Under the Silk Hibiscus

by Alice J. Wisler

During World War Two, Nathan and his family are sent to Heart Mountain, an internment camp in Wyoming for Japanese-Americans. Nathan's one desire is to protect the family's gold pocket watch, a family heirloom brought over from Japan. He fails; the watch is stolen. Struggling to make sense of his life in "the land of freedom," Nathan discovers truths about his family, God, and the girl he loves.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Historical, Wwii Fiction

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 11, 2014

About the author

* Born in Osaka, Japan and lived in Japan for 18 years
* Went to Kyoto International School and Canadian Academy
* Majored in Social Work and graduated in 1983 from Eastern Mennonite University
* Worked at a group home for disadvantaged kids outside of Philadelphia
* Taught English and Culture Orientation at a refugee camp in the Philippines
* Taught English as a Second Language in Japan
* Speaks and teaches onWriting the Heartache
* Has three kids on earth, and one in Heaven
* Recently got married to Carl on 2/7/09

Alice J. Wisler is a public speaker, advocate, fundraiser, and the author of two contemporary novels, How Sweet It Is and Rain Song, a Christy Award finalist. She has been a guest on several radio and TV programs to promote her self-published cookbooks, Slices of Sunlight and Down the Cereal Aisle. She has a Bachelor of Science from Eastern Mennonite University and has traveled the world in jobs that minister to people. Alice and her family live in Durham, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Rose Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart Mountain is a Japanese internment camp. Quarters are cramped, bare and cold. Food and employment are in short supply. Along with other Japanese Americans Nathan Mori and his family have been relocated for the duration of the Second World War. Nathan’s father, accused of being a spy, has been sent elsewhere and Nathan’s older brother Ken is too busy flirting with girls and trouble to shoulder the burden of their sick mother and crippled younger brother. Nathan longs for the loving home he once knew, but Aunt Kazuko’s dramatic pronouncements and attempts to rule the roost are a poor substitute. The only bright spot in the camp is Lucy and her beautiful voice, but Lucy's eyes are on Ken, not Nathan.
In addition to fetching, carrying and caring for his younger siblings, one of Nathan’s responsibilities is to look after a gold watch. When the precious family heirloom disappears, Nathan is devastated. In one rash moment, he makes a choice that has consequences, not only for himself but for others in the camp.
Eventually the war comes to an end, but Nathan’s losses are permanent. Up against prejudice and discrimination, the Mori family struggles to make ends meet. Nathan’s longing to return to life as it once was, or to make a new life hardly seem feasible. Can he move beyond grief and regrets and find love and faith again?
Wisler’s Under the Silk Hibiscus is a tender portrait of a family’s survival through the toughest of times. Both a historical novel and a love story, woven with threads of faith and forgiveness, this book rings true with authentic, believable characters. A moving five star read.

[Nadine Keels · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second novel I've read fairly recently about the United States internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, an aspect of the war that I don't hear about as much as other aspects but one that mustn't be forgotten.

In Under the Silk Hibiscus, author Alice J. Wisler poignantly illustrates one perspective of this time in U.S. history through the eyes of Nathan Mori, a contemplative and sometimes awkward teenager doing his best to take care of himself and his interned family at Heart Mountain in Wyoming. I appreciate how Wisler doesn't confine the story to only the positives and negatives of Nathan's few years of experiences in the camp, that the story follows Nathan and his family through the difficult task of rebuilding a life in a postwar America that would still look sideways at and discriminate against citizens of Japanese descent.

Admittedly, I didn't find the central romance in the novel to be altogether convincing. Some eventual claims to constancy seemed like "too little, too late" for me to fully buy into them. The female members of Nathan's family stood out more to me as characters in their own right, personality-wise, than Nathan's love interest did. Also, it may have taken a third of the way through the novel or a bit longer before I really got a sense of a plot driving the telling of Nathan's account, so it was a while before the novel truly gripped my interest, but the pieces of this affecting story did begin coming together wonderfully.

In all, a novel of family, faith, love, legacy, and bittersweet hope that I'd recommend to other historical fiction readers.
_________________
Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review.

