MrsK Books: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

ISBN: 978034550330

Publisher's Synopsis:

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.

MrsK's Review:

This is our August Booked to Dine choice. Since we live in Washington state south of Seattle, we knew we had to read and discuss this book. Our goal was to take a book club field trip to the corner of Bitter and Sweet, enjoy the Seattle way of life, and spend a day filled with laughter, good food, and great discoveries.

This historical fiction novel is set in two different time frames. The retelling of the main character's childhood (1942-1945) and Henry's present journey (1986) taking place as he is uncovering the truth about where Keiko, his childhood friend, was taken. These two time frames are brilliantly woven. The quest and journey for truth forty years later is crafted like a tapestry with little snippets of memories as its threads, providing for the reader the history and relationships with in the character's mind and heart.

You meet Henry at the steps of the Panama Hotel as the press and onlookers are discovering the long forgotten belongings of those evacuated during WWII. The current owner is showing a few of the items found during the hotel's renovation. Henry begins his quest for the truth once a parasol is opened. An image of Keiko with that parasol flickers within Henry's mind and begins smoldering into a desire to search the remaining belongings still stored beneath the hotel.

From the steps of the Panama Hotel, Henry's need to locate Keiko's items will be the "golden story thread" throughout the haunting historical facts about the WWII Japanese relocation in Washington State. Those historical threads portrays the "ugliness" of fear, war, prejudice, and the worst of humanity. The best of humanity is beautifully crafted beginning with Henry's devotion to a friend in the time of need. It is "felt" as Henry's son and his fiance begin to uncover why Keiko is so important to Henry's quest. You "watch" it as it unfolds with a cast of characters supporting Henry's quest: Sheldon the street musician; Mrs. Beatty the school's cafeteria lady; and the postal clerk whose identity becomes so crucial to Henry's life.

So many poignant stories about the WWII Japanese relocation have recently been penned and published, and this story is just as courageous. What history can teach us should be guiding our steps today. How each individual life helps or destroys the lives of others is embedded within the pages beyond the ink... it goes deeply into the choices of our actions and what we say, discuss, and choose to live by.

This is a journey worth experiencing,
MrsK

Amazing and engaging read!
Added to my shelf

Meet the Author:

Jamie Ford is the great-grandson of Nevada mining pioneer Min Chung, who emigrated in 1865 from Kaiping, China, to San Francisco, where he adopted the Western name “Ford,” thus confusing countless generations. Ford is an award-winning short-story writer.

Panama Hotel in Seattle Washington

Seattle Tour with the Wing Luke Museum

No comments:

MrsK's Reading Bio

Reading is important! No questions asked, not even a blink of the eye from any student I grew up with. On the first day of the First grade, we were given our first books. Day two we all read aloud, round robin of course. Day three we were place in our first basal, now known as a lit circle group. Books were so important, publishers designed new curriculum so that every student was reading by the end of the first week. These early readers had images that looked like what we could see in the classroom, beyond the classroom, even on the big screen. Reading is important, throughout history every generation has believed that “Reading” opens up the world for endless possibilities.

I adore the 1950’s Dick and Jane books. Actually, most reading specialists and experienced (45+) educators believe that every student learned to read with Dick and Jane. Since these books are being re-issued, I have heard many parents, grandparents, and students claim that Dick and Jane stories of repetition does teach students to read.

Early influences from my mother influenced my desire to read. I would watch her read and we would go on “secret” excursions to the library. The library became my playground. I owned every book I could carry home, of course they needed to be taken back to their home after visiting with me for a week or two. My first book that I could pull off of the library shelf and read was, Father Bear Comes Home. I only saw my dad on Sundays for a few hours. I would pull this beginning reader off of the library shelf every week. Every week I would try to read the first chapter. Every week I got further in the story. My mom would let me check it out, only if I could read it myself (She didn’t like the illustrations therefore she didn’t want to take time to read it to me). One day, I pulled the book from the shelf and when mom came to get me from the children’s corner, I realized that I had read the whole story. I ran to the check out desk and the Librarian KERCHUNKED the checkout card. My mother, brother and neighbors read. My teachers read. We all read aloud all day long in school. The Priest read aloud every day at mass, even in Latin. Everybody in the Doctor’s office read. People on the bus read. Dad’s waiting in their cars as the Mom’s and children grocery shopped, read. In fact, once you could read and write, Sunset Magazine considered you a reader and sent you mail every day.

Reading is important; I’ve spent my life reading. I’ve traveled around the world and into space through books. My favorite genre is whichever book I have open at the time. Children’s Literature is my passion. Book clubbing is one of the best past times, especially if food is involved. In fact my friends of old are in a book club and we are about to embark on a beach trip to “read” and discuss our newest selection.

My “home-run” book story has helped every student find his or her own “home-run” reads. Every year, I have shared my, Father Bear Comes Home, and every year my students have brought in their “home-run” books. That’s the “diving board” into our Lit. Studies.

In “Growing Up Digital,” Tapscott’s insights into the new generations enthusiasm for the Net reminded me of my generation’s enthusiasm for reading, movies, TV, parties and our driving permits. The Net-Generation, as Tapscott describes, “are learning, playing, communicating, working, creating communities, and enforcing a social transformation.”
N-Geners are interactive “techies” who are always looking for a way to “work it” verses the TV Generation of “Baby Boomers” who started out looking for “how it works.” Reading development is tougher today, society moves too fast to invest their “non-working” free time into a book or even “home work.” Since I stepped into my own classroom, I have seen students being told to read, being forced to read, and threatened into reading. Homework is not any longer the vehicle for students to gain their future lifestyles or careers with. Yet, the Internet does create an enthusiasm for learning. Since I have been enrolled in these courses, I have used the computers in every subject. My students are using the newest technology in the classroom because I am giving them investigative sites to use as they learn from each other and books. I agree with Tapscott, in order to bridge the gap with this up and coming generation we must “live and learn with them.”

FTC Required Disclaimer: I receive these books from the publishers. I did not receive monetary compensation for these reviews. These reviews have been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)