A Good Morning America Book Club Pick and New York Times Bestseller! From debut author Asha Lemmie, “a lovely, heartrending story about love and loss, prejudice and pain, and the sometimes dangerous, always durable ties that link a family together.” —Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The NightingaleKyoto, Japan, 1948. “Do not question. Do not fight. Do not resist.”Such is … Nightingale
Kyoto, Japan, 1948. “Do not question. Do not fight. Do not resist.”
Such is eight-year-old Noriko “Nori” Kamiza’s first lesson. She will not question why her mother abandoned her with only these final words. She will not fight her confinement to the attic of her grandparents’ imperial estate. And she will not resist the scalding chemical baths she receives daily to lighten her skin.
The child of a married Japanese aristocrat and her African American GI lover, Nori is an outsider from birth. Her grandparents take her in, only to conceal her, fearful of a stain on the royal pedigree that they are desperate to uphold in a changing Japan. Obedient to a fault, Nori accepts her solitary life, despite her natural intellect and curiosity. But when chance brings her older half-brother, Akira, to the estate that is his inheritance and destiny, Nori finds in him an unlikely ally with whom she forms a powerful bond—a bond their formidable grandparents cannot allow and that will irrevocably change the lives they were always meant to lead. Because now that Nori has glimpsed a world in which perhaps there is a place for her after all, she is ready to fight to be a part of it—a battle that just might cost her everything.
Spanning decades and continents, Fifty Words for Rain is a dazzling epic about the ties that bind, the ties that give you strength, and what it means to be free.
more
Fifty Words for Rain is a lovely, heartrending story about love and loss, prejudice and pain, and the sometimes dangerous, always durable ties that link a family together. This coming-of-age tale about a biracial girl in postwar Japan is an assured, confident debut by a talented new author.
This virtuosic debut enthralled me from the very first page. Lemmie’s compelling and compassionate portrait of a young girl in post-WWII Japan is meticulously researched and beautifully crafted. What a heartbreaking, exceptional story by a sublime talent — I can’t wait to see what she does next!
A hugely compelling debut about Noriko, a mixed race girl growing up in Japan after WWII. Moving and honest and at times intense, Asha Lemmie takes us on an emotional journey that spans years, one which sheds light on Noriko’s family traditions, prejudices, struggles, triumphs, and ultimate transformation. This is a well-researched and eye-opening tale, told with compassion that breathes through each page.
In America we no longer understand cultures where honor is more important than life. This is a terribly disturbing book about a bastard child born to a noble family in Japan and the sheer abuse she was subjected to. There are some sympathetic characters but the overall tone is terrbily upsetting.
Complex characters, and a haunting story line kept me turning page after page until I was finished.
I loved the book but did not like the way it ended. Will not reveal, but absolutely worth reading.
Just very, very sad…
From page one, I was rooting for Nori, the illegitimate daughter of a Japanese aristocrat and an African American soldier. Shackled by family condemnation and the prejudices of post-WWII Japan, Nori must transform from docile young girl into fierce, unapologetic heroine. A wholly immersive coming-of-age epic from a talented young writer — Asha Lemmie pours her passion onto the page.
Fifty Words for Rain is an impressive debut novel about a mixed-race girl growing up in post-WWII Japan. Sensitive and bristling with closely-observed humanity, Asha Lemmie tells a story that we have not heard before with an ending that is as surprising as it is brutally honest.
Loved this story of tragedy and triumph. Strong characters.
Asha Lemmie’s debut novel Fifty Words for Rain follows eight-year-old Nori after she is abandoned by her mother and left to fend for herself in the unkind graces of a family built on tradition and power. Lemmie has penned an impassioned story that confronts the uncomfortable truths behind institutionalized prejudice and the history of violence and subjugation of the powerless by those on the highest rungs of society. It’s an emotional journey with an unexpected ending.
A telling of the fall of feudalism in Japan at the end of WWII. The book clearly portrays the xenophobia rampant in Japan, especially after the war’s end and the tenacious grip the aristocracy had on society there. Good depictions of the similar xenophobic attitude of the Brits. I thought the book was well done in many ways but I didn’t care for the ending and the last choices the main character makes.
Wonderful book!
I don’t have enough words (40 or otherwise) to tell how spectacular this book is! Please read it. My hope would be a sequel, soon.
Great , entertaining,haunting. I hope there will be a sequel.
I wanted to read this book after some of the reviews. I did get very engrossed in the characters, but felt the ending could have been a bit more defining.
Compelling story with excellent writing.
The book captivated my interest from the very beginning. Along with the story, the reader is exposed to the cultural customs of the characters. This book features a new budding author who has demonstrated an exciting writing ability..
Exceptional novel! This is an interesting story of heartbreak, resilience and hope. Sometimes happy, sometimes bleak,it tells the story of a girl who always rises from terrible experiences in her life from the age of 8. However, I did not like the choices she made at the end of the book; it seems really hard to understand why she chose her awful family over a man who loved her and offered happiness.
Fifty Words For Rain
By Asha Lemmie
This is a debut novel? Wow this is amazing and I loved it! This was such an emotional story about a biracial child named Noriko “Nori” Kamiza (Half black and half Japanese) who has experienced harrowing heart-breaking conditions when her mother leaves her to her very traditional grand parents.
This story about her resiliency as she lives a life surrounded by people and culture that is set against her. Through it all Asha Lemmie delivered a gut punching and wonderful debut cultural historical fiction novel about race, culture, family, love and resiliency.
I enjoyed reading this and I highly recommend for historical fiction fans.