What do you think?
Rate this book
The Translation of Love
Set against the pulsing backdrop of post-war Tokyo, The Translation of Love tells the gripping and heartfelt story of a newly repatriated Japanese-Canadian girl who must help a classmate find her missing sister. A dazzling New Face of Fiction for 2016 that will appeal to readers of All the Light We Cannot See and Anita Shreve.
Thirteen-year-old Aya Shimamura is released from a Canadian internment camp in 1946, still grieving the recent death of her mother, and repatriated to Japan with her embittered father. They arrive in a devastated Tokyo occupied by the Americans under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. Aya's English-language abilities are prized by the principal of her new school, but her status as the "repat girl" makes her a social pariah--until her seatmate, a fierce, willful girl named Fumi Tanaka, decides that Aya might be able to help her find her missing older sister. Beautiful Sumiko has disappeared into the seedy back alleys of the Ginza. Fumi has heard that General MacArthur sometimes assists Japanese citizens in need, and she enlists Aya to compose a letter in English asking him for help.
Corporal Matt Matsumoto is a Japanese-American working for the Occupation forces, and it's his overwhelming job to translate thousands of letters for the General. He is entrusted with the safe delivery of Fumi's letter; but Fumi, desperate for answers, takes matters into her own hands, venturing into the Ginza with Aya in tow.
Told through rich, interlocking storylines, The Translation of Love mines a turbulent period to show how war irrevocably shapes the lives of both the occupied and the occupiers, and how the poignant spark of resilience, friendship and love transcends cultures and borders to stunning effect.
Thirteen-year-old Aya Shimamura is released from a Canadian internment camp in 1946, still grieving the recent death of her mother, and repatriated to Japan with her embittered father. They arrive in a devastated Tokyo occupied by the Americans under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. Aya's English-language abilities are prized by the principal of her new school, but her status as the "repat girl" makes her a social pariah--until her seatmate, a fierce, willful girl named Fumi Tanaka, decides that Aya might be able to help her find her missing older sister. Beautiful Sumiko has disappeared into the seedy back alleys of the Ginza. Fumi has heard that General MacArthur sometimes assists Japanese citizens in need, and she enlists Aya to compose a letter in English asking him for help.
Corporal Matt Matsumoto is a Japanese-American working for the Occupation forces, and it's his overwhelming job to translate thousands of letters for the General. He is entrusted with the safe delivery of Fumi's letter; but Fumi, desperate for answers, takes matters into her own hands, venturing into the Ginza with Aya in tow.
Told through rich, interlocking storylines, The Translation of Love mines a turbulent period to show how war irrevocably shapes the lives of both the occupied and the occupiers, and how the poignant spark of resilience, friendship and love transcends cultures and borders to stunning effect.
315 pages, Hardcover
First published April 5, 2016
83 people are currently reading
3914 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Kutsukake
4 books47 followersA third-generation Japanese Canadian, Lynne Kutsukake worked for many years as a librarian at the University of Toronto, specializing in Japanese materials. Her short fiction has appeared in The Dalhousie Review, Ricepaper and Prairie Fire. The Translation of Love is her first novel.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 314 reviews
April 3, 2016
The U.S. occupation of Japan after WWII is in the beginning of the story seen from the eyes of Aya , a young Japanese Canadian girl who is repatriated there with her father after their release from an interment camp in Canada. At school she meets Fumi, who has been trying to find her missing sister who works the dance halls so her family can have food and medicine . Their teacher Kondo, subsidizing his income by translating letters , and a Japanese American GI, Matt working as translator of letters from the Japanese people to General Douglas MacArthur are also part of this cast of characters whose paths cross. This is a sobering look at what life was like in Japan in the aftermath of the war - food shortages , poorly paying jobs , loss of life as one knew it . While at first the story seems to be about these two girls, it becomes about so much more.
I have to admit that I have not thought much about this time period and the events after the war in Japan and much of the online commentary that I perused about the Allied occupation seems to focus on the broad implications for democracy, education reforms, the economy . The focus of this novel is on the impact on personal lives . These characters have all lost something- a mother, a brother, a sister, a wife , their livelihood, their dignity, "everything" . We also get the perspective of what happened to Japanese Americans in the US and Canada during the war from Toshio, Aya's father who is forced upon his return to Japan to take menial jobs because everything was taken from him while he and his family were in the internment camp . There are flashbacks of life in the camp through Aya's thoughts and one of the most poignant moments in the story is when we find out about the stones that Aya has carried with her to Japan .
It's not just through these characters that we come to know but also through letters that people write to MacArthur that we get a glimpse of what life was like . Some of them hold on to some hope that he will help them find their lost sons or help them get food for their families. Lynn Kutsukake's inspiration for the novel was a collection of letters that were sent to General MacArthur by Japanese citizens. There are also women bringing letters to be translated to Kondo and the other translators with hopes that their GI boyfriends were sending for them instead of telling them they were not returning.
The author does an amazing job of bringing the time and place to the reader through characters whose stories are sad and painful and yet hopeful because through friendship and love they are able to find a way forward.
Thanks to Random House/Doubleday and Edelweiss.
April 9, 2017
A beautifully written historical novel covering post war Tokyo from several different perspectives.
Tokyo in 1946 was a city devastated from the bombings and the war department was under the command of General Douglas MacArthur.
Corporal Matt Matsumoto is a Japanese-American soldier enlisted with the job of translating and forwarding letters from the Japanese people to General MacArthur. Whether anyone ever followed up on these letter seems to be unknown. Matt is a very caring, compassionate man who goes above and beyond his duties, working during off hours, etc to ensure that all of the letters are translated. He is among a group of translators but because he was a native speaker he was able to understand the nuances of the Japanese language and tried to translate the feelings as well as the words of the senders.
There are several other very well drawn characters in the novel but the two standouts are the 13 year old students. Aya Shimamura and her father were released from a Canadian internment camp and had to choose whether to move “east of the Rockies” or be deported to Japan. Her father chose the deportation and Aya struggles to adjust to her new school and classmates while still grieving the loss of her mother which occurred months before during their internment. She never became fluent in Japanese because English was always spoken in the home, so she struggles with her studies and is teased by her classmates.
Fumi Tanaka is a very willful, self reliant young student who is chosen to help Aya adjust to her new studies. At first she is unhappy with the burden but when her older sister goes missing from home she decides to enlist Aya to help her write a letter to General MacArthur about her sister’s disappearance. They take things to the next level and actually go into the city to try to find her sister in the Ginza area where there are dance halls and other attractions for the GI’s.
The story threads begin to interlock 2/3rds of the way through the book and the author does a great job of keeping the reader’s interest in what the outcome will be. Her rich storytelling describes the feelings of friendship, distrust, love and resilience of the characters.
This book kept my interest and there are enough subjects touched upon to make this a great book club selection. I will look forward to more from this talented writer.
Tokyo in 1946 was a city devastated from the bombings and the war department was under the command of General Douglas MacArthur.
Corporal Matt Matsumoto is a Japanese-American soldier enlisted with the job of translating and forwarding letters from the Japanese people to General MacArthur. Whether anyone ever followed up on these letter seems to be unknown. Matt is a very caring, compassionate man who goes above and beyond his duties, working during off hours, etc to ensure that all of the letters are translated. He is among a group of translators but because he was a native speaker he was able to understand the nuances of the Japanese language and tried to translate the feelings as well as the words of the senders.
There are several other very well drawn characters in the novel but the two standouts are the 13 year old students. Aya Shimamura and her father were released from a Canadian internment camp and had to choose whether to move “east of the Rockies” or be deported to Japan. Her father chose the deportation and Aya struggles to adjust to her new school and classmates while still grieving the loss of her mother which occurred months before during their internment. She never became fluent in Japanese because English was always spoken in the home, so she struggles with her studies and is teased by her classmates.
Fumi Tanaka is a very willful, self reliant young student who is chosen to help Aya adjust to her new studies. At first she is unhappy with the burden but when her older sister goes missing from home she decides to enlist Aya to help her write a letter to General MacArthur about her sister’s disappearance. They take things to the next level and actually go into the city to try to find her sister in the Ginza area where there are dance halls and other attractions for the GI’s.
The story threads begin to interlock 2/3rds of the way through the book and the author does a great job of keeping the reader’s interest in what the outcome will be. Her rich storytelling describes the feelings of friendship, distrust, love and resilience of the characters.
This book kept my interest and there are enough subjects touched upon to make this a great book club selection. I will look forward to more from this talented writer.
January 4, 2018
3.5 stars
The beauty in this book was the enlightenment it afforded me regarding the conditions in post WWII Japan. If I'm honest (and I don't like to admit this) I wasn't even conscious of the fact that Japan had been occupied by the Americans for seven years after the war. Hadn't realised that General MacArthur was in Japan working at introducing democracy to the country. I'd never really stopped to consider how it might have been for the people of Japan. For the Japanese Americans who had been forced from their homes in America and sent to internment camps. Or those Japanese Americans who had found themselves stranded in Japan during the war, requiring rations to stay alive and who consequently were no longer entitled to their American citizenship.
