on the cusp of womanhood. Gi, a mathematical genius compelled to keep her gifts hidden, nevertheless survives the seemingly inescapable brutality and drudgery of her existence by quietly exercising the life of the mind. When Gi meets the lushly beautiful Il-sun in an orphanage, the two girls forge a strong, immutable bond. They eventually escape but are then sold into sex slavery first in South Korea and later in the U.S., and it's not difficult to guess who will flame out and who will triumph. This tale of female friendship is distinguished by its illuminating glimpse into the arcane intricacies of both an ancient and a modern culture. Guaranteed to appeal to fans of Memoirs of a Geisha (1997) and the novels of Lisa See.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)