Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Book No: 38
Title: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Author: Jamie Ford
Genre: Fiction
Completed: 7/15/09
No. of Pages: N/A
Rating: 5/5*****

This book is so aptly named, because it focuses on both the bitter and sweet times in the life of Henry Lee and his first love Keiko Okabe. The story goes back and forth in time, from 1942-45 and 1986. The story of Henry, a Chinese-American, and Keiko, a Japanese- American, and their friendship during the war years is told in flashback when Henry learns that a collection of items left behind at the Panama Hotel have been found. These were items stored there when many Japanese Americans living in Seattle were ‘relocated’ and basically interred in concentration camps. The finding of these possessions brings back a flood of memories of Henry and Keiko’s friendship that turned to love, even after Keiko’s family was uprooted from their home and sent to Camp Harmony and later Idaho.

I have always been fascinated by stories and books that relate to this time period and the brutality of the relocation of so many Americans simply because of their ethnicity. It was not America’s most shining moment and this book brings to life so many of the indignities suffered by those who were born in this country, many second or third generation Americans yet treated as if they were enemies of the state. I thought the author did a great job with the many details of life at that time and the many prejudices toward Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I loved the depiction of a young Henry and Keiko falling in love while listening to jazz music, and their determination to forge a relationship in spite of so many obstacles.

The book also offers a lot of insight into the many problems that Chinese Americans endured in trying to become assimilated into American culture while trying to maintain old traditions and how difficult it was/is for those who have no knowledge of their parent’s lives in another country, and how they feel caught between two worlds.

Although the ending of the book was somewhat predictable, the journey to a satisfying conclusion is well worth the trip. For those who have fond memories of first love this is a book to delight in. I hope to read another book by Mr. Ford in the near future, for this one was a joy to read.