Book Review: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
Genre(s): Fantasy / Mythological Fantasy / YA
Book Synopsis:
Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.
Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.
Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.
But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…
Review:
This book was recommended to me months ago, and I really wish I’d read it sooner. It was just the sort of story I needed to make me smile, laugh, cry (both from sorrow and joy), and transport me away from the real world for a while. In short, I loved this book and all the emotions it stirred.
The overall atmosphere reminded me of the movie Spirited Away, which I also happen to love. The Spirit Realm had a magical whimsy, yet was also made to feel real by its inhabitants. There are the traditional sort of spirits—the souls of humans who died in the mortal world—but there are also gods, mythical beasts like the serpentine Imugi, and more.
Everything in both the mortal and spirit worlds revolve around the sea god, an emperor, and a supposed curse. The chosen brides of the Sea God are meant to break the curse, but it has persisted for a century, and while it continues, both worlds suffer. Mina’s role isn’t as clear-cut as the previous brides, since she subverts the “rules” and follows her heart, taking another bride’s place in the last moment.
Most of the story takes place in the Spirit Realm, as her decision to leap into the sea occurs in chapter one. Mina isn’t completely prepared for what she encounters there—stories and myths can only guide her so far, after all—and I really enjoyed following her journey as she uncovered the truth of the sea god, his curse, and her role in everything. There were a few surprises toward the end of the book that, in retrospect, I should have seen coming, but the clues leading up to them were so subtle that I didn’t. It was done very well.
But it was the characters that stole my heart in this tale. Not just Mina, but Shin, Namgi, Mask, and even the stoic Kirin are ones I’ll remember for a long time. They each had a role in the sea god’s tale, but beyond that, they felt so real, so human (even those who weren’t in a technical sense.)
So if you’re a fan of Asian-inspired magic and mythology or movies like Spirited Away, definitely consider reading The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. It was a wonderful story.
Author website: axieoh.com