This was a gently told story bringing to life multiple pov and an eventual drawing together of the threads. Aya, a 12 yo Japanese American who has come to Japan with her father but even here they don't quite belong. Fumi, Aya's reluctant friend, who desperately misses Sumiko her older sister. Sumiko, who unbeknown to Fumi, has gone off to work at the dance halls in Ginza, dancing with the GI's but who has now been disowned by her parents. Kondo Sensei, the young girls' teacher, who moonlights at Love Letter Alley of a weekend translating letters from English to Japanese and vice versa. So many Japanese women willing to spend their hard earned money to send love letters to the GI's who have returned home. Of course there were also a large number of letters received by these same Japanese women, typically though these were of the thanks for a good time but now it's over type. Finally, there was Matt (Matsumoto), a Japanese American who had enlisted during the war but was now based in Japan translating letters directed to General MacArthur from the Japanese people. Initially I had expected the threads to be drawn more tightly into a cohesive story but soon came to realise that each character held my interest independently and it didn't really matter whether they did or not. An enjoyable and enlightening story with a completely new (to me) look at the after affects of war.
Thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley.
The beauty in this book was the enlightenment it afforded me regarding the conditions in post WWII Japan. If I'm honest (and I don't like to admit this) I wasn't even conscious of the fact that Japan had been occupied by the Americans for seven years after the war. Hadn't realised that General MacArthur was in Japan working at introducing democracy to the country. I'd never really stopped to consider how it might have been for the people of Japan. For the Japanese Americans who had been forced from their homes in America and sent to internment camps. Or those Japanese Americans who had found themselves stranded in Japan during the war, requiring rations to stay alive and who consequently were no longer entitled to their American citizenship.
This was a gently told story bringing to life multiple pov and an eventual drawing together of the threads. Aya, a 12 yo Japanese American who has come to Japan with her father but even here they don't quite belong. Fumi, Aya's reluctant friend, who desperately misses Sumiko her older sister. Sumiko, who unbeknown to Fumi, has gone off to work at the dance halls in Ginza, dancing with the GI's but who has now been disowned by her parents. Kondo Sensei, the young girls' teacher, who moonlights at Love Letter Alley of a weekend translating letters from English to Japanese and vice versa. So many Japanese women willing to spend their hard earned money to send love letters to the GI's who have returned home. Of course there were also a large number of letters received by these same Japanese women, typically though these were of the thanks for a good time but now it's over type. Finally, there was Matt (Matsumoto), a Japanese American who had enlisted during the war but was now based in Japan translating letters directed to General MacArthur from the Japanese people. Initially I had expected the threads to be drawn more tightly into a cohesive story but soon came to realise that each character held my interest independently and it didn't really matter whether they did or not. An enjoyable and enlightening story with a completely new (to me) look at the after affects of war.
Thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley.
April 1, 2016
This world we live in is a messed-up place. One of the reasons I read is to keep from giving in to apathy and ignorance in the face of all that messed-up-ness.
I try to be selective, though, because not all reading is created equal. Reading the news causes, for me, a dilemma: it leaves me feeling depressed and hopeless, but sticking my head in the sand to avoid those bad feelings doesn’t sit well either. Reading fiction that deals with difficult issues is the most constructive way I’ve found to engage with tough topics. Novelists rarely leave me stranded, and they almost never plunk me down in an impossible situation without at least a tiny glow of light to see my way out. I need that glow, man.
So I really appreciated Lynne Kutsukake’s novel The Translation of Love. With a setting like post-WWII Japan, you wouldn’t expect there to be a lot of bright and happy, and there isn’t. But with a surprisingly wide-ranging cast of characters, from a Japanese-American military translator to a preteen girl repatriated to Japan after confinement in a Canadian internment camp, Kutsukake demonstrates the fundamental truth that when there’s nothing else to do but go on, people go on. (I say “surprisingly” because from the publisher description, you might assume this is a small tale of a girl looking for her missing sister, but it’s much, much bigger than that in scope and ambition, and it delivers on all fronts.)
I also liked the book’s focus on post-war Japan, a subject I find infinitely more interesting than Europe during the war years, which has been mined so extensively I can’t believe publishers haven't declared an official moratorium on it. I think most readers like the thrill of discovery that comes with reading something that feels new, that offers a fresh perspective, and The Translation of Love does just that.
With regards to Doubleday and NetGalley for the advance copy. On sale April 5!
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
I try to be selective, though, because not all reading is created equal. Reading the news causes, for me, a dilemma: it leaves me feeling depressed and hopeless, but sticking my head in the sand to avoid those bad feelings doesn’t sit well either. Reading fiction that deals with difficult issues is the most constructive way I’ve found to engage with tough topics. Novelists rarely leave me stranded, and they almost never plunk me down in an impossible situation without at least a tiny glow of light to see my way out. I need that glow, man.
So I really appreciated Lynne Kutsukake’s novel The Translation of Love. With a setting like post-WWII Japan, you wouldn’t expect there to be a lot of bright and happy, and there isn’t. But with a surprisingly wide-ranging cast of characters, from a Japanese-American military translator to a preteen girl repatriated to Japan after confinement in a Canadian internment camp, Kutsukake demonstrates the fundamental truth that when there’s nothing else to do but go on, people go on. (I say “surprisingly” because from the publisher description, you might assume this is a small tale of a girl looking for her missing sister, but it’s much, much bigger than that in scope and ambition, and it delivers on all fronts.)
I also liked the book’s focus on post-war Japan, a subject I find infinitely more interesting than Europe during the war years, which has been mined so extensively I can’t believe publishers haven't declared an official moratorium on it. I think most readers like the thrill of discovery that comes with reading something that feels new, that offers a fresh perspective, and The Translation of Love does just that.
With regards to Doubleday and NetGalley for the advance copy. On sale April 5!
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
March 31, 2016
There is no romantic love to speak of in The Translation of Love, but there is love galore. The love in this book translates to worthiness and sacrifice – between friends, between parents and children, between fellow human beings.
The story centers on two coming-of-age girls during the Japanese Occupation. The first, Aya, is a repatriate, driven from her home in Vancouver by irrational hatred of native-born Canadians of Japanese descent and now relocated in Tokyo. The second, Fumi, is her classmate, whose beloved older sister disappeared, and who petitions General MacArthur, who is overseeing the Occupation, to live up to his promise to help citizens in need. Interwoven with these two stories are those of others – a translator, a teacher, Aya’s father, and significantly, Sumiko –Fumi’s older sister who has resorted to becoming a wanton dance girl to receive money to keep afloat.
The story succeeds wonderfully as historical fiction. Obviously, Lynne Kutsukake has done her homework and it shows, in the heartbreaking descriptions of the many letters directed to General MacArthur and the translators who know they likely will not reach him. This author also provides insight into the treatment of Canadians of Japanese descent. In a description of Aya’s father, she writes: “They took his dignity and his honor and his pride and his sense of self-worth and it still wasn’t enough. They took whatever they could but they always wanted more – his will, his bitterness, his anger.” Certain vignettes – Aya and her mother shopping for a winter coat in a department store and being willfully ignored and shabbily treated – truly resonate. I don’t recall a character in recent fiction like Aya – forced to “go back home” when home is truly Canada, and treated like a pariah once she arrives in Tokyo.
However, it succeeds less as it tries to weave in the intrigue of what has happened to Sumiko. Her journey sometimes feels melodramatic, with a way too neat conclusion. After a while, I felt that Ms. Kutsukake had lost her thread as the novel becomes more of a coming-of-age story of two girls who bond together in the search for Sumiko and the sometimes saccharine thread of Matt – the translator – trying to help them.
All in all, I thought this was a worthy book that could have been better – a book that tackles not often discussed postwar events. Another recommended book about General MacArthur’s busy Tokyo headquarters is The Typist: A Novel, by Michael Knight. Star rating: 3.5
The story centers on two coming-of-age girls during the Japanese Occupation. The first, Aya, is a repatriate, driven from her home in Vancouver by irrational hatred of native-born Canadians of Japanese descent and now relocated in Tokyo. The second, Fumi, is her classmate, whose beloved older sister disappeared, and who petitions General MacArthur, who is overseeing the Occupation, to live up to his promise to help citizens in need. Interwoven with these two stories are those of others – a translator, a teacher, Aya’s father, and significantly, Sumiko –Fumi’s older sister who has resorted to becoming a wanton dance girl to receive money to keep afloat.
The story succeeds wonderfully as historical fiction. Obviously, Lynne Kutsukake has done her homework and it shows, in the heartbreaking descriptions of the many letters directed to General MacArthur and the translators who know they likely will not reach him. This author also provides insight into the treatment of Canadians of Japanese descent. In a description of Aya’s father, she writes: “They took his dignity and his honor and his pride and his sense of self-worth and it still wasn’t enough. They took whatever they could but they always wanted more – his will, his bitterness, his anger.” Certain vignettes – Aya and her mother shopping for a winter coat in a department store and being willfully ignored and shabbily treated – truly resonate. I don’t recall a character in recent fiction like Aya – forced to “go back home” when home is truly Canada, and treated like a pariah once she arrives in Tokyo.
However, it succeeds less as it tries to weave in the intrigue of what has happened to Sumiko. Her journey sometimes feels melodramatic, with a way too neat conclusion. After a while, I felt that Ms. Kutsukake had lost her thread as the novel becomes more of a coming-of-age story of two girls who bond together in the search for Sumiko and the sometimes saccharine thread of Matt – the translator – trying to help them.
All in all, I thought this was a worthy book that could have been better – a book that tackles not often discussed postwar events. Another recommended book about General MacArthur’s busy Tokyo headquarters is The Typist: A Novel, by Michael Knight. Star rating: 3.5
October 11, 2016
I won this beautiful book in a giveaway from the publisher's Keep Turning Pages reading group. Written by Lynne Kutsukake, a third-generation Japanese-Canadian, the story takes place in occupied Japan in the months following the end of World War II and is told from various perspectives:
thirteen-year-old Aya and her father who've made the wrenching choice to be repatriated to Japan after being released from an internment camp in Canada;
Fumi, Aya's schoolmate, who desperately wants to find her older sister, Sumiko, who vanished while working in the entertainment district; and
Corporal Matt Matsumoto, a Japanese-American serving as a translator with the Occupation forces;
and Kondo, the middle school teacher who moonlights translating letters in Love Letter Alley.
