Halloween Reads
Sara asked this question about Fifty Words for Rain:
I'm unclear on the author's background with Japan, how she did her research, and what her qualifications are to write such a book? It feels as if this could be a story set anywhere.... and I'm curious why the author chose to set this book in Japan. Anyone?
Diane Nagatomo I am just 10% into the book and I'm considering abandoning it because of the huge mistakes that I have noted so far, which also makes me question the …moreI am just 10% into the book and I'm considering abandoning it because of the huge mistakes that I have noted so far, which also makes me question the author's "qualifications" and her "research". My feelings are not about whether or not someone has the "right" to tackle this subject. As far as I'm concerned, fiction writers have the right to write about whatever they want.

But there are glaring errors that interfere with the the suspension of belief you need to fall in love with a novel. The first error is such a glaring one that I can't imagine how it got past the editorial team. I can't imagine that the author didn't know. The main character, Nori, with a Japanese mother and an African American GI father is supposedly born in 1940 and puts her at age 8 when the story starts. Well, the Occupation started after the war ended in 1945. There would have been absolutely no way an American GI would have been in Japan in the late 1930s unless we are talking about an alternate universe. Let's give Nori's mother a bit of time to meet the father, start a relationship, give birth, and then return the baby to her parents' estate--realistically Nori would be a toddler. When Chapter 1 opens, Nori is ten and has pretty much been held captive in her grandparents' attic for the past two years. Attic? Anyone familiar with Japan or Japanese housing would immediately know that attics do not exist. The three story house (while not impossible) is unlikely to have been the residence of this aristocratic family's country home in the 1940s. It would have been a sprawling house with numerous tatami rooms. The first scene where the grandmother beats Nori's buttocks with a wooden spoon is a second area that is hard for me to swallow. I have NEVER heard of anyone in Japan beating a child in such a cold, systematic way. (this is not to say it is impossible, but highly unlikely). In fact, Japanese rarely strike children--and when the grandmother slaps Nori in the second chapter, that also felt false. I doubt if the grandmother would have resorted to skin lightening techniques and such cruel disciplinary measures. As an aristocrat she would have simply farmed Nori out to another family and have them raise her instead. The so-called disgrace of the illegitimate granddaughter would have been out of sight, out of mind.

The half-brother Akira--he returns to his maternal grandparents after his father dies as the heir. Again, this is unlikely (although not impossible). As a member of an aristocratic family, he would belong to the paternal side side and it is highly likely they would keep him in their extended family. I haven't read enough into the story to know more details of that.

The references to Christianity (the Bible, prayers, etc) don't quite fit in with a family that has imperial ties. Instead, it would be Shinto and Buddhism. When I read that there was an altar in Nori's attic room, I was taken back. Because there would be just ONE altar in a home, and it would not be in the attic but in a place of prominence--because that's where the ancestors are worshiped. And Nori taught herself how to read English from a book her sensei had given her when presumably she has no knowledge of English from her years of isolation?

As a reader I want to trust an author when I read a novel. I want to believe that the author has done his/her homework as much as possible--particularly when it is historical fiction. What made "Memoirs of a Geisha" so outstanding was the author's attention to details were (for the most part) spot on.

After 40+ years living in Japan, I very rarely see a book that gets it 100% right. Usually I'm okay with that. But with the huge factual error surrounding the timing of the character's birth sets off alarm bells about the rest of the book--and just 10% in, the setting detail errors, which come one after another, are too distracting.

As a researcher of intercultural/interracial relationships in the Japanese context, I WANTED to love this book. I really wanted to know more about Nori's journey and experiences and the hardships she would have endured as a biracial child in the 1950s.

But I'm not sure if I'll end up finishing the book or not. I do like the writing though. I feel as if I'm reading a combination of "A Little Princess" and "The Secret Garden" which happens to be set in Japan. (less)
flag
More questions about Fifty Words for Rain…
Image for Fifty Words for Rain
Fifty Words for Rain
by Asha Lemmie (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more