What the Scarecrow Said: A Novel

by Stewart David Ikeda

Stewart David Ikeda's epic novel of a Japanese American family begins with the birth of its hero aboard the ship that brings his parents to the United States and ends in the aftermath of a great national the internment of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II.
William Fujita is cast out of California, uprooted from the family nursery business he loved so much, "relocated" into an armed prison camp, and beset by almost unutterable loss. Barred from his home, he finds himself on the cold slopes of New England in the closing months of the Second World War. There, he must battle grief, prejudice, and his own conscience to survive and to reconcile himself with families old and new.
As he searches for the mysterious Yoneko - a young woman who holds the key to connecting his shattered past to his uncertain future - Fujita meets unexpected allies in a small Massachusetts farming town. Working for Margaret Kelly, a fiery widow who discovers the grief and passion beneath his reserved surface, Fujita endeavors to prepare for planting that unpromising tract known as Widow's Peak. Together with Margaret, a war widow named Livvie, and her scared and damaged young son, Garvin, Fujita becomes an unwilling participant in an impromptu family bonded by sacrifice, intrigue, and unanticipated love.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, World War II

464 pages, Hardcover

First published June 5, 1996

Reviews

[Barb H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Others have told me that they have experienced what I felt about this book. While at the library, I viewed the flyleaf and thought that this would be a book I would enjoy. After reading for a while, I realized that I had read it previously! That's how memorable it was. It was actually disappointing for me. The whole saga and the characters were unrealistic and did not appeal to me enough to continue again.

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Ikeda's style of prose. I appreciate the slow and thoughtful way that he writes, although I can imagine for some it could be a bit hard to get through. Overall a beautifully crafted story, the characters were easy to connect to and felt realistically written. Appreciated the Author's Note at the end as well.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book was a bit like a gardener's year in Minnesota......a very long slow start and then things get really interesting and that a big woosh and the season is over. I wish the first half would have moved faster.

[Carlos Perrito Alejandro Gonzales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to read that book for school many years ago and i enjoyed reading it

[Parag · Rating 5 out of 5]

My good friend Peter recommended, and I wasn't disappointed. Ikeda's fluid prose created the very compelling backdrop of post-internment/WWII America, and tells the story of a man who was trying to create a life on the East coast. It's masterfully done, and a strong recommendation to anyone looking for a period piece that tells a story we haven't heard very often.

[Valerie Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covers Japanese interment during WWII and affect it had on protagonist. Character development much stronger and characters more interesting than in The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. For some reason I can't explain, the first time I picked it up I put it down - the second try was definitely worth the effort.

[Margaret]

A well-written good story. I thought the author's notes at the ending were a helpful addition. The author seemed to capture the mood of the times and people so well. I do not care for the where-are-they-now, wrap-it-up type of ending chapters often found in novels and this was not an exception. Overall, though, I thought it was very good.

[Pjgould · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of the Japanese internment camps during WWII - before during and after, including the prejudice towards American Japanese and also kindness and friendships that developed - Kind of long but liked the characters and found the story ( and ending) touching.

[Pennie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had a hard time with his writing style and so did not finish the book. From the book leaf I thought this is a story I would be interested in but from the few pages I read the story did not intrigue me.

[Beth Ignaut · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read, and reread this a second time. It’s definitely a good story and an easy way to revisit our history here in the States; to absorb the contradictions we are taught to overlook at best, to forget or worse to never learn.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was not what I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be a story about life in a war camp in the USA. But it wasn't. It was much more than that.

[Merreh65 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is so ambitious! The author follows a Japanese family from immigration through success in
California through dispersal during WWII to bittersweet reunion after the war years.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving story. I really enjoyed the slow burn of the plot development. Everything felt real