Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Read This Book.

Over the weekend, I read the book "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford.


My mom had given it to me to borrow and said it was great. I'm not usually a fan of war-time novels, but this book was spectacular. And by now, you guys have probably gathered that I'm pretty picky about the books that I read and recommend. This was one of those books that I just couldn't put down.

It's Seattle in the 1940's, and Henry is the American born son of Chinese immigrants. Henry wears a button stating "I Am Chinese" so as not to be confused with his Japanese neighbors who are currently being shipped off to internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Henry's family clings to the fact that they are Chinese, NOT Japanese, and are fiercely disapproving of Henry's best friend Keiko, the American born daughter of Japanese immigrants. Still, when Keiko's family is sent to an internment camp, Henry defies his father to store some of Keiko's possessions. The rest were boarded up in the Panama Hotel in Seattle. Forty years later, a new owner of the Panama Hotel uncovers the basement, still full of treasured possessions. Henry ventures to the hotel, in search of Keiko's belongings, and a long-lost treasure that he has never stopped thinking about...

Seriously you guys. It's a great book. By FAR the best book I've read this year.

And here's something really interesting--after talking to my mom about the book, I learned that she actually used to work in the restaurant that the author's parents owned, and she remembers Mr. Ford as a 4-year-old boy running around the restaurant. Small world, no?

6 comments:

  1. That one sounds good - I'm going to put it on my list! It reminds me a lot of the book I just finished, On Folly Beach, as far as the history & stuff goes. I'm giving away a couple of copies, too, so you should go enter!! :-) Hope you have a good week!

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  2. Oh I'm intruiged! Isaac and I are due for a trip to the library...guess I know what I'll be checking out!

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  3. Just added this to my amazon wishlist. Thanks for the recommendation :) [Now if only I had a free minute to read!]

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  4. I was actually thinking about that one for my next pick for our book club. Thanks for the review, I think I'm definitely going to go with this one now.

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  5. It is my turn to pick the book for bookclub next week so thank you for doing my homework for me!!! I am excited to check it out!

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  6. I'll be adding that to my deer season list of must reads!

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