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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel by Jam 

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel by Jam
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Item condition:Good
Ended:May 20, 201219:08:37 PDT
Price:US $25.00
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Item location:Portland, Oregon, United States
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Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.Item number: 320828092942
Last updated on Feb 29, 2012 18:06:51 PST View all revisions

Item specifics

Condition:
Good: An item in used but good condition. May have minor damage to jewel case including scuffs or cracks, ... Read moreabout the condition
Title: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Publication Year: 2009Subject: FICTION
Length: UnabridgedTopic: Family & Friendship, Human Qualities & Behavior, Conflicts & Dualities, General, Peoples & Cultures, Literary Genres & Types of Novels, Cultural Heritage, Contemporary Women, War & Military
Language: EnglishAuthor: Jamie Ford
ISBN-10: 0739382837Format: Audio
ISBN-13: 9780739382837Publisher: Random House

Detailed item info

Synopsis
Jamie Ford's debut novel is a moving look back at a shameful episode in American history, when Japanese immigrants were interned in camps during World War II. The time structure of the book is split, covering Henry Lee's life in 1986, as a retired widower, and his memory of the war years, when his best friend Keiko and her family were held in the camps near Seattle. Ford provides a moving, insightful history into the camp experience, and reveals how the repercussions of this discriminatory practice caused personal and societal rifts that were never healed. At its heart, this is a tale of fathers and sons, as Henry struggles to reconcile his memories of his own father's support of the camps and his relationship with his rebellious son, Marty.

Key Details
Author:Jamie Ford
Language:English
Publisher:Random House
Format:Audio
ISBN-10:0739382837
ISBN-13:9780739382837

Additional Details
Narrated by:Feodor Chin
Edition Description:Unabridged

Size
Thickness:1.2 in
Weight:9.3 oz

Publisher's Note
"Sentimental, heartfelt….the exploration of Henry’s 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 don’t repeat those injustices."-- Kirkus Reviews

“A 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

“Jamie 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.”
-- Lisa See, bestselling author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan


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.


From the Hardcover edition.

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. Simultaneous.

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.

Industry Reviews
"Ford posits great meaning in objects...but the most striking moments come from the characters' readings of each other."
(11/15/2009)

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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel

Jamie Ford

Book Notes:
Binding: Audio CD
Book Condition: Good
Jacket Condition:
ISBN: 0739382837
Publication Date: 2009-01-27
Publisher: Random House Audio
Pages:
Height: 1.2000 inches
Width: 5.1000 inches
Weight: 0.6000 pounds

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