I won't bury the lead. I loved this book. It's beautiful, romantic, timeless, heartbreaking and it really spoke to me.
Written by Chinese-American Jamie Ford (yeah, I'm confused by his name, too), the novel takes place in Seattle's International District... literally right outside my front door. My street is mentioned at least a dozen times throughout the book.
"Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" tells the story of a young Chinese boy, Henry, who meets his first love, Keiko, at all white school. Keiko is Japanese. Henry's father, a strong Chinese nationalist, does not approve.
The book veers between present day and the early 1940's, with Henry looking back at his friendship with Keiko and his disdain for his father. His relationship with his father reaches a breaking point when Keiko's family gets shipped out to a Japanese internment camp during World War II.
I think I'm a sucker for forbidden love. But, Henry and Keiko's relationship is so pure and innocent, only the greatest of cynics could find fault in it.
Being Japanese-American, and knowing my mother and her family spent time in an internment camp, this book hits close to home. So, it may not have the impact on you that it had on me, but I still think it's worth a read.
The photo up above is the actual Panama Hotel (the hotel referenced by the title of the book) taken this evening.
I think you might like "No-No Boy" by John Okada. It focuses on life in Seattle after leaving the camps. It's also set in the International District.
Posted by: Molly | 05/08/2010 at 07:01 AM
Great, I'll put it on the list. Thanks for the recommendation!
Posted by: runsenorun | 05/08/2010 at 12:14 PM