Books & Java

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

by Jamie Ford

Synopsis:

In the opening pages of Jamie Ford's 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 Henry back to the 1940s, when his world was a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who was obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While "scholarshipping" at the exclusive Ranier 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. 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, certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko, searches the hotel's dark, dusty basement for signs of the Okabe family's belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot even 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.

My Review: 

This is such a great work of historical fiction. I loved the story of Keiko and Henry and all of the familiar places referenced throughout their tragic and ill-fated love story in the great city of Seattle and other areas in the Pacific Northwest where my family has made their home. This was my first experience with an Audio book and I am a little torn as to how I feel about the format. At first, I found myself a bit lost, wanting to look for the words on the page, actually seeing them. However, it was nice to be able to work and have this beautifully "bittersweet" story serve as the background of my busy work day for the last 3 days. I am still a traditionalist and prefer the paper and ink version as I like marking up my books and dogearing the pages that make an impact throughout my short journey in the lives of great characters and their stories. But, I digress. 

This part of my review will focus on the the beautiful story of innocence, love, acceptance and humanity that Mr. Ford unfolds for us through the eyes of Henry, a Chinese-American boy and his friend Keiko, a Japanese-American during a turbulent time for race relations in the Asian community of Seattle. The characters in this book are endearing. Even Henry's stern, and extreme traditionalist father becomes a character we end up liking in understanding his love for his son and his need to honor his love and respect for his culture. To think how we treated people who were American-born simply because of their ancestry is repulsive but unfortunately such a common thread in the evolution of our country. However, what I loved most about this story was that it demonstrates the importance of common circumstance and understanding that is brought about as a result of that commonality which leads people to be more tolerant. The hatred bred in racial discrimination is more often born of a lack of understanding and compassion. 

There is a chapter that I found really spoke to that point when the Chinese family are thankful that the persecution is not towards them as they are Chinese-American and not Japanese-American. The mother even says something to the effect of "At least it's not us."