From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books…

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Jamie Ford

Start date: October 1, 2014

Finish date: October 31, 2014

Discussion: Group Reads Discussions

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 405 topics — 3,825 comments total

Group Reads Discussions

This topic has been closed to new comments.

* Links to Group Read Discussions
By Diane , Armchair Tour Guide · 3 posts · 1371 views

last updated Jan 18, 2013 07:12PM

I've Been Waiting
By Carole · 1 post · 16 views

last updated Sep 16, 2025 07:57PM

showing 10 of 48 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jun 26, 2014 Tiffany rated it it was amazing

Finally a good book! I loved it!

2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 13, 2009 Madeleine rated it liked it

Shelves: northwest, internment

I read this all in one evening because I absolutely had to know how it ended (and somehow managed to be disciplined and not read the end).

Very sweet, sad but hopefully novel about the mass incarceration as it played out for two families in Seattle.

It did definitely seem like a first novel though - some anachronisms (online support group in 1986? and characters' attitudes did not seem in line with what I see as general attitudes about the Internment in the 1980s. also no mention of the Redress Mo ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 31, 2010 Kara rated it liked it

Good quick read about the history of Seattle during WWII, its Jazz culture, its immigrant culture, and how relationships were made and lost because of the times.

Like · see review

Dec 10, 2012 Astrid Lim rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: race, literature, historical-fiction, world-war, asia, culture, america, family, book-club

It's a pretty sweet, decent historical fiction thick with romance plot. The interesting thing about this book is it told a forgotten story during the World War II in America. It touched an identity issue- that in my opinion is still relevant in this modern era. How did it feel to become a Japanese American in the middle of the war between America and Japan? Is your pledge to be loyal to the country you were born in was not enough? Were people always mean just because you have Japanese name? I li ...more

Like · see review

Jun 15, 2010 Erin (NY) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, books-i-own, read-in-2013

It is a well-known fact that I am very partial to immigrant lit. The stories are usually very fascinating. This is a book about a 2nd generation Chinese boy/man Henry, who lives in Seattle at the onset of WWII. He meets a Japanese (3rd generation) girl Keiko, who, along with all the other Japanese gets sent to an internment camp. I knew a bit about the Japanese internment camps, but this book certainly provides a lot of the history about them. The story of Henry and Keiko is very sweet. I loved ...more

Like · see review