12 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, July 23, 1997
'Comfort Woman' tells chilling tale of internment camps
Comfort Woman
Nora Okja Keller
Viking
Throughout time, war crimes have
been universal occurrences but
tabooed subjects. But in "Comfort
Woman" by Nora Okja Keller, the
nightmares of a group of war victims
comes to life in a graphic tale told
with candor and integrity.
Comfort women are women and
girls who were forced to serve in
Japanese "recreation camps" during
World War II camps intended to
accommodate the sexual needs of
Japanese soldiers. Not only were
these women continually raped by the
soldiers, but their psychological well-
being and identities were stripped
from them as well, leaving them
empty with a strong desire for death.
But even though small numbers of
surviving comfort women have
recently begun to talk about their
experiences, little is known about the
many horrors that occurred inside
these camps. Keller attempts to detail
the daily lives of these women
through the eyes of Akiko, a former
comfort woman, and her daughter,
Beccah.
"Comfort Woman" is told from
both Akiko's and Beccah's perspec-
tives, in alternating chapters. Keller
jumps from time period to time peri-
od and from perspective to perspec-
tive. She creates a rich, descriptive
story about survival and the holiest of
bonds between a mother and daugh-
ter, through the stories of Akiko and
her American-born daughter.
Akiko is a Korean woman who is
sold into a life of prostitution by an
older sister. By the age of 12, she is
regularly raped by several soldiers
each night, and by the age of 14, she
nearly dies from a crude abortion.
Later, she is rescued by missionar-
ies, but is continually haunted by her
lack of identity and her days at the
Japanese camps. Even with the spe-
cial attention of one minister, Akiko
can still feel the camps' painful
imprints on her soul.
In one incident, the
minister, who
would later.
become her P 0
husband and <
the father of
her child,
"backed away,-
but not before I
discovered his
secret, the one he won't
admit even now, even to him-
self, after twenty years of marriage. It
was a secret I learned about in the
comfort camps, one I recognized in
his hooded eyes ... and the way his
hands fluttered about his sides as if
they wanted to fly up against my half-
starved girl's body with its narrow
hips and new breasts."
Now, years later, after her mother's
death, Beccah attempts to understand
her mother's tormented soul. She
searches through her memories of a
delicate and fragile woman who could
sometimes see spirits and occasional-
ly went a bit "crazy." Gradually, she
begins to understand the woman with-,
in her mother who died at the camps.
As Beccah gains more understand-
ing of her mother, a touching theme
emerges. Though the two suffer so
many cultural and psychological bar-
riers, Keller shows how a mother-
daughter bond is strong
survive even after death. K
up this esoteric love perf
she has Akiko say to he
"Beccah, how will you
much I love you if you
your own children?"
"Comfort Woman," Ke
novel, is a triumph in it's a
compelling through rich i
wonderful textu
taposes A
orful
worn
g fwit
an
wo
Wit
sive
Comt
its un
characters
method of
"Comfort Woman" is a b
incidents of which too few
aware.
Sole Survivor
Dean R. Koontz
Knopf
Dean R. Koontz is the w
most expert on the spawns
has written on all things
from sex-crazed demons at
nists who come back to li
derous genetic mutants and
stalkers. But for once, Koo
his affinity for evil by t
enough to attention toward the mystery of God
Keller sums and the afterlife.
ectly when In his newest book, "Sole
r daughter, Survivor," Koontz creates a well-writ-
know how ten story about what would happen if
don't have the secret of a greater being and an
afterlife could be revealed.
ller's first Life ended for crime reporter Joe
bility to be Carpenter the night a catastrophic and
mages and mysterious plane crash took the life of
res. It jux- 330 people, including his beloved
kiko's col- wife and two young daughters.
and vivid Unable to deal with the emptiness that
d of spirits now consumes his life, Joe wanders
h a dark aimlessly after abandoning his job
d haunting and closest friends.
rld filled Exactly one year after the life-shat-
th perva- tering disaster, Joe encounters an
pain. enigmatic woman named Rose, who
bined with claims to have not only survived the
forgettable crash, but who can also give Joe some
and adept information that will bring him peace
narration, of mind. But before she can elaborate,
ook about she disappears - leaving Joe desper-
people are ate for whatever secrets this woman
possesses.
Julia Shih As Joe sets out to track down Rose,
he battles a powerful but mysterious
organization determined to keep Rose
silent - and his own demons.
"Sole Survivor" is much different
from the majority of Koontz's books
to date. As expected, it is a quick-
paced page-turner that is impossible
to put down, but the source of evil in
the plot is from humans as opposed to
his usual supernatural forces.
orld's fore- Koontz's detailing of man's desire
of hell. He to silence the discovery of an afterlife
diabolical, involving a heaven and hell is an
nd misogy- expertly crafted analogy to the ulti-
fe to mur- mate religious and spiritual journey.
I perverted Koontz uses Joe as a guide through a
)ntz avoids journey exploring the darker regions
urning his of human character while allowing
the divine forces to prevail.
Meanwhile, Koontz allows Joe to
embark on his own inner journey,
where he utilizes the strength of spir-
itual guidance to learn to embrace life
once again.
The ever-present motif of religious
fidelity and the existence of an after-
life is a dominant theme that cannot
be ignored in "Sole Survivor." Koontz
even seems to use different character*
in the novel to preach his own
thoughts and opinions on theology.
Though overly imposing with his
opinions at times, Koontz does have
some wonderfully thought-provoking
moments.
One prime example is when Joe is
talking with a pious witness to the
crash. The woman comments, "'It's
got to be sadder than our end of
things, don't you think? (God) knows
our potential but has to watch us for*
ever falling short, all the cruel things
we do to one another, the hatred and
the lies, the envy and greed and the
endless coveting. We see only the
ugliness people do to those around us,
but He sees it all. The seat He's in has
a sadder view than ours."'
But even with the religious themes,
"Sole Survivor" will not be a disap-
pointment to fans of Koontz's usuai
fare. Though its subject is differend
from ones on which the author usual-
ly dwells, it is still well-crafted, won-
derfully rich and profound on many
levels.
So indulge in a little piece of heav-
en with the master of terror and hell,
Dean R. Koontz. With his newest
release, "Sole Survivor," you'll get all
the thrills, chills and deep thoughts
you can handle.
-Julia Shti/
F-i
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