Like I mentioned in my review of The Dragon Queen, I finished reading the third book in the trilogy a week back. The first and second book are connected, but the third one has a tenuous connection to the second. This is a love story in Japanese occupied Korea, and as a standalone book it would have made total sense.
The dragon comb and Anna Carlson are just dragged into this one to force a continuity that doesn’t exist. The book by itself is nice to read, just don’t see it fitting into a trilogy.
The Spirit of The Dragon – Summary
The start of the book is interesting as a Los Angeles detective calls up Anna Carlson, an international rights lawyer to help in a murder case. The murder case is itself interesting because a 99 year old lady allegedly stabs a 101 year old man in a nursing home. 95% of the book is the story of the 99 year old lady Suk-bo Yi narrated to Anna Carlson.
Suk-bo starts narrating her life story as a 16 year old girl living with her parents in Korea under Japanese rule in the 1930’s. An order is issued by the Emperor of Japan, that Korean girls aged 16+ must marry Japanese boys. Suk-bo’s father is totally against this while her mother feels its ok to go with the order as Suk-bo will have a better life. Suk-bo meets a young Japanese boy called Hisashi when she goes to pick strawberries. In a strange coincidence, its Hisashi’s father (the local Japanese Director General) who comes to ask for Suk-bo to be married to Hisashi.
Suk-bo’s father reluctantly agrees and Suk-bo is betrothed to Hisashi. Much to her own surprise, Suk-bo and Hisashi genuinely fall in love. But this fairy tale doesn’t progress smoothly… Hisashi wants to study medicine and is apprenticed to a doctor in the Japanese army. Initially it was supposed to be just a few months of staying apart, but Hisashi doesn’t return for many years. Hisashi’s mother dislikes Suk-bo and throws her out of the house at the first instance, as soon as she delivers a baby boy.
Suk-bo survives somehow, joining the rebels and becoming a “wife” to one of the rebel leaders. She escapes from the rebels and manages to find her son Young-Chul. Once again they struggle to make ends meet and a sweet natured Young-Chul suddenly takes to drugs, also becoming a peddler along the way. Suk-bo deals with his death at a young age and then with the support she receives from Hisashi’s father and sister, she relocates to the US.
When she finds Hisashi again, he is a shell of the person she married. The last few chapters are about how Suk-bo manages to break through Hisashi’s despondency and as a final act of asking her forgiveness, Hisashi commits harakiri.
Have left out portions of this love story as it’s important for the reader to enjoy the book. We once again see the horror and poverty that Korea was subjected to by the Japanese rule. A beautiful statement that Suk-bo’s mother says to her, early in the book is – “love is a commitment that you make every day”.
So make that commitment every day and do read the book. Even if it doesn’t fit into the dragon trilogy, it’s a great read.