The unifying element of the story is of course the letter-writing: Corporal Matt is part of a unit whose job it is to translate letters sent to General MacArthur from Japanese citizens, many asking for help to find missing loved ones. By chance, he is handed a letter from Fumi, written in English for her by Aya, asking for help to find her sister. She has even provided a photo of Sumiko and Matt takes it upon himself to search for the woman at the dance clubs in the Ginza entertainment district.
Teacher Kondo translates letters received from American GIs to the Japanese women they've left behind. Even Aya finds hidden notes to her from her dead mother.
This book offers an unique look at postwar history with people picking up the pieces of their lives after the devastation of war. What does it feel like to have 'occupation forces' on your doorstep, dictating how you live? Or to be returned to a country that is completely foreign to you? Or to be stranded in a country not your own because you happened to be visiting before the war? Or to be in love and pregnant with a GI's child only to learn in a letter that he has returned to his wife. This book provides fascinating answers.
#2016-aty-reading-challenge-week-36: An identity book - a book about a different culture, religion or sexual orientation.
thirteen-year-old Aya and her father who've made the wrenching choice to be repatriated to Japan after being released from an internment camp in Canada;
Fumi, Aya's schoolmate, who desperately wants to find her older sister, Sumiko, who vanished while working in the entertainment district; and
Corporal Matt Matsumoto, a Japanese-American serving as a translator with the Occupation forces;
and Kondo, the middle school teacher who moonlights translating letters in Love Letter Alley.
The unifying element of the story is of course the letter-writing: Corporal Matt is part of a unit whose job it is to translate letters sent to General MacArthur from Japanese citizens, many asking for help to find missing loved ones. By chance, he is handed a letter from Fumi, written in English for her by Aya, asking for help to find her sister. She has even provided a photo of Sumiko and Matt takes it upon himself to search for the woman at the dance clubs in the Ginza entertainment district.
Teacher Kondo translates letters received from American GIs to the Japanese women they've left behind. Even Aya finds hidden notes to her from her dead mother.
This book offers an unique look at postwar history with people picking up the pieces of their lives after the devastation of war. What does it feel like to have 'occupation forces' on your doorstep, dictating how you live? Or to be returned to a country that is completely foreign to you? Or to be stranded in a country not your own because you happened to be visiting before the war? Or to be in love and pregnant with a GI's child only to learn in a letter that he has returned to his wife. This book provides fascinating answers.
#2016-aty-reading-challenge-week-36: An identity book - a book about a different culture, religion or sexual orientation.
July 7, 2017
The main feeling I was left with after finishing "The Translation of Love" was a sense of disappointment. I felt Lynne Kutsukake had the germ of a wonderful novel, but the prose and story-telling was not up to snuff with the idea itself. Thus, this was another example of a great idea felled by subpar execution.
After a strong start, I felt the novel meandered too much, with very little action propelling the plot forward. Beginning with Sumiko's encounter with the nun and subsequent move to the orphanage, this is where I truly felt LK had "lost the plot" as it were. Too many times, chapters had a sense of this happened, and then that happened, and now this happened, but either events took too long to tie together, or really didn't serve much purpose. For example, when Aya met Nancy, I felt this was an occasion to really foment an emotional connection between the two, but as played out in the rest of the book, that connection was dropped. That's too bad because it was one of the few times for the author to strike a resonant emotional chord, at least with this reader.
I just couldn't sympathize with, or find much emotional connection to any of the characters in this novel. Matt, Nancy, Aya, Fumi, Kondo, Aya's father, Sumiko - - - they all served to present a scattershot slice of the Human Condition. Whatever universal human truths the author tried to convey needed to find its outlet in one or two characters, rather than the surfeit in this book. There were just too many cooks in the kitchen for me.
Speaking of characters, I felt the book jacket did a disservice to readers because although Aya did figure prominently in the novel, she wasn't the main character. Rather, I felt Fumi took center stage far more than Aya did. [Heck - even Matt seemed more front and center!] And when Aya was present, she was subsumed by the more forceful and energizing Fumi. Speaking of these two girls, I was quite surprised by the role reversal here. Because Aya was raised in Western society, of the two, I would have thought she'd be more aggressive, while Fumi would be traditionally passive and unassuming.
Ultimately, I can't recommend this novel because there was no emotional resonance for me. Nothing of import really happened. Aside from a couple of incidents involving heightened feelings and action, everyone and everything just meandered, like a diverted river that ultimately finds its course later on. But, I was glad to have been made aware of the horrific policy of Canadians of Japanese heritage feeling compelled to move (back) to a country they may no longer regard as their own. I don't think this event is as widely known as the Japanese concentration camps, so am thankful to have learned about this shameful event in history.
After a strong start, I felt the novel meandered too much, with very little action propelling the plot forward. Beginning with Sumiko's encounter with the nun and subsequent move to the orphanage, this is where I truly felt LK had "lost the plot" as it were. Too many times, chapters had a sense of this happened, and then that happened, and now this happened, but either events took too long to tie together, or really didn't serve much purpose. For example, when Aya met Nancy, I felt this was an occasion to really foment an emotional connection between the two, but as played out in the rest of the book, that connection was dropped. That's too bad because it was one of the few times for the author to strike a resonant emotional chord, at least with this reader.
I just couldn't sympathize with, or find much emotional connection to any of the characters in this novel. Matt, Nancy, Aya, Fumi, Kondo, Aya's father, Sumiko - - - they all served to present a scattershot slice of the Human Condition. Whatever universal human truths the author tried to convey needed to find its outlet in one or two characters, rather than the surfeit in this book. There were just too many cooks in the kitchen for me.
Speaking of characters, I felt the book jacket did a disservice to readers because although Aya did figure prominently in the novel, she wasn't the main character. Rather, I felt Fumi took center stage far more than Aya did. [Heck - even Matt seemed more front and center!] And when Aya was present, she was subsumed by the more forceful and energizing Fumi. Speaking of these two girls, I was quite surprised by the role reversal here. Because Aya was raised in Western society, of the two, I would have thought she'd be more aggressive, while Fumi would be traditionally passive and unassuming.
Ultimately, I can't recommend this novel because there was no emotional resonance for me. Nothing of import really happened. Aside from a couple of incidents involving heightened feelings and action, everyone and everything just meandered, like a diverted river that ultimately finds its course later on. But, I was glad to have been made aware of the horrific policy of Canadians of Japanese heritage feeling compelled to move (back) to a country they may no longer regard as their own. I don't think this event is as widely known as the Japanese concentration camps, so am thankful to have learned about this shameful event in history.
December 1, 2015
A moving story set in post WWII Japan. Fumi writes a letter to General MacArthur, asking for help to find her sister, Sumiko. Aya, recently relocated to Japan after living in a Canadian internment camp, befriends Fumi and they begi. Their search for Sumiko. The story deepens as we see what life was like in Japan, with scarce resources and under military occupation. Engrossing story, highly recommend. This was a ga,,eye through Netgalley.
October 25, 2016
Tore through this. Liked the story told through the different viewpoints. Will probably say more later.
September 28, 2018
I liked the settling something slightly different than the usual western world. But the plot and characters weren't really anything all that new or different, nothing really stood out and grabbed my attention.
May 5, 2017
Translation of Love is Lynne Kutusukake's debut novel about the friendship of twelve year old Fumi Tanaka and thirteen year old Aya Shimamura in post war occupied Japan. It is one of the times when I wish Goodreads awarded half stars because I would like to rate this book around a 3.5-3.75.
This book takes on many stories or points of view woven into one novel, alternating chapters focusing on different points of view. The main protagonists are Fumi and Aya. Fumi is Japanese born and saw her older sister Sumiko leave home in search of work but not contact the family for many months. In her vulnerable adolescent self, she becomes withdrawn and seeks out a special spot within the grounds of a Buddhist temple. Her teacher Kondo Sensei seems to realize this change in behavior because he assigns Fumi to look out for Aya-a new student who has moved to Toyko as a repat from Canada.
Aya Shimamura is a issei (first generation born) Canadian Japanese who spent the war years in an internment camp. Her mother became so distraught that she committed suicide leaving behind only stones and words of encouragement to her daughter. After the war, Aya's father was given the choice of moving east of the Rockies or returning to Japan and he chose repatriation. Aya at age thirteen becomes an immigrant, knowing more English than Japanese and assigned as Fumi's desk mate at school. The girls overcome initial differences and become close friends over the course of the novel.
The other thread of this novel focuses on Matt Yoshimoto, a Japanese American GI who is a letter translator of the hundreds of letters that Japanese citizens write to General Douglas MacArthur, hoping he will give them a better life. One part of this thread shows how Matt struggles for his place as either Japanese or American or both, and the fact that he speaks English has him straddling both societies. The other facet is his budding relationship with Nancy the Japanese American typist in his office, and whether the two of them desire friendship far from home or maybe something more. At this point, Kutusukake leaves the reader desiring a bit more.
Kutusukake weaves the two strands together by having Fumi dictate a letter to Aya asking for MacArthur to find Sumiko and bring her home. Feeling powerless at first to take action themselves, they journey to army headquarters in hopes of meeting the general, but lost in the throng, they meet Matt and Nancy instead. Fumi implores Matt to give MacArthur the letter, while Nancy takes Aya under her wing. I would have liked to see the Nancy/Aya relationship develop more, but this was also left out.
