Three Views of Crystal Water

June M. Blurton is a retired speech/language pathologist.

James Lowinger has spent most of his life as a pearl merchant in the Far
East, but in 1934 he returns to Vancouver. His daughter is dead, her
husband is missing, and his 13-year-old granddaughter Vera needs care.
He brings a much younger woman with him, but Keiko is no timid Japanese
mistress. She is an ama, one of the women who dive for shellfish on the
ocean floor.

After James dies two years later, the two women return to Japan. The
winters on the mainland are a constant struggle. The Japanese army has
invaded China and the shortages of food and fuel are worse than usual.
The summers are spent on an island where the men fish and tend the boats
and the women dive. During the first summer, Vera suffers the pangs of
anger, adolescent angst, and mind-numbing loneliness. Keiko and her
lover, Ikkanshi, are the only people with whom she can communicate.
Ikkanshi, a samurai, was once a diplomat in Berlin and lives on the
island year-round. He teaches Vera the intricacies of Japanese sword
fighting and sword polishing.

During the second summer, Vera is befriended by a diver named Hanako.
She learns to speak Japanese and dive with the other women. She also
falls in love. Then comes World War II. Vera’s friends suddenly become
the enemy and she spends the rest of the war in Vancouver wondering what
has become of them.

Recounted in prose that is lyrical without being coy, Three Views of
Crystal Water is a delightful read.