[Cindy Huff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Under the Silk Hibiscus is a bittersweet tale of Japanese-Americans during World War II through the eyes of a teenager. Nathan Mori is always responsible. He does what needs doing to care for his family in his father’s absence. We view life in an internment camp Japanese families were thrust into during World War II. Becoming an outcast is a bitter pill to swallow for a boy whose only home has been America. Like internment for Jews in Europe all they have is taken away and given to other non-Japanese. The few possessions each family manages to take is held dear. The family heirloom watch plays a pivotal part in the plot. Both reminding Nathan of his heritage and causing him pain when it is stolen. Nathan doesn’t see his own gifts as he longs to be like his more outgoing brother. Throughout the story Nathan’s choices have a larger impact on his family and the Japanese community then he ever imagines. His faith grows as he matures into a man living in post-war America.
Author Alice J Wisler paints a believable picture of this difficult time in history. Touching on the theme of forgiveness and trusting God she takes readers to time and place often given only a few paragraphs in history books. Her characters are believable, vulnerable and often chose the course of least resistance in order to survive.
A beautifully crafted story of hope in troubled times.

[Sharon M. Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A trip home!

I grew up just 14 miles from the Heart Mountain Camp. When I was a little girl Mother and I would go over there to buy vegetables and flowers that the remaining Japanese farmers grew. Every year on my birthday we would drive over to buy gladiolas, my favorite flower. The camp was almost completely gone the last time I saw it in 2002. I am so glad that there now is a museum there. This novel is a very close example to what went on there. Heart Mountain is the center of life in Cody and Powell, Wyoming. Reading This book will give you pause for thought. This type of thing must never happen again.

[J.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this story from the point-of-view of a Japanese-American boy who feels responsible for holding his family together during their years at Heart Mountain, WY, during WWII. Nathan is an admirable young man in many ways, though he has much to learn about life and relationships. There is a sweet romance in the story, which covers a span of about five years. A good, clean story.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This historical novel is set in years following the Japanese attack on American ships in Pearl Harbor. Wisler writes vivid descriptions inside an internment camp for Japanese-Americans during World War II. We experience this story through an American citizen, Japanese-American Nathan. The reader feels his fears, hopes, loss, love, and betrayal by his country. Great characterizations.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical novel centering on the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II explores life inside the internment camp from the point of view of teenage Nathan. The novel does not end with Nathan's family's release from the camp, but continues to recount how they began to rebuild their lives in the postwar era.

[Elissa Mahler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book chronicles a young boy's life within the Japanese camps in America. Starting with the forced departure from their family home in San Jose, moving into the camp, life at the camp, and life after the camp. This boy's family goes through so much within this book. Can true love follow this boy from the camp into his adult life? This eye-opening tale shows the struggle that this people group has undergone within the United States.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed

Too much like a fairy tale. Towards the end, there were all sorts of possibilities for the plot to take an unexpected turn. But it did not. The writing is reasonable. The pacing is good. But it's a "so what" book. I am left wondering why I wasted my time reading it.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

During World War Two Nathan and his family are sent to Heart Mountain, an internment camp in Wyoming for Japanese-Americans. Nathan's one desire is to protect the family's gold pocket watch, a family heirloom brought over from Japan. He fails; the watch is stolen. Struggling to make sense of his life in a bleak camp as the only responsible man of the household, Nathan discovers truths about his family, God, and the girl he loves.

[Joanreconnu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Loved seeing into the lives or those who were sent away e the camps. Gave so much insight into the history of that period. Characters were very realistic.

[Susan P · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about a family sent to Heart Mountain internment camp in Wyoming during World War II. The history was good, but the relationships were somewhat childish.

[Marcia Haworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book. Showing the ordeal of Americans of Japanese heritage during World War II.

