How We Disappeared: Interesting Start and an End!

Posted On May 3, 2022

Hi Readers! I am writing this review from the cozy bed in a resort at Lonavala. I have 4 days off, so I am away on a staycation! There is a lot of relaxing time to read, write & sleep. Unfortunately, like majority of the resorts, this one has dim light in the rooms, in which I just cannot get any reading done. So, here I am pondering over my thoughts on the last book I read. Hope you enjoy the review as much as I struggled to find the perfect words for it!

~~WRITING STYLE~~

The book is divided into three parts; the first and third parts are shortest with the majority of the story in the second part. And, there are three story lines. We see Wang Di in the present, we see her in the past during the 1940s, and lastly there’s Kevin. Like many historical fiction novels, this one is set during the Second World War. We read about Japan’s occupation during Singapore in the 1940s. We see how they treated young women mainly. Talking about the writing style, it caused pain to read the story. There were emotions ranging from disgust to pity to shock to anger to misery to hope. There are themes about gender inequality, survivor’s guilt, self-unawareness, lack of belonging & depression.

~~STORY LINE~~

I cannot give away the story line for such a beautiful book. But, to make you want to read it, I will give you a brief & maybe some clues. Wang Di, was kidnapped by Japanese soldiers in 1942 & taken to a comfort house. This essentially means a whole group of women were taken hostage to use their bodies for sexual intercourse. It means, women unwilling to have sex, being raped by 20 to 30 men daily for 3 years. Constant rape every 20 minutes by the opposition country’s soldiers to young girls for over 3 years. Even though this is a historical fiction book, it is based on real events. After such an unimaginable struggle for 3 years, after the end of the war, they are freed. Where would they go? Will their families take them back? Will they have to fend for themselves? So many questions flooding their minds in the unfairness of it all. When Wang Di returns home, she is soon married off to a much older divorced man named Chia Soon Wei.

In Kevin’s storyline, we see how his father struggles with grief & depression after the death of his mother. We see Kevin unfurling relations. Secrets hidden for years uncovered. Unanswered questions left to be answered by ghosts of the dead. And then soon, we found out how the two story lines are connected.

~~THE START & THE END~~

The book begins with the birth of Wang Di, where we are given three different stories. We never find out which one is real. Similarly, the book ends with a question mark about Wang Di’s baby. She tells us three different stories & leaves it to reader’s interpretation.

These are the three possibilities of how Wang Di ‘began’. She was born to her mother in the dead of the night. Or she was found by a lady in trash bins & she decided to adopt her & become her mother. Or her father took her in the fields to bury her but couldn’t.

These are the three possibilities of what happened to the baby. When Wang Di woke up in the hospital, the baby was next to her but she says he is not her baby & the nurse takes him away. Or, Wang Di dug out some soil, put the baby in the hollow & buried him alive. Or, she goes to an old woman’s home who finds her. She leaves the baby with them & leaves in the middle of the night.

Because these are both open to interpretation there isn’t an ‘ending explained’ post which will give you the right answer. You will need to read it & find out for yourself! This was a different touch to the novel. Usually, I don’t like cliff-hangers or lose ends, but with this story it all just fits & it increases the complexity & weightage of the book.

~~TO READ OR NOT TO READ~~

How We Disappeared was a 5-star read prediction from me. I just had a feeling. Maybe it was the anticipation of reading it. Maybe it was all the other fascinating HiFi books that I have read. Maybe it was me. Maybe it wasn’t. But, I did not feel as much as I wanted to while reading this book. The writing was beautiful, yes, but it did not leave a lasting impact. The story had a lot to offer, yes, but somehow it was not enough. I wanted it to be even more beautiful than its cover. I wanted it to hurt more. I wanted to feel much more empathy for the characters. I wanted more complexities in the story. I wanted more from it. I have rated How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee at 4/5 stars.

I think you should read this book if you are a Historical Fiction fanatic. You should read this book if you like character-driven novels. You should not read it if you are triggered by rape, death, war, depression, loss of a child. Please read the trigger warnings before you pick up the book. You also should not read it if you have read books by Kate Quinn. This one won’t match up to those levels. But, overall, I do think there are more reasons you should read this book than not to. If you do read it, I hope you love it.

Until next time,