false 3367956 5 In the opening pages of Jamie Ford's stunning debut novel, <i>Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet</i>, 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 Ranier Academy, 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, <i>Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet</i> 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. 3407295 book 27 1 2009 Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel total:1976|5:565|4:948|3:385|2:67|1:13| 1976 7910 4296 812 5 8 false false Tue Feb 24 14:47:29 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 24 14:58:30 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 4 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 08 16:24:26 -0700 2008 Sun Dec 07 11:53:01 -0800 2008
I've just finished reading Jamie Ford's forthcoming novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and am still basking in the glow. The characters are fully realized, the title is a real attention gra...more...]]> 4 4 false false Tue Sep 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 21 17:41:03 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 01 10:38:04 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 5 false false Fri Feb 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 10:03:42 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 13 18:53:10 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 7 false false Sat Mar 21 09:23:13 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 09:29:02 -0700 2009
There are some diamonds in th...more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Feb 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 23:55:08 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 23:55:21 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 4 false false Fri Jan 30 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Oct 19 19:20:29 -0700 2008 Sat Jan 31 09:31:40 -0800 2009 Hotel made me cry, made me laugh and brought me joy. It's a beautifully written and tender story about first love, the human experience surrounding racial divides, generational conflicts, and the internment of Japanese Americans. You won't be disappointed with Hotel.]]> 5 2 false false Fri Jan 30 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 16:06:36 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 08 14:57:42 -0800 2009 4 2 false false Wed Mar 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Feb 23 17:42:45 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 11 18:01:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 4 false false Fri Nov 07 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 07 13:21:12 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 07 13:32:24 -0800 2008 5 3 false false Mon Jan 19 16:51:29 -0800 2009 Sat Dec 20 23:20:40 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 19 16:51:29 -0800 2009 5 1 false false Thu Jan 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 11:09:25 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 09:33:17 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 2 false false Wed Jan 14 07:22:22 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 10:15:20 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 07:22:22 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Apr 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 13:05:38 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 13:08:24 -0700 2009 4 3 false false Fri Apr 03 21:49:46 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 03 21:51:55 -0700 2009 1 3 false false Thu Mar 19 11:53:22 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 19 13:05:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Mar 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 05:59:25 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 01 14:57:02 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 13:42:13 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 13:54:53 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 17:45:56 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 17:46:45 -0800 2009 They say that whatever you do on the first day of the New Year tells how you'll spend your time that year. I'm so hoping this is true for books, too, because the first book I read in 2009 was one of my favorites in a long, long time.

I'll apologize in advance for teasing - it's not...more...]]> 5 0 false true Sun Oct 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 23:45:56 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 23:50:02 -0700 2009 more...]]>