The one part of this book lacking was Sumiko's story. She decided to make money as a dancer and left home, wanting no contact with her family because Fumi was at an impressionable age who might think to go into dancing herself. Kutusukake spins this part of the tale neatly, easily tying up loose ends, whereas I was looking for a more complex plot.
All in all, I learned about the treatment of Japanese Canadians during World War II as well as some insight into life in Toyko during the postwar years. The friendship between Fumi and Aya was refreshing because it showed two girls from different backgrounds becoming close friends rather than the romance hinted by the title. A quick read, I would recommend it to people who enjoy historical fiction. I am just hoping that Kutsukake should she write another novel develop a more mature plot. As aforementioned, around 3.5-3.75 stars.
This book takes on many stories or points of view woven into one novel, alternating chapters focusing on different points of view. The main protagonists are Fumi and Aya. Fumi is Japanese born and saw her older sister Sumiko leave home in search of work but not contact the family for many months. In her vulnerable adolescent self, she becomes withdrawn and seeks out a special spot within the grounds of a Buddhist temple. Her teacher Kondo Sensei seems to realize this change in behavior because he assigns Fumi to look out for Aya-a new student who has moved to Toyko as a repat from Canada.
Aya Shimamura is a issei (first generation born) Canadian Japanese who spent the war years in an internment camp. Her mother became so distraught that she committed suicide leaving behind only stones and words of encouragement to her daughter. After the war, Aya's father was given the choice of moving east of the Rockies or returning to Japan and he chose repatriation. Aya at age thirteen becomes an immigrant, knowing more English than Japanese and assigned as Fumi's desk mate at school. The girls overcome initial differences and become close friends over the course of the novel.
The other thread of this novel focuses on Matt Yoshimoto, a Japanese American GI who is a letter translator of the hundreds of letters that Japanese citizens write to General Douglas MacArthur, hoping he will give them a better life. One part of this thread shows how Matt struggles for his place as either Japanese or American or both, and the fact that he speaks English has him straddling both societies. The other facet is his budding relationship with Nancy the Japanese American typist in his office, and whether the two of them desire friendship far from home or maybe something more. At this point, Kutusukake leaves the reader desiring a bit more.
Kutusukake weaves the two strands together by having Fumi dictate a letter to Aya asking for MacArthur to find Sumiko and bring her home. Feeling powerless at first to take action themselves, they journey to army headquarters in hopes of meeting the general, but lost in the throng, they meet Matt and Nancy instead. Fumi implores Matt to give MacArthur the letter, while Nancy takes Aya under her wing. I would have liked to see the Nancy/Aya relationship develop more, but this was also left out.
The one part of this book lacking was Sumiko's story. She decided to make money as a dancer and left home, wanting no contact with her family because Fumi was at an impressionable age who might think to go into dancing herself. Kutusukake spins this part of the tale neatly, easily tying up loose ends, whereas I was looking for a more complex plot.
All in all, I learned about the treatment of Japanese Canadians during World War II as well as some insight into life in Toyko during the postwar years. The friendship between Fumi and Aya was refreshing because it showed two girls from different backgrounds becoming close friends rather than the romance hinted by the title. A quick read, I would recommend it to people who enjoy historical fiction. I am just hoping that Kutsukake should she write another novel develop a more mature plot. As aforementioned, around 3.5-3.75 stars.
May 31, 2016
Visit the literary locations in the novel here: Translation of Love
This is just a beautifully written and utterly captivating book that left me spell bound. The words just flow on the page and the emotion invested in each and every character made each character fully formed and interesting. This was a story of the American occupation of Japan told on so many levels and through various viewpoints but it never gets confusing – rather I was there beside each and every one seeing the effects of both sides of the occupation – something very unique that an author could be forgiven for focussing on one more than the other, but not Lynne.
I think she’s painted a very multicoloured picture of a difficult time and made it accessible and heartwarming via the power of the written letter. How poignant some of the letters are and the way people use them to reach out across the divide. The mix of viewpoints in the novel too read like a song – all in different voices but the basic melody and their harmonies made the overall tune all the stronger. Never as the phrase ‘All singing from the same song sheet’ been quite as significant.
There’s so much to recommend this novel – the author’s research, her beautiful words and turn of phrase and her ability to make me smile on one page and cry on the next – (the girls and what they find one day!) This was just a gorgeous novel in so many ways and I just love the title – The Translation of Love – words and love unite us all and if only we could communicate properly with each other. We all need the same after all – to be loved, to love and to find strength in each other and ourselves.
I’ve always though that letter writing was an art. Now this novel has made it more so.
This is just a beautifully written and utterly captivating book that left me spell bound. The words just flow on the page and the emotion invested in each and every character made each character fully formed and interesting. This was a story of the American occupation of Japan told on so many levels and through various viewpoints but it never gets confusing – rather I was there beside each and every one seeing the effects of both sides of the occupation – something very unique that an author could be forgiven for focussing on one more than the other, but not Lynne.
I think she’s painted a very multicoloured picture of a difficult time and made it accessible and heartwarming via the power of the written letter. How poignant some of the letters are and the way people use them to reach out across the divide. The mix of viewpoints in the novel too read like a song – all in different voices but the basic melody and their harmonies made the overall tune all the stronger. Never as the phrase ‘All singing from the same song sheet’ been quite as significant.
There’s so much to recommend this novel – the author’s research, her beautiful words and turn of phrase and her ability to make me smile on one page and cry on the next – (the girls and what they find one day!) This was just a gorgeous novel in so many ways and I just love the title – The Translation of Love – words and love unite us all and if only we could communicate properly with each other. We all need the same after all – to be loved, to love and to find strength in each other and ourselves.
I’ve always though that letter writing was an art. Now this novel has made it more so.
April 8, 2016
The government gave Japanese Canadians a choice after spending war years in
Canadian internment camps. They were told to either move east of the Rocky Mountains or go 'back' to Japan.
Aya and her Father go to Japan.
This story captivates!!!! Draws us in immediately!!! I found it cozy-comfort reading ...even though complexities of national identities are in transition. (or like the title of this book...'translations' are not simple).
Hibiya Park is described so beautiful - (a park in Tokyo), that you might consider looking at images on the Internet.
There is a book discussion group - here on Goodreads - for this book. It's 'just' starting ...(will continue the entire month), so if others want to join the discussion, the group is called:
"Keep Turning Pages" .
I bought the physical book in Tampa, Florida..at "The Oxford Exchange". The book is available...( it's no longer an early read).
There are two other novels "The Translation of Love", reminds me of in the area of historical storytelling - (intimacy at its best)- harrowing wartime - (or harrowing post war).
They are: "The Distant Land of My Father", by Bo Caldwell ...
and "The Train To Crystal City", by Jan Jarboe Russell.
Lynn Kutsukake, is to be admired. Like the two other female-authors I mentioned, she is equally top notch!!! Excellent first novel.
Canadian internment camps. They were told to either move east of the Rocky Mountains or go 'back' to Japan.
Aya and her Father go to Japan.
This story captivates!!!! Draws us in immediately!!! I found it cozy-comfort reading ...even though complexities of national identities are in transition. (or like the title of this book...'translations' are not simple).
Hibiya Park is described so beautiful - (a park in Tokyo), that you might consider looking at images on the Internet.
There is a book discussion group - here on Goodreads - for this book. It's 'just' starting ...(will continue the entire month), so if others want to join the discussion, the group is called:
"Keep Turning Pages" .
I bought the physical book in Tampa, Florida..at "The Oxford Exchange". The book is available...( it's no longer an early read).
There are two other novels "The Translation of Love", reminds me of in the area of historical storytelling - (intimacy at its best)- harrowing wartime - (or harrowing post war).
They are: "The Distant Land of My Father", by Bo Caldwell ...
and "The Train To Crystal City", by Jan Jarboe Russell.
Lynn Kutsukake, is to be admired. Like the two other female-authors I mentioned, she is equally top notch!!! Excellent first novel.
April 13, 2016
3.5 There are probably other books written on postwar Japan, but this is the first I have read. The occupation of Japan under General McArthur was very difficult for the country's citizen, food shortages, black market, inflationary currency, the lack of jobs what woman did to bring some much needed money into their families and the American GI's often dating Japanese women and then disappearing, leaving them to fend for themselves. Yet, the Japanese treated MacArthur has the great deliverer, writing letters to him requesting his help in different ways.
For Aya and her father, who came from Canada after years in an internets camp, given the choice to move East of the Rockies or repatriate to Japan, life is not easy. So this is a novel of adjustment, a new country, new ways even for those who have lived in the country all along. A novel of caring, the Sensai is a most interesting character who tries to right by his students, Matt the interpreter who becomes involved in the story of Aya and her friend's missing sister, is also a great character. A novel of friendship that didn't start out as such and a novel of forgiveness. A very good story, well told, a meaningful look at a country and its people trying to recover from a terrible war that exacted a huge price. Loved how the author used different people from different circumstances to bring this point home.
For Aya and her father, who came from Canada after years in an internets camp, given the choice to move East of the Rockies or repatriate to Japan, life is not easy. So this is a novel of adjustment, a new country, new ways even for those who have lived in the country all along. A novel of caring, the Sensai is a most interesting character who tries to right by his students, Matt the interpreter who becomes involved in the story of Aya and her friend's missing sister, is also a great character. A novel of friendship that didn't start out as such and a novel of forgiveness. A very good story, well told, a meaningful look at a country and its people trying to recover from a terrible war that exacted a huge price. Loved how the author used different people from different circumstances to bring this point home.
