Identity
In the novel, identity is the major theme. Serk was born in North Korea but grew up in Japan, and for a better future he moved to America. He even changed his name, but he couldn't find a place where he felt safe or belonged. His daughter Louisa experienced the same identity crisis because her father never told her his real identity. The story shows that a person's country and culture impact their identity significantly.
Memories
The sudden disappearance of Serk shocked both Louisa and Anne. Despite trying, she couldn’t remember anything from that night and told everyone that her father had drowned. In reality, spies from North Korea had kidnapped Serk, and the trauma left Louisa so shaken that she forgot everything. When she became an adult, her memory returned in fragments.
Serk, after escaping from his abductors, tried to find his daughter, but he developed dementia and remembered her as a little girl. The writer shows that painful memories can affect a person’s whole life.
