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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet A Novel Jamie Ford 9780345505330 Books

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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet A Novel Jamie Ford 9780345505330 Books

Henry, a 2nd generation Chinese-American, is just 12 years old and living in Seattle at the time during WWII when Japanese citizens were rounded up and sent off to internment camps. Henry has befriended Keiko, a young Japanese girl at the private school they both attend, since they are the only non-whites at the school. At the urging of his very traditional father, Henry wears a "I Am Chinese" button every day on his shirt so that he won't be confused with a Japanese person and suffer the discrimination and taunting that Japanese people were subjected to daily.

Henry's parents do not know at first that his best friend is Japanese, but when they finally learn of this, they turn their backs on him though they don't kick him out of the house. Thus begins a long, lonely period when Henry merely exists and lives in a silent household. When Keiko's family is sent off to the camps, Henry is shocked and saddened, but vows to never forget her. He somehow scrapes together enough money to get on a bus and ride all the way to Idaho to see her. They vow to write to each other, but the letters over the 2+ years that she is in the camp are sporadic and his final letter is returned, marked addressee unknown.

Years later in 1986, Henry becomes aware of the possessions from some of the Japanese families, stored in a nearby old boarded up hotel. This opens up the memories from the 1940's and begins a search for the truth of what happened in the 1940's. There are many bitter, sweet and poignant memories and scenes in this story.

The novel struck a chord with me because I have visited Manzanar and have known people who had been held in the camps. It's important to remember and read about these stories. Too many people aren't even aware of the tragedy of the incarceration of so many innocent citizens during the war.


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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet A Novel Jamie Ford 9780345505330 Books Reviews

I loved every page of this book. I couldn't go to sleep all night until I finished it! The main character, Henry, is 56 years old as his story unravels, and his wife has just passed. Jamie Ford leads the reader carefully through each incident/story, always creating curiosity.. The book is based on real places and facts in history which I loved, having learned yet a new perspectives of WWII. I've never considered what it would be like for the Japanese who were living in America after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and I never understood the reason for the interment camps. Having friends from each culture, I have observed the confusion in America about the two totally different cultures. This read promises to entertain and enlighten. After reading, I was still curious about the jazz and searched the internet to learn about Oscar Holden. I'm sorry to be finished with this story and hope Jamie Ford doesn't disappoint in the next book!
I learned about this book from an article over the Panama Hotel in Seattle (National Parks Magazine). Mr. Ford lyrically weaves together three elements A Bildungsroman of Henry, the main character; a retelling of Romeo and Juliet between Chinese and Japanese families; and an unsparing exposition of the paranoia and racism that led to the internment of Japanese-American families during WWII. This is storytelling at its best.
This book is well worth reading. Since I had lived in the Seattle area for a couple of years, it was easy to picture the areas described. The relationship between the boy and girl was a "hook," as was the young man's difficulty in fitting in at school. My favorite characters were the understanding cafeteria lady and the musician who acted as a mentor. Some people in my book discussion group didn't care for the ending. I understood why the author felt it was necessary and I commend him for his choice. If I were still teaching high school I would add this book to my reading list for the monthly book report.
I recently read and reviewed this author's new book, Love and Other Consolation Prizes, also set in Seattle. I truly loved it and basically wanted more by this very fine writer, Jamie Ford. He created a world where I quite literally felt I was there. I could see the streets, smell the various aroma's of both the Japanese and the Chinese sections of the city in 1942, feel the prejudice and racism towards and between both groups and really felt the anger, frustration and fear as the Japanese were herded off to camps across the USA.

In the world of the US today with rampant racism and hatred, this beautifully written story is a wonderful reminder to all of us to learn from the past and fight those who want us to return to those troubled times where prejudice, intolerance and injustice ran rampant against an innocent group of people. I highly recommend this very moving story.
A beautiful book. Sad, happy, thoughtful, hopeful, all set in a turbulent time. I was born in 1950, so was not aware of the camps the American Japanese people were placed in. I remember seeing something about it on TV, but just in passing. I was in high school in the 60's, but in history classes, there was nothing regarding WWII, the Korean war, and even the Vietnam war was not discussed. This book is not only about the love of 2 young teenagers, but the love of friends and how that love can stay with you for your lifetime. Henry and Keiko are the main stars, but I think the greatest star is Sheldon. You will not be disappointed.
This is a touching story about first love and complicated family relationships. I like the way Ford develops, Henry, the main character by a narrative split in time between the early 1940s and the 1980s. The story takes place in Seattle's China town and the neighboring Japanese community. The reader experiences and feels the pain of the characters during the Japanese internment. As a first love relationship grows, we see the characters experience racism, bullying, and conflict in family relationships. What can we learn from this shameful time in our World War II history? Can we be a more accepting open society and accepting of our diverse culture instead of ruled by fear and prejudice. I recommend this book to anyone who loves sensitive well developed characters. I especially like a novel that helps me understand an historical period or event.
Henry, a 2nd generation Chinese-American, is just 12 years old and living in Seattle at the time during WWII when Japanese citizens were rounded up and sent off to internment camps. Henry has befriended Keiko, a young Japanese girl at the private school they both attend, since they are the only non-whites at the school. At the urging of his very traditional father, Henry wears a "I Am Chinese" button every day on his shirt so that he won't be confused with a Japanese person and suffer the discrimination and taunting that Japanese people were subjected to daily.

Henry's parents do not know at first that his best friend is Japanese, but when they finally learn of this, they turn their backs on him though they don't kick him out of the house. Thus begins a long, lonely period when Henry merely exists and lives in a silent household. When Keiko's family is sent off to the camps, Henry is shocked and saddened, but vows to never forget her. He somehow scrapes together enough money to get on a bus and ride all the way to Idaho to see her. They vow to write to each other, but the letters over the 2+ years that she is in the camp are sporadic and his final letter is returned, marked addressee unknown.

Years later in 1986, Henry becomes aware of the possessions from some of the Japanese families, stored in a nearby old boarded up hotel. This opens up the memories from the 1940's and begins a search for the truth of what happened in the 1940's. There are many bitter, sweet and poignant memories and scenes in this story.

The novel struck a chord with me because I have visited Manzanar and have known people who had been held in the camps. It's important to remember and read about these stories. Too many people aren't even aware of the tragedy of the incarceration of so many innocent citizens during the war.