Tuesday, March 10, 1998
Sudden comfort
BOOK Telling the story of World War II’s lesser known victims,
author Nora Okja Keller is pleasantly surprised with the breadth of
the audience that has responded to her first novel, "Comfort
Woman."
By Laura Noguera
Daily Bruin Contributor
They were not prostitutes by choice. Instead they were lied to
and taken to serve as Japanese soldiers’ sexual slaves. These
"comfort women" were locked away then and their secret has only
recently been revealed. The public’s knowledge of these World War
II comfort women is still minimal, despite the efforts of these
women to tell their stories.
Hearing the horrible confessions of one former comfort woman in
1993 inspired Nora Okja Keller to write ‘Comfort Woman.’ Keller
will discuss ‘Comfort Woman’ at UCLA’s Kerckhoff Art Gallery at 4
PM on Tuesday. She will tell of her first interaction with a former
comfort woman
"I’d never heard before this part of history that had been
silenced for so long," says Keller. "It affected me physically,
like someone punched me in the stomach."
Many are unfamiliar with the Japanese comfort stations that
housed young girls taken from Korea. The subject has become
controversial, as some have tried to deny the stations existences
to avoid responsibility, but these women have emerged to tell their
stories.
"When I heard the speaker I was so deeply moved," Keller says.
"After that I continued to be haunted by her story."
Following the comfort woman’s discussion, Keller was motivated
to write a short story involving two characters, a mother who is a
former comfort woman and her daughter. This first story became
chapter two in her novel.
The novel takes shape through the daughter’s and mother’s eyes,
narrating the mother’s suffering from her past experiences,
affecting her mentally and her relationships with her family.
"It’s not just a story about one woman’s experience in the
camps," Keller says. "But it’s also about how that woman goes on to
live with it."
Many readers assume the story represents reality because there
are many similarities between Beccah, the daughter, and Keller.
Their ages are identical and as an adult, Beccah is a writer for
Star Bulletin, an occupation once held by Keller.
Despite these details taken from Keller’s life, she reminds
readers the novel is fictitious and not all scenes are true to
life. "The characters that I wrote about, the affair that she
[Beccah] had with the editor was all fiction," Keller says while
laughing. And "my mom’s not a comfort woman. She’s alive and
well."
Although Keller expected her readership to be composed primarily
of females and Asian Americans, she found it to be much more
diverse.
"I found that when I was going to the different bookstores and
universities that there were quite a lot of men in the audience as
well," Keller says. "That kind of surprised me."
Likewise, the audience’s feedback was also a mixture.
"Some people said that it was so profound and they were deeply
touched," Keller says. "But one woman who was a born again
Christian said that she was very offended by the novel."
Whatever audience’s reactions were, ‘Comfort Woman’ has
accomplished more than Keller intended. Aside from telling a
touching story, Keller has educated readers on this hidden
component of World War II history. Currently, ‘Comfort Woman’ is
being taught in university Asian American history and women’s
literature classes.
"I didn’t have any kind of big noble objective," Keller says.
"It was just to write a story as honestly as I could from the
hearts of these two characters."
‘Comfort Woman’ is Keller’s first novel, written in her own
style. Although there are complex time shifts, her style. Keller
developed her style reading other authors whose styles she
respected.
"I started reading people who spoke directly to me," Keller
says. "It felt like the types of writing they did were the kinds of
writing that I wanted to do."
Others are impressed with her style’s refinement at such a young
age.
"She really tapped into a fluid lyricism with ‘Comfort Woman,’"
says Louis Yamanaka, author of ‘Wild Meat.’ "There’s a kind of
elevation of the story into poetry."
Keller credits her novel’s completion to the motivation she had
while participating in a writing group. The group offered her
support, and her own comfort.
"I though at one point if it never does get published," Keller
says. "At least I have this group of people who will read it."
Keller wrote ‘Comfort Woman’ in two and a half years, creating a
literary piece with the potential of a best seller. She is
currently working on her second novel, planning to finish it within
the next two years. Keller’s advice for successful writing is to
read and write abundantly.
"I just saw in this magazine…its like, ‘How to Become A Best
Selling Author,’" Keller says. "I went, ‘What?’ It was so funny
that there were actual steps to this."
Nora Keller will be discussing and signing ‘Comfort Woman’ in
Kerckhoff Art Gallery today at 4 PM.
Penguin publishing
"Comfort Woman" author Nora Okja Keller