World War II: When Akiko's part of the story takes place.Unreliable Narrator: Beccah herself realises that it's possible that she exaggerated the bullying she endured in school.Sex Slave: Akiko was forced to serve as an ianfu ('comfort woman'), made to sexually service the troops during Japan's occupation of Korea in World War II.

Only at the end of the novel do we find out her real name, Soon Hyo. The two women are living on the edge of societyand sanityin Honolulu, plagued by Akiko's periodic encounters with the spirits of the dead, and by Beccah's struggles to reclaim her mother from her past. 'Akiko' isn't her real name, nor is it Korean it is what she was named in the camp. Comfort Woman is the story of Akiko, a Korean refugee of World War II, and Beccah, her daughter by an American missionary.

Only Known by Their Nickname: A dark variant.

My Beloved Smother: Akiko to Beccah, quite understandably considering what she's gone through.

Interesting in that there is no other hint in the story of Akiko being attracted to women: the dream may reflect her great admiration for Induk.

Homoerotic Dream: After getting married and moving to the USA, Akiko has one about Induk.

Heroic BSoD: Akiko has a severe one once she's in safety at the mission.

The novel ends with Beccah making the decision to honour her dead mother's background by giving her a Korean funeral instead of an American one. She gets a piece of coral lodged in her foot and gets a bad infection, leading to Akiko finding out about the trip and grounding her for a year.

Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Happens to Beccah when she sneaks out to go on a school beach trip without her mother's permission.

Akiko sees her daughter's name Beccah, not as an abbreviation of Rebeccah, but as Bek-Hap, 'White Lily' in Korean.

Intertwined with hers is the story of her daughter Beccah, growing up in Hawaii with her sad, troubled mother and eventually learning her story.Ĭomfort Woman provides examples of these tropes: She escapes the camp and finds shelter at a Christian mission, where a clergyman marries her and takes her with him to the USA. The story of the Korean Akiko (not her real name), who is sold as a 'comfort woman' to the occupying Japanese army by her older sister. A novel by Nora Okja Keller, published in 1998.

Comfort woman nora okja keller summary