All Woman and Springtime

July 30, 2012
In this debut novel from Jones, two seamstresses on the cusp of womanhood are spirited from the fear and drudgery of North Korea to the fear and unpredictability of sexual slavery in the West. The untamed and ambitious Il-sun contrasts sharply with her best friend Gi—who saw enough of hardship as a child in a labor camp to ensure her obedience to the state—as they work to survive and possibly heal. Christine Williams ably renders the two protagonists and creates distinct voices for the book’s other female characters. However, her portrayal of male characters is less convincing and often sounds artificial. Williams’s gentle voice fails to capture the villainous men who oversee the sex trafficking operation. However, as Jones’s novel is light on dialogue, this audio edition remains an enjoyable listen, even without strong interpretations of all the characters. An Algonquin hardcover.

March 5, 2012
In Jones’s dramatic debut novel, 17-year old North Korean orphan girls, Il-sun and Gyong-ho, work hard and go hungry, yet believe that they live well because of “the grace of the Dear Leader.” Headstrong and beautiful, Il-sun begins an affair with a handsome, connected man who promptly sells her and Gyong-ho into the South Korean sex industry, starting them on a harrowing journey into human trafficking and forced prostitution, where survival depends on acclimating oneself to being a commodity. Their servitude takes them from South Korea to a Seattle brothel owned by the Korean mafia. With two other prostitutes, they endure beatings, weeks in a shipping container with little water and food, and the pain and daily humiliation of their work, only made better by smoking “hiroppong,” or crystal meth. Eventually Il-sun disappears, and Gyong-ho escapes the brothel to find her. Though the daring move may not save Il-sun, it could lead to a happier life for Gyong-ho. Jones’s well-paced story gives a peek into a disturbing, shadowy world, where women are sold and traded, but the author never effectively renders the psyche of his female characters; they lack dimension, and their pain and privation never feels as real to the reader as it does to them. Agent: Wendy Weil, the Wendy Weil Agency.