Books – Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
I have been plowing through a lot of books lately. I like to have a mixture of audio books which I get from audible.com and the real live thing. When I get a book I usually order them from a place like amazon.com and it is much more preferable if they in a hardcover format. So I usually have two books in circulation at one time. I am currently listening to “The Help” on audio book. Now, this is a very interesting book and I am sure I will review it when I am finished. I am about half way through and it is excellent. Take a look at the ratings from Amazon. Now, this isn’t always your bellwether but it has over 1000 ratings and it is a solid “5″. Now that is pretty good.
I just finished a book (hardcover variety), called Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and next up is “Day After Night“. So here I wanted to tell you my thoughts on Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
First off, I really enjoyed this book. It was as a story of Henry, a Chinese American who was twelve in 1942 growing up in Seattle and his love for Keiko a Japanese American. It was also a parallel story of Henry in 1986 reflecting back to that time and the choices that would affect his life forever. It had all the elements that are needed to make a great story. Such as:
Short Chapters – The chapter lengths were 3-5 pages. This really helped keep the pace of the book moving along without chopping the story up. The story took place in two time periods 1942 and 1986 and switched between them regularly. This method along with the shorter chapters made it much easier to get into the flow of the story.
Historical Fiction – It went over a piece of American history that is rarely mentioned, the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. I loved hearing about Seattle in 1940′s as well as the blossoming Jazz scene that was happening at that time there. The father of Henry was from China so there was an element of his culture that was briefly explored also.
Conflict – The story line between Henry and his father was full of cultural conflict. Henry, being a first generation Chinese American, had different values than his father who was born in and raised in China. It eventually affected Henry’s relationship with his own son.
Tension – The story between him and Keiko threaded the whole story together. Henry fell in love with her and she with him. She, being Japanese, was an issue for Henry’s father for she was the enemy. Even though Keiko was born in America, she was considered a threat even to the United States.
And finally, redemption – With the search for Keiko and the gap that was finally bridged between Henry and his son, it was truly a great read.
If you like positive stories that have a point, you will enjoy reading this book. If you would like to hear more form the author about this book, here is a little snippet from him.