“Sentimental, heartfelt….the exploration of Henry’s changing relationship with his family and with Keiko will keep most readers turning pages…A timely debut that not only reminds readers of a shameful episode in American history, but cautions us to examine the present and take heed we don’t repeat those injustices.”– Kirkus Reviews “A tender and satisfying novel set in a time and a place … set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war–not the sweeping damage of the battlefield, but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. Especially relevant in today’s world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more importantly, it will make you feel.”
— Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain
“Jamie Ford’s first novel explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle area during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love. An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut.”
— Lisa See, bestselling author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
In the opening pages of Jamie Ford’s stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol.
This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While “scholarshipping” at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship–and innocent love–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.
Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel’s dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.
Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.
BONUS: This edition contains a Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet discussion guide and an excerpt from Jamie Ford’s Songs of Willow Frost.
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Wonderful story of love in wartime.
Think 3 and 1/2 stars is just about right for this book with an interesting perspective & memorable characters.
Captured a time in history from a very different view point. Heartwarming. You care about the characters.
Slow, it just got so bored with it that I didn’t finish it. I read a lot and not going to a book that doesn’t hold my intrest.
Characters who feel like outsiders find comfort in one another. Circumstances beyond their control alter their relationship, but rest assured….love finds away.
I read this book a second time and enjoyed it even more!
I loved this book!
Great story,well written.
I loved this book from page one.
I loved this book. It reveals how racism is often passed down from generation to generation by parents, but if children are left to make their own judgements often don’t see race as a barrier or an issue. May we all have childlike spirits and just see people as people.
A wonderful character study with great insight of Chinese/Japanese relations in the US during WW2.
Great book. Kept my interest until end.
I loved this book. I am from the Seattle area so the events taking place here made the story more familiar. I was aware of the treatment of the Japanese here during World War II however in a general way. The author did such in depth research it made for a very realistic story.
I loved this book. It captured the essence of a time and events that had been quietly obscure until the past couple of years.
I enjoy books that contain Oriental people and places
This book enlightened me on a time in American history that I had heard about but had never really investigated.
Stunning portrayal beautifully written as a personal account of the Japanese internment camp experience, the losses and indignities, realities of the horrors inflicted yet unrecognized during that period of time in America.
One of the best books I’ve read in years! A unique well developed and told story based on historic facts of a discraceful period of US history. Great characters. Would make an excellent movie.
Great read
good book