[Sherry Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

.I have never read a story about the Japanese internment. I was a baby when all this went on. Now I find myself wanting to learn more about that time period and how it affected the homefront. This book was very informative and inspiring.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Under the Silk Hibiscus by Alice J Wisler is the story of an American Japanese family that is sent to an internment camp in 1942. It is told in the first person by fifteen year old Nathan Mori, and the story spans about six years.
As the novel opens, so Nathan's father has been forcibly taken away by the police, accused of being a Japanese spy. The rest of the family - Nathan, his older brother Ken and younger brother Tom, his heavily pregnant Mama and her sister, are all in an internment camp. The family, like many others in the camp, see themselves as American, and find it hurtful that they should be imprisoned.
Nathan, inspite of being the second son, is the one his mother relies on, whilst Ken is much more outgoing, than the quiet reliable Nathan. Ken is very much a ladies' man, whilst Nathan has eyes for just one girl, Lucy. However Lucy sees Ken as much more fun than Nathan.
The Mori's have a family heirloom, a watch, that has been handed down, with a story attached for three generations. Mama entrusts Nathan to take care of the precious watch, should anything happen to her.
A young soldier, Mekel takes pleasure in tormenting Nathan, who cannot retaliate. Nathan has to turn the other cheek in the camp, but longs for the day when he is free and doesn't have to.
Under The Silk Hibiscus shows a family who have to rely on God. Their only freedom is in their prayers. Nathan finds that life does not always make sense, and he questions God. But sometimes God is quiet. At other times, Nathan will tell God exactly what he wants Him to do - something I think we are all guilty of at times. Nathan finds that it is important to listen for God, and not just present his requests to Him.
The novel is very much focused on the family, with Mama at the centre. Nathan finds that in the absence of a father, he has to grow up very quickly.
The theme of forgiveness runs throughout the novel. It naturally needs to be dispensed towards the guards, but just how easy is that to do? Others need forgiveness too. Forgiveness is shown to work best in partnership with God.
I really enjoyed Under The Silk Hibiscus, and found myself fitting well into seeing the world through Nathan's eyes, inspite of being female and considerably older that fifteen! Nathan's character had an aura of calm about him, so I felt a sense of calm and peace around me as I read. I also became totally immersed in the book, reading far longer into the night than I had intended. This is the first book that i have read by Alice J Wisler, but I intend to read many more.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wondrous and warm coming of age story set during an America out of control.

Told in a style reminiscent of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Wisler’s latest novel is ultimately about trust, betrayal, and forgiveness. Teenaged Nathan Mori is the one the family counts on after the American-Japanese family is uprooted from their comfortable life in San Jose, California. Papa is removed to another refugee camp, Mama dies after giving birth, Aunt Kozuko does the best she can, younger brother Tom struggles with the after-effects of polio, and older brother Ken works out his frustration and anger through fights and girls and taboo camp items. With few other household goods to their name besides an heirloom Nathan is charged to protect, its loss forces Nathan to face his failure, to look at how prejudicial people of European descent have become and to recognize the loss of innocence.

What was the purpose of the internment camps, ultimately? To protect people of Japanese descent, or to keep potential US enemies contained? Once the war is over and the little family returns to San Jose, Nathan asks why weren’t others, like those of fascist Italian descent not subjected to the same treatment? Suspicion changes people’s nature, but Nathan must still be responsible for his family. With the help of the neighborhood church and a lot of faith, some truths learned, and an example of forgiveness, the Mori family battles its way back to dignity and self-sufficiency.

I was especially interested in this book because I had visited the Heart Mountain site when only a small simple monument had been erected. It gave me chills to be there; the only other place I feel such a displacement is at Little Bighorn.

Told in first person from Nathan’s viewpoint, readers grow up along with him, face his fear, confusion, resentment, and resilience; and come to grips with his belief in himself and his heritage along the journey to adulthood, love, and forgiveness. Those who enjoy recent American history and stories of multi-generational family heritage and strength will enjoy this story.

[Anne Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

During World War II, the United States became fearful of both the Germans and the Japanese who had chosen to come to the US to live. Even though some had been here for a few generations, all were sent to internment camps. This is a historical fiction about just a few of the Japanese displaced folks, and the author has obviously done her research.

Nathan Mori has become the caretaker for his family—his pregnant mama, older brother Ken, younger brother Tom Aunt Kazuo, and baby sister. Papa had been accused of being a spy and was taken to another place of internment, but the rest of his family is relocated from San Jose, California, to Heart Mountain, Wyoming. Not even being third generation American and Christian has helped. They are forced to live in poorly insulated barracks with little food, medical help, or

Logically, Ken should be the one to lead the family as the oldest boy, but the seventeen-year-old is more interested in being in the San Jose gang and flirting with all the pretty girls. Including the beautiful Fusou Yokota—or Lucy, her American name. Lucy has the most amazing voice, one that soothes away his anxieties. Nathan just wishes she would notice him and not just his big brother.

You'd think things couldn't get any worse, being in an internment camp, forced to be the provider, getting hungrier, needing medical care for his mother--but worse does come to pass long before relief.

