The story of two sisters who were taken to comfort women by the Japanese army during the Second World War

'Look for your sister after each dive. Never forget. If you see her, you are safe. '

Hana and her little sister Emi are part of an island community of haenyeo, women who make their living from diving deep into the sea off the southernmost tip of Korea.

One day Hana sees a Japanese soldier heading for where Emi is guarding the day's catch on the beach. Every mother has told her again and again that she will never be caught alone with one. Terrified for her sister, Hana swims as hard as she can for the shore.

So begins the story of two sisters suddenly and violently separated by war. Switchbacking between Hana in 1943 and Emi as an old woman today, White Chrysanthemum takes us into a dark and devastating corner of history. But pulling us back into the light is one of our most important moments

. A riveting, immersive read in the vein of the Kite Runner and Memoirs of a Geisha.

Author: Mary Lynn Bracht

Mary Lynn Bracht is an American author of Korean descent who lives in London. She has an MA in C language at the University of London. She grew up in a large ex-pat community of women who came of age in post-war South Korea. In 2002 Bracht visited her mother's childhood village, and it was during this trip that she learned first of all the 'Women Women' captured and set up in the Japanese military. White Chrysanthemum is a first novel.