Rating: ****
Tags: Fiction, General, Fathers and sons, Psychological, Historical, Cultural Heritage, Historical fiction, Widowers, Evacuation and Relocation; 1942-1945, Seattle (Wash.), Japanese Americans, Japanese Americans - Evacuation and Relocation; 1942-1945, Lang:en
Summary
"Sentimental, heartfelt....the exploration of Henry's
changing relationship with his family and with Keiko will keep
most readers turning pages...A timely debut that not only
reminds readers of a shameful episode in American history, but
cautions us to examine the present and take heed we don't
repeat those injustices." -- Kirkus Reviews "A tender and
satisfying novel set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel
on the Corner of Bitter and Sweetgives us a glimpse of the
damage that is caused by war--not the sweeping damage of the
battlefield, but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and
humanity of individual people. Especially relevant in today's
world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you
think. And, more importantly, it will make you feel." --Garth
Stein, New York Timesbestselling author of The Art of Racing in
the Rain "Jamie Ford's first novel explores the age-old
conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of
what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle area during
World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love. An
impressive, bitter, and sweet debut." --Lisa See, bestselling
author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan In the opening pages
of Jamie Ford's stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of
Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside
the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It
has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made
an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families,
left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps
during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a
Japanese parasol. This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to
the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry's world
is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who
is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up
American. While "scholarshipping" at the exclusive Rainier
Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko
Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of
blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond
of friendshipand innocent lovethat transcends the long-standing
prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and
her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment
camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war
will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.
Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol
belonged to Keiko. In the hotel's dark dusty basement he begins
looking for signs of the Okabe family's belongings and for a
long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a
widower, Henry is still trying to find his voicewords that
might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words
that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese
American son; words that might help him confront the choices he
made many years ago. Set during one of the most conflicted and
volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of
Bitter and Sweetis an extraordinary story of commitment and
enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an
unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of
forgiveness and the human heart. From the Hardcover
edition.