“Suspenseful, touching, and beautifully written.” –Margaret George, New York Times best-selling author of Elizabeth I
France, October 1944. A Japanese American war hero has a secret. A secret so awful he’d rather die than tell anyone–one so entwined with the brave act that made him a hero that he’s determined never to speak of the war. Ever.Decades later his son, Daniel Tokunaga, a … Ever.
Decades later his son, Daniel Tokunaga, a world-famous cardiac surgeon, is perplexed when the U.S. government comes calling, wanting to know about his father’s service with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during WWII. Something terrible happened while his father was fighting the Germans in France, and the Department of Defense won’t stop its investigation until it’s determined exactly who did what.
Wanting answers of his own, Daniel upends his life to find out what his father did on a small, obscure hilltop half a world away. As his quest for the truth unravels his family’s catastrophic past, the only thing for certain is that nothing–his life, career, and family–can ever be the same again.
An intimate, revealing story of family secrets, sacrifice, love and honor.
This is quite an intense book. The emotions of the reader are taken for a roller coaster ride throughout. The story of Daniel and his journey through the emotions of his life is one that is worthy of a reader’s time. The author accurately portrays the difficulties, pain, suffering and horror of warfare in the Vosges Mountains in World War 2.
I’m so royally offended at the example of cowardice when Daniel’s ‘Dad’ ran away and left Hiro to the Germans. That the character himself considered himself a coward and never lived that down, placated me. The character used his cowardice as fuel to fire up his later heroic actions gives the reader a sense of wonder at the bounds of the human spirit.
The journey of Daniel from his earliest days through his troubled marriage and then to the truth is very well told. The depth of human spirit is ably explored and those who have a troubled existence, in any form, can gain strength from reading Daniel’s journey.
Andrew Lam does an impactful job bringing to light both the incredible actions of the 442nd in combat and how they were victims of racial injustice in the lack of appropriate battlefield awards at the time. Repentance also brings an excellent ray of light on the dark passage that was the internment of Americans of Japanese descent in World War 2.
I observed a number of times when love is somewhat denigrated either as an aside or from direct commentary. This reader must state that while some marriages are born out of no love and some marriages the love is so weak it disappears…if you find the person you love with all your heart and they love you the same then the love only grows every single day.
Repentance is a superb book and while not an easy read it is a book that I recommend to everyone.
My Rating: 5 stars
The book starts out slow. I struggled a little to keep reading through the first few chapters of character and storyline set-up. However, I’m so glad I kept reading. As the pace picked up and the story evolved, I became engrossed in the outcome.
The author blends fiction with historical fact to create a mesmerizing tribute to family, Japanese-Americans in WWII, and one man’s battle to redeem himself.
I recommend Repentance to fans of WWll historical fiction, family drama, and general fiction.
Suspenseful, touching, and beautifully written.
A gorgeous, emotional book. An important, and timely, American story.
5 stars
This is a remarkable novel.
I knew about the Japanese internment camps from growing up in Washington where there was an internment camp not far from my home. (This camp is not mentioned in the afterword in the book. I don’t know if this is an oversight or if the author simply didn’t know about it.)
My grandparents were German immigrants who farmed in Newell, South Dakota. While they were not interned, their crops were confiscated and the military kept a very close eye on them. (Newell no longer exists by the way.) So I know a little about the fear and hate that the Japanese, German and Italian immigrants suffered..
There were Japanese farmers in the area and I picked strawberries on their farms several times. (Backbreaking work!) As a twelve-year old I had no idea that the farmers I worked for had experienced the horrors of discrimination and internment – at home! As I grew older I learned what had happened and felt ashamed and horrified that this had occurred.
This book brilliantly tells the story of Daniel Tokunaga who has a particularly difficult relationship with his father. Ray Tokunaga is remote and very hard on Daniel. Ray constantly harps on Daniel about honor and hard work. Daniel excels in his studies and becomes a world famous cardiac surgeon. But he worries about his love/hate relationship with his father.
His mother’s illness draws him back to California where his parents live. While his mother’s illness passes, his father has an attack and is hospitalized. The truth of Daniel’s history comes out and he is astounded and devastated. He becomes confused. His wife Beth implores him to seek answers. And he does.
He travels to France with Beth to a reunion of the 442nd regiment where his father was stationed. He meets several people who tell him the truth of his father’s involvement in a battle at a farmhouse with German soldiers. And Daniel is surprised to learn even more from a woman named Celeste.
Daniel makes peace with Ray’s memory and with himself.
This book is remarkably well written and is plotted in a linear and easy-to-read style. The pages fly by and the reader hardly notices time passing. It is written with compassion while at the same time it hits hard with the realism of war and the very hard choices that soldiers in battle need to make. I appreciated the emotional travails that Daniel suffered with each revelation about his father and his war experience. I felt for Ray and was with him and Hiro in the trenches and as they marched through the dense fog where a German bullet could strike at any second. I experience the battle at the French farmhouse along with Ray and the other soldiers. While Ray was not at all proud of his behavior in the war, I understood the internal battle he had suffered. It was very well described. I really liked this book and will read more of Andrew Lam’s novels.
I want to thank NetGalley and Tiny Fox Press for forwarding to me a copy of this revealing and instructive book for me to read, enjoy and review.