Last night I finished the book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. by James Ford
The book is based in Seattle during WWII when the Japanese were being rounded up and sent to internment camps on suspicion of being spies for the enemy. The main character is Henry Lee, a young chinese boy who wears an "I am Chinese" button given by his father so they will not confuse him for Japanese. The novel jumps times, from when Henry is a 12 yr old boy going to a prestigous white private school on scholarship, to a man in his 50's who has just lost his wife to cancer.
The young boy Henry finds a best friend at school in a young American-Japanese girl named Keiko Okabe. Their friendship is tested in more than one way, and the hardest is when her family is swept away in the evacuations of Japantown.
The book actually opens ands starts with Henry as an adult, walking past the old boarded up Panama Hotel, where the new owners have uncovered a treasure in the basement. They discovered many old trunks that belonged to some of the Japanese families that were evacuated. Henry is convinced that the parasole they were showing belonged to his old friend Keiko and the story starts.
My sisters both read this book and highly recommended that I read it as well. I'm so glad I did, the story is sweet, sad, and tries to portray the hardships during that time. The friendship between Henry and Keiko is one of commitment and enduring hope. Loved it.
1 comment:
I read this for book club a few months ago. I thought it was good, but I don't think I would have read it otherwise. I have read a ton of WW2/Japanesse interment stuff before. But I thought it being from a chinese boy's perspective made it different and somewaht unique from the others I have read.
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