Book
Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet
Record details
- ISBN: 9780345505347 (paperback)
- ISBN: 0345505336 (alk. paper) :
- ISBN: 9780345505330 (alk. paper)
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Physical Description:
290 p. ; 25 cm.
print - Edition: 1st ed.
- Publisher: New York : Ballantine Books, c2009.
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Widowers Fiction Japanese Americans Forced removal and internment, 1942-1945 Fiction Fathers and sons Fiction |
| Genre: | Historical fiction. |
Available copies
- 3 of 4 copies available at Kenton County.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 4 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covington Branch | FORD J (Text) | 33126022014371 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| Covington Branch | FORD J (Text) | 33126026482863 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| Erlanger Branch | FORD J (Text) | 33126022014363 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| Erlanger Branch | FORD J (Text) | 33126026482871 | Adult Fiction | Checked out | 04/24/2024 |
- Baker & Taylor
When artifacts from Japanese families sent to internment camps during World War II are uncovered during renovations at a Seattle hotel, Henry Lee embarks on a quest that leads to memories of growing up Chinese in a city rife with anti-Japanese sentiment. - Baker & Taylor
When artifacts from Japanese families sent to internment camps during World War II are uncovered during renovations at Seattle's Panama Hotel, Henry Lee embarks on a personal quest that leads to memories of growing up Chinese in a city rife with anti-Japanese sentiment and of Keiko, a Japanese girl whose love transcended cultures and generations. A first novel. 60,000 first printing. - Blackwell North Amer
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER â¢Â âAn impressive, bitter, and sweet debut that explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle era during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love.ââLisa See
In 1986, Henry Lee joins a crowd outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattleâs Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has discovered the belongings of Japanese families who were sent to internment camps during World War II. As the owner displays and unfurls a Japanese parasol, Henry, a Chinese American, remembers a young Japanese American girl from his childhood in the 1940sâKeiko Okabe, with whom he forged a bond of friendship and innocent love that transcended the prejudices of their Old World ancestors. After Keiko and her family were evacuated to the internment camps, she and Henry could only hope that their promise to each other would be kept. Now, forty years later, Henry explores the hotelâs basement for the Okabe familyâs belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot even begin to measure. His search will take him on a journey to revisit the sacrifices he has made for family, for love, for country.
Praise for Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
âA tender and satisfying novel 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 warânot the sweeping damage of the battlefield but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. This is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more important, it will make you feel.ââGarth Stein, bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain
âMesmerizing and evocative, a tale of conflicted loyalties and timeless devotion.ââSara Gruen, bestselling author of Water for Elephants
âA wartime-era Chinese-Japanese variation on Romeo and Juliet . . . The period detail [is] so revealing and so well rendered.ââThe Seattle Times
âA poignant story that transports the reader back in time . . . a satisfying and heart-wrenching tale.ââDeseret Morning News
âA lovely combination of romantic coincidence, historic detail and realism that is smooth and highly readable . . . Ford does wonderful work in re-creating prewar Seattle.ââThe Oregonian - Random House, Inc.
"Sentimental, heartfelt….the exploration of Henryâs 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 donât repeat those injustices."-- Kirkus Reviews
âA tender and satisfying novel 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
âJamie 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.â
-- Lisa See, bestselling author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
In the opening pages of Jamie Fordâs 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 Seattleâs 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 Henryâs 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 âscholarshippingâ 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 friendshipâand innocent loveâthat 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 hotelâs dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe familyâs belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voiceâwords 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.