Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
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- ISBN13: 9780345505347
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
“Sentimental, heartfelt….the exploration of Henry’s changing relationship with his family tree 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 persons injustices.”– Kirkus Reviews
“A tender and satisfying novel set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Confront of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the hurt that is caused by war–not the sweeping hurt of the battlefield, but the cold, cruel hurt to the hearts and humanity of individual people. Especially significant in today’s world, this is a perfectly written book that will make you reflect. And, more importantly, it will make you feel.”
– Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling leader of The Art of Racing in the Rain
“Jamie Ford’s first novel explores the age-ancient 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 like. An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut.”
– Lisa See, bestselling leader of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
In the opening pages of Jamie Ford’s stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Confront of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the sou’wester 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 personal effects 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 ancient Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a muddle 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 snub 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 like–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Ancient World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family tree 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 additional will be kept.
Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel’s dark dusty basement he starts looking for signs of the Okabe family tree’s personal effects and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot start to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might clarify 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 Confront of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary tale of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has made an unforgettable duo whose tale teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Every few pages I establish myself pausing to say, “I like this book!” I cared so deeply about the characters, establish the plot fascinating, and loved the way the book is organized, alternating between the 1940s and 1980s.
Although the backdrop of our country’s mistreatment of Japanese-Americans (and additional ethnic minorities) in World War II is tragic, I wanted to say that this book is NOT dark or depressing. As a replacement for, it is human, warm, and full of like. It’s a book about people, not events, and a book about what matters in life. The book’s alternating chapters (1940s to 1980s) help to reinforce the theme of connectedness. I loved seeing who Henry became as an adult, and felt the portrayals of his character were perfectly congruent across the decades.
I looked over the additional reviews here before adding my own, and wanted to comment on the controversy about its anachronisms. I read an advance review copy (as all VINE reviewers did), so I’m uncertain whether or not the final published version listed 1986 as the time frame for the chapters about Henry’s later life. Clearly, changing 1986 to 1996 would diffuse much of the noise here. But for this 40 year ancient woman, who has lived through the dawn and rush of the computer age, Ford’s apparent errors related to use of the internet feel inconsequential. This is not a book about equipment- the few references to computers, etc., were background noise to me. The heart of this novel remains clear and gorgeous– it is about relationships with persons we like. I can’t imagine a reader who would have difficulty relating to (and loving) Henry.
Highly, highly recommended.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
This is my first buy and I am not pleased with Customer Services. I wrote that the book had not been delivered and the response from BlueRidge was to refund my money as a replacement for of offering to ship a second copy. I want a copy of the book and will return a duplicate copy if the “lost” book ever is delivered.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
I bought this to listen in the car on long trips. I ongoing and then had to bring it in the house because I wanted to keep on listening to it. It kept your interest and I just wanted not to stop. Like reading a book and not being able to place it down.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
This is a pleasant and featureless tale about young teenagers who form a bond during times of misfortune. The setting is appealing. The internment of Japanese families during World War II was terribly unfair, but not automatically a tragedy. The internment camps were not concentration camps. People had food and shelter and medical care. They could send and receive mail. Children went to school. Families mostly stayed together. People’s lives changed, but most people did get on with their lives. The tragedy seems to be that young like was interrupted. As sometimes happens, the teen-aged lovers grew apart, and went on to marry others, and have fulfilled lives, and find each additional again later in life.
The book is… nice. Not emotional or compelling or exciting. Just nice.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
I’m sorry. I tried. I really wanted to like this book and read it, but everytime I sat down and tried, I just couldn’t get into it. The tale was too deep, too serious, too much for me. When I read a book, I do so for enjoyment and as an escape from my every day responsibilities and obligations. This book was just too serious and depressing for me to delight in. I know there have been some wonderful reviews about this book and judge me, I tried – but it’s just not the kind of book I can read and/or get thru quickly and when I have book piled up next to the couch, I don’t want to wast any more time on one I know I (1) won’t delight in or (2) will take so long to end, I’ll never get to the books I do Want to read.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5