The Turtle and I

Review Summary

The Turtle and I is a quietly powerful, memoir-like novel that traces the emotional journey of a woman navigating betrayal, single motherhood, and the slow path to forgiveness-all while drawing strength from an unlikely companion: a long-necked turtle.
What begins as a simple account of a working mother's life gradually unfolds into a moving meditation on memory, identity, and the enduring hope for reconciliation-not only within a family but within a divided nation. Through tender recollections of her childhood friend Jin-Su, the narrator interweaves personal struggle with a longing for Korea's peaceful reunification. The turtle becomes both symbol and soul, echoing a friend lost to history and a dream deferred.
As the story progresses, it expands to depict the broader immigrant experience, chronicling the protagonist's life in the United States. Through interactions with other immigrants, the novel explores how diaspora communities maintain emotional and cultural ties to their homeland, even while adapting to a foreign world. These moments-both quiet and profound-paint a vivid portrait of identity shaped by loss, resilience, and memory.
The novel also introduces a symbolic relationship between the protagonist and her turtle, embodying slow progress, quiet endurance, and the constancy of emotional roots. The turtle offers a silent but steadfast presence as the protagonist processes her pain and ultimately moves toward healing.
In its final chapters, the story ascends into a quiet triumph: a reunion across decades, a prayer in song, and the realization that peace-whether in the home or across a divided peninsula-begins with the courage to understand and the grace to remember.
Poetic, introspective, and filled with spiritual resonance, The Turtle and I invites readers into a deeply personal journey of brokenness and healing, despair and hope-offering a vision of unity, both personal and national, grounded not in ideology, but in love.