[David Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Under The Silk Hibiscus, by Alice J. Eisler, is my ninety book that I have received and read from Goodreads. This book takes place after the beginning of World War II. It is a story about Nathan and his family being sent to Heart Mountain, an internment camp in Wyoming because they are Japanese-American. Before being taken to internment camp, the F.B.I. agents entered their home in San Jose, handcuffed Mr.Mori, Nathan's father, called him a spy said he was working for Japan's military. The family did not know where he was taken all because they were Japanese-American.
Nathan, his mother who is pregnant, his two brothers, and aunt are assigned a barracks to live in. The barracks were made fast and had holes in walls, cold air would come in from outside and were heated by one small coal burning stove. While at camp Mrs. Mori gave birth to a daughter. Mrs. Mori died a few weeks later.
The family had a heirloom brought over from Japan, a gold pocket watch. Nathan's one desire is to protect the families gold pocket watch, he fails and the watch is stolen. Nathan struggles to make sense of his life in the internment camp being the only responsible man of the household. You will have to read the book to feel and see the problems this young Japanese-American has to face.
I would recommend this book be read by all young adults in school as part of our history class. I would also like to thank the author for signing my book and sending me a copy.

[Terri Wangard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is told in the first person voice of a 15-year-old boy, Nathan, which is different. At first I thought it was YA.
The US is at war with Japan, and all Japanese-Americans have been forced to move to relocation camps with only one suitcase per person.
The Mori family includes Nathan's mother, her sister Aunt Kazuko, his 18-year-old brother Ken, who is more interested in girls than in helping his family, and 10-year-old brother Tom, who suffered polio and now has his right leg in a brace. Nathan's father was taken away by the FBI, who said he was a spy, while the family still lived in San Jose.
Nathan is the one his mother can count on. He helps out, fetching water or coal for their one room in the wood and tarpaper barracks that allows wind, dust, and cold to blow in. His mother gives birth to his sister Emi and dies soon after from pneumonia.
Much of the story has a depressing air, because that's the way life was in the camps. First the Japanese-Americans lost most of their belongings. In the camps, they were guarded by barbed wire and armed guards. Justice wasn't served. After the war they could return to the West Coast, but finding a place to live and a livelihood was difficult. "No Japs" signs were plentiful.
Alice Wisler has done a beautiful job of portraying this shameful episode of American history.

[Carmen Redding · Rating 5 out of 5]

A family's heritage that goes beyond history and heirlooms

I had read Alice J. Wisler's Rain Song for book club. I loved Under the Silk as much as that one.

I just finished Under the Silk Hibiscus (Historical Fiction) and gave it 5 stars. The book is about a Japanese-American family and their struggle to endure through WW II and its aftermath.

During the war Nathan becomes the "man of the family" at the tender age of 15. The family is sent to an internment camp in Wyoming. His father is imprisoned, his mother dies in childbirth, and his older brother enlists in the Army. As the war draws to a close the girl he loves goes off to New York to pursue a singing career.

The family returns to San Jose. California with little more than the clothes on their back. Gradually, however, with the help of Nathan's aunt, neighbors and the church, Nathan succeeds in keeping the family together while starting his own business.

This book is about loss, but it is also about overcoming adversity and holding on to hope. When the family heirloom ( a watch given to Nathan's grandfather for saving a young woman from drowning) is stolen, And Nathan steals it back, he is jailed in the camp prison. This incident tests his faith. Eventually, however, he comes to understand that ones heritage is about more than heirlooms.

[Karen R · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coming of age story told through the eyes of a fifteen year old young man whose family is sent to a Japanese internment camp in 1942. Nathan Nobu Mori shoulders the responsibility for his family in camp and in the postwar years, becoming the man of the family, learning what it means to love, forgive and have faith in God despite difficult circumstances.
An insider look at one family's experience when Executive Order 9066 took them from their home in California to the barracks of Heart Mountain Internment Camp in Wyoming. The book is divided into two parts: life in the camp, and the after war years back in their hometown of San Jose, California. Their faith is tested and family bonds stretched, but as Nathan grows up, he learns and grows from it all. Love his quirky aunt Kazuko and sweet little sister Emi.

This would be a good addition to a Christian homeschool curriculum, for a young adult or anyone who has an interest in World War Two on the U.S. homefront. A worthy read--recommend!

