A Book Review by Joshua Cachapero
Mary Paik Lee, a Korean woman who fought the odds of discrimination. The time was around the First World War; anyone that was viewed not of white skin was discriminated, rejected, and looked down upon. But a little girl from North Korea where conditions were harsh looked for hope in America, hoping for success that her parents could not achieve. Mary wrote her life story in a book, which was published in 1990. This book Quiet Odyssey- a Pioneer Korean Woman in America tells her story, her struggles, her laughs, and her memories, which I fully enjoyed reading.
The book starts of by telling the history of Korea and the hard conditions living there. The reason in which a young Mary Paik Lee and her family left North Korea is because Japanese soldiers were demanding to stay in Mary’s home and there was nothing the family can do about the situation due to Japan having complete control of Korea at the time. So, the family left in 1905 when Mary Paik Lee was only five year old. The family immigrated to Hawaii where Mary’s father worked in a sugar plantation for about a year and a half. Although, Hawaii didn’t bring the family happiness they were looking for and so the family immigrated to California. California brought many interesting events, as the family travel up and down the state to try and find the happiness they always dreamed of.
As Mary got older she entered the working early due to the financial problems, working at farms and being a janitor at a school but finally Mary met someone special, the man was named Hung Man Lee, or throughout the book was named H.M. They seemed happy together even through the discriminations they faced together. The two met in San Francisco where they were married in 1919. The happiness would go downhill when she figured out she could not have children. Fortunately, a woman by the name of Dr. Farrow some how cured Mary and in 1925 Mary’s first child was born and was named after the doctor, Henry Farrow Lee But more hard times struck when H.M. developed a skin condition unknown to any doctors in the area, so they moved to Los Angles to try and solve the problem. H.M. went though hot spring baths to only ease the pain not heal it, but he managed to still work and support Mary. In Los Angles life started off tough when all there belongings were destroyed in a house fire back in San Francisco so the two were barely making ends meet, but H.M. took a big risk on buying a fruit stand on Main Street to try and make life easier. Luckily the fruit stand began to be popular, and finally with time, Mary and H.M. were living with enough money in there pockets to support themselves.
With the success of there business, the discrimination still was present. It was hard for the two to make friends often the two had to look out for signs that did not allow Orientals in certain places like public pools, public bathrooms, or even certain stores. Mary even tried to make friends with Caucasian customers but was ignored in public due to her Oriental backround. Mary did not break down and quit, she kept making money and supporting the people she loved, while H.M. collected the material Mary would put them on the stand and would continue to sell. After the 11-year business they left Main Street and went back to farming to help Mary’s struggling parents and siblings. They rented a house in Whittier from a white family, in which the white woman of that house disliked Asians like Mary renting out her house. After a few months the white woman was shocked to see that Mary actually treated the house better then the actual white woman and finally got some respect. As the two grew their own farm H.M. was still struggling with his skin condition so Mary found herself taking care of her Husband, her child, and herself. She did not forget her struggling parents and siblings so Mary sent them money ever so often to make sure they got by.
The book was very good and had a lot of strong points for an autobiography. I thought I was going to be bored out of my mind but this book described a very heart-pounding story with a very satisfying end. Lets face it, some biographies are get really boring and when assigned for a history class my first thought was frustration, but at the end I thought I was pretty lucky to read this book. I wasn’t bored at all and ending up liking the book. During the end of the book Mary actually helped Orientals with their accents and help them find homes to find the peace she found. Around 1950 she quit farming and moved back to Los Angeles to help Orientals fit in and became a looked up to figure to all immigrants. The Quiet Odyssey fully describes the life of Mary Paik Lee and fascinates the readers on the discrimination level back in the early 20th century and how lucky we all really are living in equality. So, in conclusion the book is everything a auto biography is. A true story filled with problems, sorrow, distraught, and suspense ending with bliss and satisfaction. So, for a person that is looking for books regarding Asian Americans this book is the perfect. So, pick it up.
The first thing that caught my eye about this book was the fact that it said "Korean Woman". Although I am in fact not korean, but of Asian decent, it still intrigued me because she was of the asian background and was a woman. It was interesting to me to see how the discriminatory life of 1900's in a woman's point-of-view. I was really curious of her stuggles and the way she handled them. Just from reading the jist of the story, it seems that she did in fact have an interesting life. It really contrast to current time because many of us, or shall I speak for myself, did not have to go through struggles such as hers. She seems to be a strong woman who knows how to hold her head up high. I respect her even more for how she chose to go back to Los Angeles and help others. It shows a certain purpose in her life. When I have the time, I just might pick it up and read it. I want to her hear life story to a full extent. Thank you for the review!
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