Book #8 ~ Carissa's Pick: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

I have to thank my sister-in-law for sharing this book with me a hand full of Summers ago.  It was a 'One City, One Book' selection in Danville, CA which promotes community and literacy.  She explained how she hid away on the beach in Hawaii, engrossed in this story that brought tears (of both joy and sorrow) to her eyes, while also trying to remain polite to those passing by and trying to include her in idol vacation chit chat.  We were all giggling picturing her tucked under a large brimmed hat and Hollywood sunglasses just so she could read. 

I don't normally go for books that I know ahead of time will make me cry so I put it off.  When I found myself on the beach in Hawaii a couple Summers back I thought it would be the perfect addition to my stack of mystery, romance, short stories and action novels {I bring one for every whim :)}.  It turns out that I only needed this one.  In fact I found myself putting it down because I didn't want the story to end.  

 

This is the story of Henry as a child in the 1940's then as an adult in the 1980's and it is one of the most beautiful stories I've ever read. The best way I can describe how I felt when immersed in it is like a walnut seedling, when you read it you will understand.

Wikipedia:

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a historical fiction bestselling novel (2009) by Jamie Ford about the love and friendship of a Chinese boy and a Japanese girl during the Japanese internment in World War II.

 

"Jamie Ford's novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, tells a heartwarming story of fathers and sons, first loves, fate, and the resilient human heart. Set in the ethnic neighborhoods of WWII Seattle and Japanese-American internment camps of the era, the times and places are brought to life by the marvelous, evocative details."

– Jim Tomlinson, winner of the 2006 Iowa Short Fiction Award and author of Things Kept, Things left Behind