May 24, 2017
Kutsukake’s novel presents us with a panoramic view of Tokyo in 1947. We begin with General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan, with his son Arthur, aged 9, being driven ��in the big Cadillac” to GHQ. Next we meet twelve-year-old Fumi Tanaka, “stuck with looking after the repat girl” Aya Shimamura, who has recently arrived in Japan with her widowed father, because he “had signed the papers to repatriate.”
The author makes some lovely observations. Aya’s mother’s “ashes were placed inside a small wooden box that was sealed tightly and wrapped in a square of white cloth, knotted twice.”
I missed the formal experimentation deployed to brilliant effect in Julie Otsuka's two novels, but readers interested in the Japanese American and Japanese Canadian experience of Occupation Tokyo should find this a quietly satisfying read.
Go east of the Rockies and disperse, or go to Japan--that was the choice Canada had given them. No Japanese Canadians would ever be allowed to return to the west coast. In the spring of 1945, even before the war was over, officials arrived in the internment camps with forms to sign and gave everyone three weeks to choose between going “back” to Japan or scattering to unknown parts across Canada. (p. 11)Reading this, we know that the author has done her homework. There’s the girls’ homeroom teacher Kondo Sensei, who moonlights as a translator of English letters received by women from the Americans who have (mostly) used them and then abandoned them; there are two Japanese Americans: “Matt” Matsumoto, who works at the Allied Translator and Interpreter Service, translating letters sent by ordinary Japanese to General MacArthur; and Nancy Nogami of the typing pool. And there’s Fumi’s elder sister Sumiko, who has disappeared into the world of paid companionship, possibly even become a panpan, a GI whore. When Fumi decides to have Aya help her write a letter to General MacArthur, asking him to find her sister, we know that eventually all these characters will meet.
The author makes some lovely observations. Aya’s mother’s “ashes were placed inside a small wooden box that was sealed tightly and wrapped in a square of white cloth, knotted twice.”
The box was very light, almost weightless. It struck Aya that the soul was a compact thing indeed. (p. 179)
Nancy looked Japanese but she didn’t act like one. She had a loose way of moving her arms and legs, and she laughed with her mouth wide open so you could see her teeth and sometimes even her tongue. She didn’t have a loud voice, but somehow it felt loud. (pp. 229-30)And Kutsukake is alert to the grotesqueness of the Life magazine ad for “B-29 burger”:
They say you can’t get anything better, not even in the States. There’s nothing more American than a B-29 and a Coke! (p. 298)From time to time, the novel has its longueurs: there’s a scene in which Matt and Nancy visit Ueno Zoo that one feels is there just because the author has read Frederick S. Litten’s “Starving the Elephants: The Slaughter of Animals in Wartime Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo” (see: http://apjjf.org/-Frederick-S.-Litten...) and was appalled. But the author also leaves some things unsaid: Matt’s struggle with his sexuality is only hinted at, as is the real nature of Sumiko’s work.
I missed the formal experimentation deployed to brilliant effect in Julie Otsuka's two novels, but readers interested in the Japanese American and Japanese Canadian experience of Occupation Tokyo should find this a quietly satisfying read.
March 20, 2017
https://ayearofbooksblog.com/2017/03/...
In preparation for the final Grimsby Author Series event of the 2016-17 season, I immersed myself in The Translation of Love during a long trip home from vacation in Myrtle Beach. It is a beautiful novel set in Japan during the American post-WW2 occupation. Despite the devastation and despair of the war, the characters care for each other and make a difference in each other’s lives through kindness.
Young Fumi thinks her sister, Sumiko, is missing. Despite concerns from her parents, she had left home to work in a dance hall, sending home wages to support her family. Her parents were concerned about this dishonourable job so instructed her to visit when Fumi was at school to shield her. With the help of Aya, a Japanese-Canadian girl, who has been repatriated to Japan from a Canadian internment camp, the girls write a letter to General MacArthur requesting assistance to find Sumiko.
The letter is intercepted by Matt, a translator who is a Japanese-American soldier. He sees the girls in the melee of people waiting for a glimpse of the general and instead of translating the letter, he keeps the letter intending to try and help the young girl find her sister. He is kind and means well but does little until the girls appear again. He enlists the assistance of Nancy, a Japanese-American typist trying to get back to the US and they are unsuccessful in finding her sister.
As the young girls search for Sumiko, the readers are treated to more detail about Aya’s past and the tragic loss of her mother in the Canadian interment camp. Life is not easy for her in Japan. She does not speak Japanese as well as the other children and her father is busy working to support them.
Sumika, who is not really lost, has her own challenges and the stories all come together with good intentions, caring and love. The story is intricately woven together with each character sharing their own stories within the novel. It is heartbreaking at times, hopeful and shows how resilience and strength grow through adversity.
It is hard to believe that this is Lynne Kutsukake’s first novel. It is expertly written weaving history and stories in a way that leaves the reader wanting to know more about the characters after the story ends. It is a another part of history that I needed to learn about and I hope that there is a sequel pending! I am looking forward to hearing more about the story and the author. I am certain that this novel is full of hard work, research and dedication by Kutsukake who worked at the University of Toronto as a librarian and specialized in Japanese materials.
Tonight should be a evening celebrating a love of reading at the season’s finale of the Grimsby Author Series!
In preparation for the final Grimsby Author Series event of the 2016-17 season, I immersed myself in The Translation of Love during a long trip home from vacation in Myrtle Beach. It is a beautiful novel set in Japan during the American post-WW2 occupation. Despite the devastation and despair of the war, the characters care for each other and make a difference in each other’s lives through kindness.
Young Fumi thinks her sister, Sumiko, is missing. Despite concerns from her parents, she had left home to work in a dance hall, sending home wages to support her family. Her parents were concerned about this dishonourable job so instructed her to visit when Fumi was at school to shield her. With the help of Aya, a Japanese-Canadian girl, who has been repatriated to Japan from a Canadian internment camp, the girls write a letter to General MacArthur requesting assistance to find Sumiko.
The letter is intercepted by Matt, a translator who is a Japanese-American soldier. He sees the girls in the melee of people waiting for a glimpse of the general and instead of translating the letter, he keeps the letter intending to try and help the young girl find her sister. He is kind and means well but does little until the girls appear again. He enlists the assistance of Nancy, a Japanese-American typist trying to get back to the US and they are unsuccessful in finding her sister.
As the young girls search for Sumiko, the readers are treated to more detail about Aya’s past and the tragic loss of her mother in the Canadian interment camp. Life is not easy for her in Japan. She does not speak Japanese as well as the other children and her father is busy working to support them.
Sumika, who is not really lost, has her own challenges and the stories all come together with good intentions, caring and love. The story is intricately woven together with each character sharing their own stories within the novel. It is heartbreaking at times, hopeful and shows how resilience and strength grow through adversity.
It is hard to believe that this is Lynne Kutsukake’s first novel. It is expertly written weaving history and stories in a way that leaves the reader wanting to know more about the characters after the story ends. It is a another part of history that I needed to learn about and I hope that there is a sequel pending! I am looking forward to hearing more about the story and the author. I am certain that this novel is full of hard work, research and dedication by Kutsukake who worked at the University of Toronto as a librarian and specialized in Japanese materials.
Tonight should be a evening celebrating a love of reading at the season’s finale of the Grimsby Author Series!
October 19, 2015
Coming of age story that pulls the heartstrings and gives a greater meaning to occupation of a county. Loved the way the friendships developed and matured. Great for young adults also.
August 13, 2020
After spending the war years in a Canadian internment camp, Aya and her father are given the choice of moving to the east of the Rocky Mountains or going 'back' to Japan. Even though they end up choosing the latter, it's not because they consider Japan home. 13-year-old Aya Shimamura is an immigrant in Tokyo, knowing more English than Japanese, not feeling welcome at school or in her neighborhood, as a result of being repatriated. She thinks that she's found a friend in her seatmate, Fumi Tanaka, only to learn that Fumi is less interested in her friendship than she is her ability to write in English. With the Occupation forces still taking up space in Japan, thousands of Japanese citizens have started writing to General MacArthur seeking assistance or offering advice. Fumi recruits Aya into composing a letter asking him to help find her older sister, Sumiko, who has disappeared into the seedy underworld of the Ginza.
The Translation of Love is a beautifully written novel that attempts to tackle a number of themes and for the most part, the writer succeeds. There is a discussion on various forms of love: familial, friendships, for the country. The act of emigration and how we don't always feel at home even when we are supposed to. Sacrifices. What I think I had difficulty with was the timeline, which led to my issue with chapters from Sumiko's point-of-view. When the story began, I thought that Sumiko had been missing for much longer than she was so I was taken aback by the ending. The other part of the timeline was the jumps between past and present when the author tried to tackle everyone's story: Aya, Fumi, Sumiko, even Matt, the translator working for the Occupation forces, as well as all of the alternating points-of-view. It felt like a lot. I wish we spent more time with Aya because I felt like I wanted to know more about her, her mother that committed suicide. While the synopsis makes it seem like she is the star of the novel, I thought it was more Fumi so perhaps it could have been worded differently?
On a final note, a reviewer on Goodreads commented that "the plot and characters weren't really all that new or different, nothing really stood out and grabbed [my] attention" in this novel about the treatment of Japanese Canadians during World War II and in the post-war years. I find that difficult to believe since this is a topic that is little discussed in world history. This is another example of why #OwnVoices are so important. Others commented how they couldn't emotionally relate to the characters in the novel. Well, duh.
