Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

4/5 Stars

B&N:

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.

My Review:

I didn't want to read this book. I'm not exactly sure why. It could be because I'm teaching the Holocaust right now, so I'm kind of "WWIIed" out. I know this story takes place in the USA and really focuses on the Japanese side of the war, but still...I didn't want to. It was a book club pick. That didn't stop me from not getting the book. I figured I'd just not read this month. But, for some reason (probably not reading the past 2 books made me feel guilty) I went to the library and got it.

I must say, I really enjoyed this book. I started to read it and just didn't want to stop. I fell in love with the story. I needed for Henry and Keiko to end up together. It was very well written and I really enjoyed how it went from "present" day to back to the 40s. The way the author showed Henry when he was younger and then when he was an older gentleman was fantastic. I found the descriptions to be just enough. I usually hate books that go on and on with descriptions- I want the "action" the dialogue! I was fine reading this book. It has a good amount of both.

The setting for the book was very well constructed. I want to go visit all the places that it mentions! It helped move the story along, which is always a nice thing for the setting to be so involved in a story.

The history was just amazing. As I mentioned before, I have studied the Holocaust aspect of WWII. It was very interesting to read the other aspect of how things were happening here in the USA.

My heart actually ached throughout the book. It was a heart-wrenching book that I am very happy I read.