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read several novels that take place during World War II. So many I am a little tired of that genre, but Alice is my favorite author and she always knows how to bring a fresh approach genres that I feel have run their course. Under the Silk Hibiscus was simply fascinating. I knew very little of the Japanese internment camps that existed in this country during World War II and I loved the depth of research that was done to bring the reader into this sad part of our history. I also found that I cared very much for Nathan and his family and I loved that Alice took us from the internment camp into Nathan’s new life. She did a great job of bringing the story of Nathan’s family full circle and in a most pleasing way. I loved this story because it was a story that needed to be told and Alice Wisler is just the author to tell it. I highly recommend this one.

[Diane Pitts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wisler's writing is authentic, tapping her background as a missionary's child in Japan and diligent research into the WWII era and the treatment of Japanese-Americans.

Wisler brings us into a dark part of America's history, one I had no knowledge of until a few years ago (Writing by Ann Tatlock). Her description of the camps is bleak, creating an air of hopelessness. We follow the Mori family during and after the camp.

The latter chapters captured the spark of hope that never left Nathan Mori's heart. "Hope is the word which God has written on the brow of every man." And another simple but poignant description so typical of Wisler's writing: "The past seemed long ago and far away, like a distance cousin."

[Elaine Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some historical novels are merely entertaining while others carry you on a journey of insight into human nature and the power of God to transform. “Under the Silk Hibiscus” fits into the latter category and transports a reader to a Japanese internment camp during World War II.

This novel is the story of a teenage boy of Japanese descent. Although an American by birth, he is forced into a world where he is under suspicion solely based on his family’s heritage. His entire world is shaken with loss and grief as he is forced into the role of keeping the remnants of his family intact.

With endearing characters and a story that unfolds with both realism and hope, this novel by Alice J. Wisler earns an enthusiastic five stars.

[Fire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Under the Silk Hibiscus is an interesting look into what life was like for Japanese-Americans during and after World War II. From internment camps to returning to their home town to find another family living in the home. Their lives were put on hold, they were held captive humanely, yet they weren't free. Fear was rampant, so was hate. Those feelings lingered after the war and life was hard as they struggled to start over after the war.

This is well written and an interesting look into our nations past from a point of view that we don't normally see. I really enjoyed Under the Silk Hibiscus.

[Annette O'Hare · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Under The Silk Hibiscus. I thought the book for a typical historical romance until I began reading and realized the main character was a young man around 14 years old at the beginning of the book. Well, that made the book all that much better for me because I'm a real fan of YA and MG fiction. I appreciated all the historical research the author put into the book since I wasn't all that familiar with what went on at the Intern Camps. I also thought the author did a great job with her characterization. I was able to really get into the character's head. It was one of those books you hate to see end.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is told in first person and it took me most of the first chapter to realize that the main character was not only a young person, but a male young person. I had to go back and re-read several times as I figured out where and who each person was in the story.

I enjoyed the perspective of an inmate of one of the internment camps, but felt somehow something was lacking in the details. It felt good, but maybe better suited for YA reading, as it was from the perspective of a young man.
I also felt like the author did not connect with how young men think totally as well. But over all, it was a good book on a topic that is not written about much.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Story for Healing

Healing relationships were far more important in this book than healing physical pain. It helped put God's priorities into focus as the tale unfolds. I appreciated the choice Wisler made in having relationship difficulties compounded by the plight of Americans of Japanese descent. The deep spirituality of the characters seemed to arise unexpectedly and unnaturally towards the end of the book, rushing the story to its conclusion. Even so, I enjoyed the story, and it has value in giving readers a glimpse into the personal costs of that bit of history.

[Crissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend did a review of this book and got my interest, and had just touched the topic with my son so decided to read the story. I found it in my budget on my kindle.
It is historical fiction.
This story is told from the middle son's perspective. When we meet him they are already at the camp but he does go back and tell us a bit about how they got there.
We watch him learn and grow from a young boy into a young man while trying to stay out of trouble but keep true to his Japanese heritage.

[Betsy Duffey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Wisler paints a realistic picture of the life of a Japanese-American family in a interment camp in WWII. The look into this time and place in history is powerful but the strength of the book lies in the tale of a family that moves from hopelessness to redemption in those complex relationships. Nice read for a book club.