The Translation of Love is a beautifully written novel that attempts to tackle a number of themes and for the most part, the writer succeeds. There is a discussion on various forms of love: familial, friendships, for the country. The act of emigration and how we don't always feel at home even when we are supposed to. Sacrifices. What I think I had difficulty with was the timeline, which led to my issue with chapters from Sumiko's point-of-view. When the story began, I thought that Sumiko had been missing for much longer than she was so I was taken aback by the ending. The other part of the timeline was the jumps between past and present when the author tried to tackle everyone's story: Aya, Fumi, Sumiko, even Matt, the translator working for the Occupation forces, as well as all of the alternating points-of-view. It felt like a lot. I wish we spent more time with Aya because I felt like I wanted to know more about her, her mother that committed suicide. While the synopsis makes it seem like she is the star of the novel, I thought it was more Fumi so perhaps it could have been worded differently?
On a final note, a reviewer on Goodreads commented that "the plot and characters weren't really all that new or different, nothing really stood out and grabbed [my] attention" in this novel about the treatment of Japanese Canadians during World War II and in the post-war years. I find that difficult to believe since this is a topic that is little discussed in world history. This is another example of why #OwnVoices are so important. Others commented how they couldn't emotionally relate to the characters in the novel. Well, duh.
April 29, 2016
I want to publically thank the news reporting of "The Daily Skimm" for the small suggestion one day a while back about this book, which I received as a library loan.
"The box was very light, almost weightless. It struck Aya that the soul was a compact thing indeed"
" Wada looked her straight in the eye. 'Don't you know that everything you have can be taken away in an instant?'""
"How should a man live?"
This is a story about post WW2 Japan during the American Occupation. It is a very emotional story, full of losses, but also full of hope. It is seen through the eyes if three generations but set primarily in the time of Gen. MacArthur's tenure there. A young repat from Canada and her father. A family torn apart by need. A young Japanese American stationed in MacArthur's HQ,. An American stuck in Japan waiting for her papers that would allow her return. A teacher who does translation on the side. And numerous others who "got by" barely after the war.
They all come together around a letter: Dear General....help me find my sister. The sister who is trying to work down the debt of her family's bills by being a Dance Girl and the mistaken belief that all "dance girls" are panpan: prostitutes. That letter lands on the desk of the army translator as he and the American stuck in Japan try to help the girl find her sister.
This very emotional story fits together like nesting dolls in a set. It is hard to describe how I felt while reading it. In Fumi, we see the hopes of a new generation, within a wish fir the past. In Aya, the repatriated girl from Canada, we see the fear of the new. In Matt, we see someone so closed after his brother's death begin to open to a new world badly beaten by the old, as those touched by what they may not understand, but cannot look away from. I really recommend this book.
"The box was very light, almost weightless. It struck Aya that the soul was a compact thing indeed"
" Wada looked her straight in the eye. 'Don't you know that everything you have can be taken away in an instant?'""
"How should a man live?"
This is a story about post WW2 Japan during the American Occupation. It is a very emotional story, full of losses, but also full of hope. It is seen through the eyes if three generations but set primarily in the time of Gen. MacArthur's tenure there. A young repat from Canada and her father. A family torn apart by need. A young Japanese American stationed in MacArthur's HQ,. An American stuck in Japan waiting for her papers that would allow her return. A teacher who does translation on the side. And numerous others who "got by" barely after the war.
They all come together around a letter: Dear General....help me find my sister. The sister who is trying to work down the debt of her family's bills by being a Dance Girl and the mistaken belief that all "dance girls" are panpan: prostitutes. That letter lands on the desk of the army translator as he and the American stuck in Japan try to help the girl find her sister.
This very emotional story fits together like nesting dolls in a set. It is hard to describe how I felt while reading it. In Fumi, we see the hopes of a new generation, within a wish fir the past. In Aya, the repatriated girl from Canada, we see the fear of the new. In Matt, we see someone so closed after his brother's death begin to open to a new world badly beaten by the old, as those touched by what they may not understand, but cannot look away from. I really recommend this book.
April 5, 2016
Years ago I read James Webb’s The Emperor’s General, a wonderful novel about General Douglas MacArthur’s time in Japan, his power and his eventual downfall. Lynne’s Katsukake’s first novel is set in Japan under MacArthur in 1947and is equally brilliant but in a quite different way. Her work focuses closely on the lives and experiences of a number of ordinary Japanese, including American and Canadian Japanese, in a ruined post-war Tokyo under the American occupation.
The unifying plot device which serves to connect the wide spectrum of characters is the invitation by MacArthur to write letters directly to him – because that is how democracy works. The head-strong and impetuous Fumi employs a school friend to write a letter asking the general to find her missing older sister, who has disappeared. The school friend, a Canadian ‘Re-Pat’, has a facility with English which Fumi lacks.
The novel is written in a series of concise, elegant chapters, some of which would work perfectly as short stories in themselves. The disparate plot lines link tenuously but convincingly as the story progresses. Each character is explored with sympathy and conviction. There are no pat conclusions, but the outcomes are positive and ultimately optimistic – what could so easily have fallen into a trap of sentimentality or cliché always remains uplifting and thought provoking.
How should a man live his life? One day at a time – only live it!
The unifying plot device which serves to connect the wide spectrum of characters is the invitation by MacArthur to write letters directly to him – because that is how democracy works. The head-strong and impetuous Fumi employs a school friend to write a letter asking the general to find her missing older sister, who has disappeared. The school friend, a Canadian ‘Re-Pat’, has a facility with English which Fumi lacks.
The novel is written in a series of concise, elegant chapters, some of which would work perfectly as short stories in themselves. The disparate plot lines link tenuously but convincingly as the story progresses. Each character is explored with sympathy and conviction. There are no pat conclusions, but the outcomes are positive and ultimately optimistic – what could so easily have fallen into a trap of sentimentality or cliché always remains uplifting and thought provoking.
How should a man live his life? One day at a time – only live it!
May 31, 2020
this is a book set in tokyo,japan in 1947.
in the post american occupation of japan ,citizens were encouraged to write to Genral macArthur, if you had a problem , write a letter and this is what democracy means and write they did, so Genral MacArthur received over 500,000 letters.
it is about a girl called fumi tanaka who is twelve years old.
she has a older sister called sumiko tanaka who has disappeared.
she wants to find her and is looking for her.
she writes a letter to General MacArthur and she says that she wants to fined her sister.
she writes a letter to Corporal Matt Matsumoto,a Japenese-American GI whose job it is to translate endless letters.
since no one helps to find her sister , she decides to do things her self.
she has a teacher called kondo sensei who is very nice to her and teaches her.
he then trys to find her sister with her friend called aya shimamura.
she really wants to find her sister and is looking for her.
i am not sure what happens in the end , i think that fumi tanaka finds her sister sumiko tanaka but i am not sure what happens in the end.
in the end , i had to read the acknowledgements.
in the post american occupation of japan ,citizens were encouraged to write to Genral macArthur, if you had a problem , write a letter and this is what democracy means and write they did, so Genral MacArthur received over 500,000 letters.
it is about a girl called fumi tanaka who is twelve years old.
she has a older sister called sumiko tanaka who has disappeared.
she wants to find her and is looking for her.
she writes a letter to General MacArthur and she says that she wants to fined her sister.
she writes a letter to Corporal Matt Matsumoto,a Japenese-American GI whose job it is to translate endless letters.
since no one helps to find her sister , she decides to do things her self.
she has a teacher called kondo sensei who is very nice to her and teaches her.
he then trys to find her sister with her friend called aya shimamura.
she really wants to find her sister and is looking for her.
i am not sure what happens in the end , i think that fumi tanaka finds her sister sumiko tanaka but i am not sure what happens in the end.
in the end , i had to read the acknowledgements.
May 30, 2016
This was a meh book. The plot lines were often times contrived, and it was often just so mild. It was not particularly touching, until perhaps at the end where the narrative of the sisters comes to place. It was okay, some parts interesting (e.g. women after WWII), but generally pretty meh.
April 27, 2016
The Translation of Love, Lynne Kutsukake, author; Nancy Wu, narrator
Through the friendship of two young girls, the plight of post-war Japan comes to life. Before World War II had ended, many Japanese families in Canada, were being given the unfair choice of voluntarily being deported from the country they lived in, to their country of origin, Japan, or of relocating east of the Rockies. Their former homes and businesses had been stolen, taken over by others and were not being returned. They had lost everything and nothing was being done for these innocent people, guilty only of being Japanese. The Shimamura family had been living in an internment camp. There, Mrs. Shimamura had died. Toshio Shimamura agreed to voluntarily be deported to Tokyo with his thirteen year old daughter, Aya, because to remain in Canada would have meant starting over in a strange new place where he felt he would not be accepted. He chose to return to a place where at least everyone looked like him. Yet, were they truly like him, in all but appearance, after having lived in the West?
For both Aya and her father the adjustment and transition was huge. There were few jobs available. The poverty and food shortages made life very difficult. Aya had been born in Canada and had no real knowledge of life in Japan. She was much more comfortable with the English language and with her freedom to think and speak there. In Japan, she was ridiculed as an “imin”, an immigrant who should have stayed where she came from because Japan was experiencing such great hardships, there was not enough to go around. She was very frightened. Her father was now remote and sad. His behavior was more controlled and formal, like that of most Japanese. He stressed obedience and respect. He wanted her to behave like a “real” Japanese. He worked long hours, and they had little contact.
