Review by ciecheesemeister -- The Vanished by Pejay Bradley

[ciecheesemeister]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Vanished" by Pejay Bradley.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Vanished is a historical fiction novel by Pejay Bradley. The story is set in Korea in the early part of the twentieth century. The story shifts between the viewpoints of various characters including King Gojong, Prince Aansoon, who is a cousin of King Gojong, and Lady Sougyon, the daughter of Prince Aansoon. Lady Sougyon is in an unhappy marriage to an unfaithful husband who wants nothing to do with her or their son. She dotes on their son, Embon, spoiling him.

The book begins with the family’s visit to King Gojong’s palace. The king has an infant daughter who was conceived out of wedlock, and he announces to his guests that his daughter is to be treated as having royal status, regardless of objections from the Japanese government. Lady Sougyon reflects on the annexation of Korea by Japan two years previously.

The story is wonderfully constructed, like pieces of a puzzle fitting together. It is rich with information about the strained relations between Japan and Korea as well as about Korean society in the early twentieth century. The characters are interesting and well-developed. The fictional storyline melds seamlessly with historical facts. I greatly enjoyed the depth the various perspectives from different characters added to the tale. The reader comes to understand why it was so important to Koreans to take their country back from Japan.

The book is clearly professionally edited. I found only one paragraph that I considered somewhat awkwardly worded and no real errors in the text. While there are references to violent acts in the story, these references are not gratuitous. Many lives were lost during the Korean struggle for independence from Japan and the story benefits from these realistic scenes. However, readers who prefer to avoid books containing violence or stories about conflict might prefer to avoid this story.

This book is not a quick or light read, but it is a very satisfying one. I did not know much about Korea’s fight for independence from Japan before reading the story and I feel that my knowledge has increased substantially.

Readers who enjoy historical fiction will appreciate this well-written book. Although there were certain parts of the book that made me angry, there was nothing that I disliked about the story itself. The treatment of women as second-class citizens and the belief that the birth of a boy is cause for celebration while the birth of a girl is a disappointment enraged me, but this is not due to any fault in the story. I give The Vanished four out of four stars.

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The Vanished
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[Intuitive Catalyst]

Loved your review. Currently reading it. Agree with you so far. Cheers!