Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
by Jamie Ford
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jamie FordEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-10-06
ISBN: 0345505344
Number of pages: 301
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780345505347
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Book Review: Hotel on the Corner of BItter and Sweet, Jamie Ford
Summary: 5 Stars
The story is about a Chinese boy and Japanese girl who meet in school in what could be defined as the worst of times. China and Japan are enemies. Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese and World War II is raging.
The story travels back and forth between 1942 and 1986 as it tells the poignant tale of two ill-fated twelve year olds, who meet and become best of friends, in an all white school, where they are ostracized. It is a time when America as forgotten its values and saw enemies among its own population. Since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was an unprecedented sneak attack which took place even as peace talks were taking place between Japan and the U. the American Japanese citizens became easy targets.
Even the most educated and responsible people suspected enemies behind every bush, in every dark corner and in every locale. Their hatred came out in the most subtle to the most violent ways from looting to physical attacks. The Japanese were ostracized, their businesses failed and they were forced to leave their homes and be relocated "for their own protection". It was in this atmosphere that Henry and Keiko met and developed a relationship destined to be controversial as well as doomed.
So many Japanese were unjustly transported to internment camps that it will remain a blight on our history forever, in much the same way as the mania of the era of Mc Carthy has remained an ugly memory about "ugly American" behavior. These people were not our enemies but they looked different, their culture required obedience and loyalty and they had no ammunition to fight back. They were forced to build their own camps and live in semi-squalor. Most of their belongings were left behind and their homes were looted and sold unfairly, often never to be returned to or reclaimed. These Japanese were innocent victims who remained loyal to the US and even went so far as to enlist in the armed forces to fight for America since, above all, they considered themselves American in a country that considered them foreigners. Many of them were native born Americans who were uprooted because of their background and former culture and/ or because they had relatives who were Japanese, still living in Japan, and therefore they were suspect.
Henry and Keiko, seem older and more mature than their years. It was a different time. Children matured more quickly and assumed more responsibility than they do today, but still, they seemed more sensible and responsible than most of the adults surrounding them, recognizing the simple truth that they were the same, although from different backgrounds. Another important character, Sheldon, is a man of color who transcends the hatred of the time, as well, and is often Henry's only real friend. It is interesting that in their "otherness," they unite and see the world through far more humane eyes than most of humanity.
What the US did was wrong but it would be equally wrong to judge the US with the same lens used to judge Germany, since Germany was unprovoked when they attacked an innocent population, with the intention of committing genocide, in order to create a perfect Aryan nation with a master race. The public was only too ready to cast blame upon innocent victims and claim their own spoils of war in both instances, here and abroad, but Japan attacked America provoking the panic.
Once again, as in other books I have recently read, the children lead the way. They are uncorrupted by the learned prejudices of adults.
Summary of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
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 friendship?and innocent love?that 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 voice?words 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 Sweet is 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.
"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 Sweet gives 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 Times bestselling 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
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