In school, Aya was in Kondo Sensei‘s class. He teamed her up with a young girl, Fumi Tanaka, who was a year younger than Aya. At first, Fumi resented her as the “repat” girl, but soon they developed a friendship, and they confided their secrets to each other. Fumi told Aya that she had a sister, Sumiko, whom she missed terribly. She had not heard from her in a very long time, and she wanted to find her. Sumiko had gone to work in the Ginza, a place of dance halls, when both Fumi and her mother had gotten sick and money was needed for their medicines. Once there, it was hard for her to leave as her own debt to her unscrupulous employer continued to mount. Although Sumiko’s effort to provide for her family was noble, her type of employment also brought unfair humiliation and shame upon her.
When Fumi heard that everyone was writing letters to General MacArthur, asking for his help to solve their problems, she implored Aya to write one for her, in English. She wanted his help in finding her sister. In the past, they had prevailed upon the Emperor, so now they simply transferred their concerns to the shoulders of General MacArthur who could do little for them. When Fumi recklessly attempted to give the letter to the General, as his motorcade passed by, she was stopped by a policeman who made an example of her, intending to arrest her. He was then ridiculed by a passerby for not understanding the new freedoms democracy provided. In the hubbub, Fumi escaped from his clutches. Together, a Japanese GI, Matt (Yoshitaka Matsumoto), a translator, and a typist, Nancy Nogami, had been watching the goings-on from the window in their office. They went downstairs to the street and came to Fumi’s aid. They tried to comfort her. When Fumi discovered that Matt worked for the General, she insisted that he give her letter to MacArthur.
Soon, the letter and a misleading photograph take the girls on a dangerous journey as they become obsessed and embroiled in their search for Sumiko. Their foray into the Ginza caused grief and anguish for their families. When their family contacted the teacher and principal at their school to tell them the girls were missing, the dichotomy in the nature of the Japanese people was illuminated. While Kondo left a sickbed to help, the other, the principal of the school, was more worried about the school’s reputation than about the welfare of the missing children. For him, it was all a matter of appearances and control.
The girls were young and ill equipped to deal with the real world in which Sumiko had lived. The Ginza was a place where behavior was sometimes unscrupulous. Young and old preyed upon each other. Because of the hardship they experienced, they excused their behavior, even when it was selfish and cruel, believing they were simply doing what they had to do to survive. The children stole from each other, as well, with the stronger taking advantage of the weaker. As they witnessed everyone taking unfair advantage of each other, they merely followed suit. Even Aya’s father briefly behaved badly, because he felt the “whites” had taken everything from him, so now he felt justified in taking from them. He took supplies sent to the United States military that were poorly monitored. It was easy to be corrupted under such circumstances.
In Japan, there seemed to be little show of outward affection, and certainly, it seemed as if there was even less compassion. Behavior was formal, and often cold and distant. The young were forced to grow old before their time in order to help their families and the adults were forced to do things against their nature to take care of their families. There was sadness from the loss of family members, homes, businesses and personal stature. The atmosphere was one of general despair. Understandably, also, many felt a deep resentment toward the Americans who were the conquerors, although some, too, had deep respect for the democracy they were trying to set up. They all had to learn how to be independent and deal with the greater amount of freedom offered. There was no longer an Emperor to dictate their way of life and behavior. People became calculating and often worried more about what others would think of them than about the safety or condition of others. They were able to turn a blind eye to suffering because they were all suffering. In some cases, the naïve children had more sense and concern for others, but they soon acquiesced to their parents’ expectations. It was expected that one would always maintain control, show no emotion, especially men, because emotion was considered a sign of weakness.
I found the story bittersweet. It was sad, and yet, what else could it be? The Japanese had lost the war with the United States that they had instigated with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but notice the stark contrast between the condition of the innocent Japanese children when compared to the image painted of MacArthur’s son Sergeant as he was being taken for a political photo op. He was well dressed and pampered, watching from the limousine window as the starving and ill dressed Japanese cheered his motorcade. This book is not really about the war, but rather about its aftermath. It is about the women the GI’s left behind, the abandoned mixed race babies, the suffering of the innocents, and the truly human cost of war as cultures clashed!.
Through the friendship of two young girls, the plight of post-war Japan comes to life. Before World War II had ended, many Japanese families in Canada, were being given the unfair choice of voluntarily being deported from the country they lived in, to their country of origin, Japan, or of relocating east of the Rockies. Their former homes and businesses had been stolen, taken over by others and were not being returned. They had lost everything and nothing was being done for these innocent people, guilty only of being Japanese. The Shimamura family had been living in an internment camp. There, Mrs. Shimamura had died. Toshio Shimamura agreed to voluntarily be deported to Tokyo with his thirteen year old daughter, Aya, because to remain in Canada would have meant starting over in a strange new place where he felt he would not be accepted. He chose to return to a place where at least everyone looked like him. Yet, were they truly like him, in all but appearance, after having lived in the West?
For both Aya and her father the adjustment and transition was huge. There were few jobs available. The poverty and food shortages made life very difficult. Aya had been born in Canada and had no real knowledge of life in Japan. She was much more comfortable with the English language and with her freedom to think and speak there. In Japan, she was ridiculed as an “imin”, an immigrant who should have stayed where she came from because Japan was experiencing such great hardships, there was not enough to go around. She was very frightened. Her father was now remote and sad. His behavior was more controlled and formal, like that of most Japanese. He stressed obedience and respect. He wanted her to behave like a “real” Japanese. He worked long hours, and they had little contact.
In school, Aya was in Kondo Sensei‘s class. He teamed her up with a young girl, Fumi Tanaka, who was a year younger than Aya. At first, Fumi resented her as the “repat” girl, but soon they developed a friendship, and they confided their secrets to each other. Fumi told Aya that she had a sister, Sumiko, whom she missed terribly. She had not heard from her in a very long time, and she wanted to find her. Sumiko had gone to work in the Ginza, a place of dance halls, when both Fumi and her mother had gotten sick and money was needed for their medicines. Once there, it was hard for her to leave as her own debt to her unscrupulous employer continued to mount. Although Sumiko’s effort to provide for her family was noble, her type of employment also brought unfair humiliation and shame upon her.
When Fumi heard that everyone was writing letters to General MacArthur, asking for his help to solve their problems, she implored Aya to write one for her, in English. She wanted his help in finding her sister. In the past, they had prevailed upon the Emperor, so now they simply transferred their concerns to the shoulders of General MacArthur who could do little for them. When Fumi recklessly attempted to give the letter to the General, as his motorcade passed by, she was stopped by a policeman who made an example of her, intending to arrest her. He was then ridiculed by a passerby for not understanding the new freedoms democracy provided. In the hubbub, Fumi escaped from his clutches. Together, a Japanese GI, Matt (Yoshitaka Matsumoto), a translator, and a typist, Nancy Nogami, had been watching the goings-on from the window in their office. They went downstairs to the street and came to Fumi’s aid. They tried to comfort her. When Fumi discovered that Matt worked for the General, she insisted that he give her letter to MacArthur.
Soon, the letter and a misleading photograph take the girls on a dangerous journey as they become obsessed and embroiled in their search for Sumiko. Their foray into the Ginza caused grief and anguish for their families. When their family contacted the teacher and principal at their school to tell them the girls were missing, the dichotomy in the nature of the Japanese people was illuminated. While Kondo left a sickbed to help, the other, the principal of the school, was more worried about the school’s reputation than about the welfare of the missing children. For him, it was all a matter of appearances and control.
The girls were young and ill equipped to deal with the real world in which Sumiko had lived. The Ginza was a place where behavior was sometimes unscrupulous. Young and old preyed upon each other. Because of the hardship they experienced, they excused their behavior, even when it was selfish and cruel, believing they were simply doing what they had to do to survive. The children stole from each other, as well, with the stronger taking advantage of the weaker. As they witnessed everyone taking unfair advantage of each other, they merely followed suit. Even Aya’s father briefly behaved badly, because he felt the “whites” had taken everything from him, so now he felt justified in taking from them. He took supplies sent to the United States military that were poorly monitored. It was easy to be corrupted under such circumstances.
In Japan, there seemed to be little show of outward affection, and certainly, it seemed as if there was even less compassion. Behavior was formal, and often cold and distant. The young were forced to grow old before their time in order to help their families and the adults were forced to do things against their nature to take care of their families. There was sadness from the loss of family members, homes, businesses and personal stature. The atmosphere was one of general despair. Understandably, also, many felt a deep resentment toward the Americans who were the conquerors, although some, too, had deep respect for the democracy they were trying to set up. They all had to learn how to be independent and deal with the greater amount of freedom offered. There was no longer an Emperor to dictate their way of life and behavior. People became calculating and often worried more about what others would think of them than about the safety or condition of others. They were able to turn a blind eye to suffering because they were all suffering. In some cases, the naïve children had more sense and concern for others, but they soon acquiesced to their parents’ expectations. It was expected that one would always maintain control, show no emotion, especially men, because emotion was considered a sign of weakness.
I found the story bittersweet. It was sad, and yet, what else could it be? The Japanese had lost the war with the United States that they had instigated with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but notice the stark contrast between the condition of the innocent Japanese children when compared to the image painted of MacArthur’s son Sergeant as he was being taken for a political photo op. He was well dressed and pampered, watching from the limousine window as the starving and ill dressed Japanese cheered his motorcade. This book is not really about the war, but rather about its aftermath. It is about the women the GI’s left behind, the abandoned mixed race babies, the suffering of the innocents, and the truly human cost of war as cultures clashed!.
