David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars: A Reader's Guide

Continuum Contemporaries

by Jennifer Haytock

This is part of a new series of guides to contemporary novels. The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential novels of recent years - from ‘The Remains of the Day' to ‘White Teeth'. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question.

96 pages, Paperback

First published May 4, 2002

Reviews

[Laurie Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ten years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a Japanese-American man is accused of murder and his life hangs in the balance in a courtroom on San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, where similar to the rest of the country, human frailty and prejudice have passed from generation to generation. The jury is instructed by the defendant’s attorney, “In order to find Kabuo Miyamoto guilty, you must be convinced of every element of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.” Yet the prosecuting attorney has told them, “Look into his eyes, consider his face…” One of the most gripping books I’ve read in a long time!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and very descriptive - a woven storyline. I loved it.