Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

I do believe that historical fiction is fast becoming my favoritest genre ever.

I liked Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
I was enchanted with Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
I wished for a minute to be included in The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
I still dream about being as cool as Ayla in the Earth Children Series books by Jean Auel

And now, I have officially put The Panama Hotel on my things to see someday list.




Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (By Jamie Ford) is the story of an unlikely friendship.  A Chinese boy, Henry, and a Japanese girl, Keiko, find themselves the only non-whites in their prep school during World War II.  After the bombing of Pearl Harbor the Japanese are removed from Seattle to internment camps farther inland.  It is the story of a forbidden friendship that is also strained across time and distance. 

The Panama Hotel was a familiar landmark for Henry his whole life, traveling past it often on his way to visit Keiko or to listen to jazz music in the back alleys.  When the Japanese were forced to leave the city many stored their belongings in the basement, hoping one day to be able to return and collect them.  Forty years later the hotel is sold and the new owner finds a whole basement full of unclaimed belongings.  Henry, decides it's time to try to find a long, lost jazz record he once had and maybe more.

1 comment:

  1. I also love historical fiction. I've read the first couple of books from Jean Auel's Earth Children Series and I was completely enchanted by them. The Panama Hotel sounds like a great story. I will have to look that up. Also, not sure if you've already read it, but The Shadow of The Wind is another great historical fiction novel that you might like.

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