June 10, 2024
A historical novel which is fortunately not a romance, I enjoyed the varied characters struggling to deal with occupied Japan. One character and her father were repatriated from Canada’s internment camps. The challenges of living in a post-war world were interesting to discover through the characters’ perspectives.
June 3, 2017
review pending
November 19, 2017
This was quite a good book. I learned some things about Japan after WW2 that I didn't know, especially about all the letters written to MacArthur. I liked very much the author's thoughts on the power of words, not just on who writes them and who reads them, but also, in this case, on who translates them.
February 29, 2020
Unique setting and perspective. Multiple points of view and stories told in this novel of difficulty set in Tokyo during US occupation.
January 14, 2023
Lately, I have been looking to read historical fiction taking place in different countries and different eras. The Translation of Love is a book set in post-WWII Japan, when general McArthur ruled post-empirical Japan to democratic Japan we know today.
It's been a long time since I read Memoirs of a Geisha, which reminded me a little about the period.
We are wrong if we thought Canada wasn't involved with incarceration camps for the Japanese during WWII. Canada, like the U.S., had those camps holding the Japanese Canadians, taking their nationalities, and sending them back to Japan.
The colonization will stay colonization because the Americans, with general McArthur, were applying democracy, and something hard to establish to people and a country whose ruling was military and empirical.
Through The Translation of Love, the Japanese-Americans who are part of McArthur's regime are not American enough to the Americans and not Japanese to the Japanese.
We also see the relationships between the Japanese from different aspects of classes.
I like how Lynne Kutsukake masterfully intertwines the characters' lives. The story's beginning is a tangled thread, but as you read, you understand how everything is connected.
If you are a reader who likes to learn about the history of the world you enjoy character-driven novels, this book is for you.
I enjoyed the book and kept reading to discover how all the characters are connected. The ending is a little open for my liking, and I would love to see some closers for our protagonists, which is why I had to reduce a star.
It's been a long time since I read Memoirs of a Geisha, which reminded me a little about the period.
We are wrong if we thought Canada wasn't involved with incarceration camps for the Japanese during WWII. Canada, like the U.S., had those camps holding the Japanese Canadians, taking their nationalities, and sending them back to Japan.
The colonization will stay colonization because the Americans, with general McArthur, were applying democracy, and something hard to establish to people and a country whose ruling was military and empirical.
Through The Translation of Love, the Japanese-Americans who are part of McArthur's regime are not American enough to the Americans and not Japanese to the Japanese.
We also see the relationships between the Japanese from different aspects of classes.
I like how Lynne Kutsukake masterfully intertwines the characters' lives. The story's beginning is a tangled thread, but as you read, you understand how everything is connected.
If you are a reader who likes to learn about the history of the world you enjoy character-driven novels, this book is for you.
I enjoyed the book and kept reading to discover how all the characters are connected. The ending is a little open for my liking, and I would love to see some closers for our protagonists, which is why I had to reduce a star.
August 30, 2016
This beautiful book by @penguin randomhouse revolves around the impact of the War between Japan and America. This book is a fictional take on it. With an interesting plot and not overdue expectations I started this book, only to be pleasantly surprised. The book has many layers to it. While primarily it zeroes in on a few segments and shows how war impacted them , it captures the raise in hope , and also in Ill practises. Not to forget , it takes us through some of the letters ( or rather a fictional take on them) that were written to the highest authority by desperate and lost Japanese people....all these different segments are beautifully woven by the search for a missing girl. The book shows the reader the lives of the ones who have lost everything and who now struggle to make ends meet . It shows the plight of children ,and poorer families who were the most severely hit. It touches upon the lives of Repat Japanese and American Japanese who lose a home and also an identity they always reckoned with.It shows how a teacher , a man who was equipped with education also went a long way to make a living in the country that was completely wrecked by the war. It elaborates how the women , took on various roles and who went to severe extremes to better their lives fall prey for false promises. This book is like a necklace made of beautiful shells picked from the shore . Each shell is different, and yet they are all held together to make the most gorgeous adornment. In the very same manner , all these different almost unrelated people are unified by destruction and it's ill effects and brought together via a maze of events that are born due to a missing girl , who's sister sets on a journey to find her. While this is the mere glimpse of what the book has in store for its reader .The events are raw , and portray how the war shook the country right through its core.
It barely grazes the surface of how a completely new government and governing style throws the people into a mayhem of rights and responsibilities , some willingly accepted and some levied upon them forcefully... Though it is a beautiful weave of various layers , it isn't confusing, on the contrary it is so well spaced out that you can totally watch the book unfurl in your mind like a movie. Talking about Japanese culture and how different it is to the culture practised by the GIs from America,it replays the struggles and trails of the innocent sufferers in a war torn land. It seems to speak not just about Japan itself , but also about how any war torn country is impacted. It shows how the people are compelled to live on ,though they have lost both loved ones and their materialistic belongs , it shows how the culture forcefully starts imitating the one of the Occupational forces simply to simplify things... a really enjoyable but realistically detailed book! :) each character is given enough importance to give one a peek into their life. The highlight for me however was the end , and how it was not what I expected but quite the opposite,reminding us that no matter how hard we fall , we raise, we always do :) :)
It barely grazes the surface of how a completely new government and governing style throws the people into a mayhem of rights and responsibilities , some willingly accepted and some levied upon them forcefully... Though it is a beautiful weave of various layers , it isn't confusing, on the contrary it is so well spaced out that you can totally watch the book unfurl in your mind like a movie. Talking about Japanese culture and how different it is to the culture practised by the GIs from America,it replays the struggles and trails of the innocent sufferers in a war torn land. It seems to speak not just about Japan itself , but also about how any war torn country is impacted. It shows how the people are compelled to live on ,though they have lost both loved ones and their materialistic belongs , it shows how the culture forcefully starts imitating the one of the Occupational forces simply to simplify things... a really enjoyable but realistically detailed book! :) each character is given enough importance to give one a peek into their life. The highlight for me however was the end , and how it was not what I expected but quite the opposite,reminding us that no matter how hard we fall , we raise, we always do :) :)
March 4, 2016
Received this as an Advanced Reader's Copy.
Set in Japan in 1946, during the American occupation, many of the characters are displaced. Aya is a 13 year old girl, whose parents were Japanese, but who grew up in Canada. After the war, her father returns to Japan, and she finds herself uncomfortable and lonely in a foreign culture. The teacher at her new school assigns another student, Fumi, to help her assimilate. At first Fumi dislikes her, but over time a friendship grows. Fumi is suffering from the loss of her sister, Sumiko, who has disappeared into the world of bar-girls, young women who "befriend" US GIs. Fuji worries about Sumiko.
Matt is a US soldier who translates letters written by Japanese people to General MacArthur, the American overlord of Japan. These sad letters, looking for a lost family member, or help because their family home was destroyed by American bombs, weigh on Matt. Matt is American, but of Japanese descent. He spent most of the war in an internment camp, and his brother, who enlisted as an American soldier, died in the war. He too feels out of place - the Japanese aren't comfortable with a person who looks Japanese, but wears an American uniform. His fellow soldiers don't feel comfortable with him either.
Fumi decides to appeal to General MacArthur for help in finding her sister. She gets Aya to write the letter in English, and the letter gets handed to Matt. He's not sure what to do, and a complex, but interesting series of stories ensue. While there are number of threads, the book is never confusing or obscure. I became very engaged in the story, and interested in what happens to all of the characters. There are many interesting questions that are touched on: what will you do to survive? What is the nature of loyalty? If you don't express love to another, do you still love them?
And there are many touching moments. Fumi's love for her sister drives a lot of the plot, and her sister's concern for family honor adds many of the complications.
I liked this book very much. The author picked a very interesting time and place to explore these issues. I would recommend this as a book club selection. Lots to talk about here, but treated in a way that would be acceptable to most book club readers.
Set in Japan in 1946, during the American occupation, many of the characters are displaced. Aya is a 13 year old girl, whose parents were Japanese, but who grew up in Canada. After the war, her father returns to Japan, and she finds herself uncomfortable and lonely in a foreign culture. The teacher at her new school assigns another student, Fumi, to help her assimilate. At first Fumi dislikes her, but over time a friendship grows. Fumi is suffering from the loss of her sister, Sumiko, who has disappeared into the world of bar-girls, young women who "befriend" US GIs. Fuji worries about Sumiko.
Matt is a US soldier who translates letters written by Japanese people to General MacArthur, the American overlord of Japan. These sad letters, looking for a lost family member, or help because their family home was destroyed by American bombs, weigh on Matt. Matt is American, but of Japanese descent. He spent most of the war in an internment camp, and his brother, who enlisted as an American soldier, died in the war. He too feels out of place - the Japanese aren't comfortable with a person who looks Japanese, but wears an American uniform. His fellow soldiers don't feel comfortable with him either.
Fumi decides to appeal to General MacArthur for help in finding her sister. She gets Aya to write the letter in English, and the letter gets handed to Matt. He's not sure what to do, and a complex, but interesting series of stories ensue. While there are number of threads, the book is never confusing or obscure. I became very engaged in the story, and interested in what happens to all of the characters. There are many interesting questions that are touched on: what will you do to survive? What is the nature of loyalty? If you don't express love to another, do you still love them?
And there are many touching moments. Fumi's love for her sister drives a lot of the plot, and her sister's concern for family honor adds many of the complications.
I liked this book very much. The author picked a very interesting time and place to explore these issues. I would recommend this as a book club selection. Lots to talk about here, but treated in a way that would be acceptable to most book club readers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 314 reviews