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Sophie and the Rising Sun
An unforgettable story of an extraordinary love and a town’s prejudice during World War II. Sophie and the Rising Sun “suggests the small but heartwarming triumphs made possible by human dignity and courage.” –Publisher’s Weekly. In sleepy Salty Creek, Georgia, strangers are rare. When a quiet, unassuming stranger arrives—a Japanese man with a secret history of his own—he becomes the talk of the town and a new beginning for lonely Sophie, who lost her first love during World War I. Middle-aged Sophie had resigned herself to a passionless existence. That all begins to change as she finds herself drawn to the mysterious Mr. Oto. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Mr. Oto's newfound life comes under siege; his safety, even in Salty Creek, is no longer certain. Sophie must decide how much she is willing to risk for a future with the man who has brought such joy into her life. Visit the author www.AugustaTrobaugh.com
200 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
72 people are currently reading
957 people want to read
About the author
Augusta Trobaugh
15 books43 followersAugusta Trobaugh is the author of three previous novels, Sophie and the Rising Sun, Resting in the Bosom of the Lamb, and Praise Jerusalem!, a semi-finalist in the 1993 Pirates Alley Faulkner competition. She holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Georgia, with a concentration in American and Southern literature. Her work has been funded through the Georgia Council of the Arts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 183 reviews
September 30, 2017
This is a gentle, elegantly told story, almost Japanese in it's simple and lyrical telling. Mr Oto is a lonely American Japanese who has run away from his family in California and become a gardener for a Southern lady, Miss Anne, in a small seaside town in Georgia. Sophie is a middle aged lady who has spent her life unmarried taking care of first her mother and then her elderly aunts. They strike up an unlikely friendship but when news of Pearl Harbour reaches the town Sophie realises Mr Oto is in danger from those in the small minded town who judge people on their appearance. Mr Oto is a wonderful character, Ms Anne is warm and caring and Sophie, prickly and reserved in the beginning starts to thaw and grow as her friendship with Mr Oto develops. The author weaves the Japanese fable of the crane wife through their story, linking Mr Oto to his ancestry and his relationship with Sophie and this adds another beautiful element to this lovely tale.
February 28, 2020
A beautiful book set in the Georgian town of Salty Creek, where we meet Mr Oto, an American of Japanese descent. He is employed my Miss Anne as her gardener. Miss Anne is an engaging character and Mr Oto is as unassuming as this understated novel. The other main characters is Sophie, who has spent much of her life caring for her mother and maiden aunts, she found love only to have it ripped away from her. Then she meets Mr Oto. A friendship forms. But it comes to the attention of Miss Ruth, neighbourhood busybody and gossip. When Japan bombs Pearl Harbour Miss Anne realises with feelings running high, something must be done about Mr Oto.
I fell in love with this story from the first page. It is as delicate and artful as a haiku or the beautiful crane on the cover of my copy. If you are looking for a fast paced story filled with action this will not suit you. But if you want to sink into a book of poetic prose, images and charming characters struggling against the fear and racism of the time, this should appeal. I thoroughly enjoyed it and liked the way the legend of the crane wife was integral in the story. Some people might query the ending. I thought it was perfect. I will be very interested to read another book by this author. I feel privileged to have spent time with this short but stunning novel.
I fell in love with this story from the first page. It is as delicate and artful as a haiku or the beautiful crane on the cover of my copy. If you are looking for a fast paced story filled with action this will not suit you. But if you want to sink into a book of poetic prose, images and charming characters struggling against the fear and racism of the time, this should appeal. I thoroughly enjoyed it and liked the way the legend of the crane wife was integral in the story. Some people might query the ending. I thought it was perfect. I will be very interested to read another book by this author. I feel privileged to have spent time with this short but stunning novel.
April 8, 2017
I had no idea what to expect from this Netgalley book. I knew the synopsis - basically that a middle-aged spinster forms a friendship, perhaps more, with the Japanese gardener working for a friend right at the onset of America's involvement in WWII; that could go any number of ways.
The way Sophie and the Rising Sun went was utterly beautiful. Mr. Oto - and that is all I'm going to call him, as his given name deserves the reveal it gets - is a lovely, lovely character, a man who has done a bit of drifting and is mildly startled to find himself fifty years old and gardening in Georgia. Sophie is a woman who has spent her entire life tending to the old ladies in her life, her mother and two elderly aunts, and now that they have all passed on she is doing some drifting of her own, continuing in the same direction like an object in motion remaining in motion without any outside influence. As the two drift together, something happens.
If this had been all there was to the story - a gently growing connection between two people of different races and very different backgrounds - it would have been a good book. Placing a significant step in the growth of the relationship on the morning of December 7, 1947 helped push it over into something beyond good. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor comes, instantaneously, a rage against the Japanese or anyone who might be Japanese which ... sadly, which is reminiscent of the backlash against anyone perceived as Muslim in the time right after 9/11. A layer is peeled back from the soft and gentle Southern way of life, and what lies underneath is dangerous. Suddenly the town busybody, Ruth, is more than just a plaguey nuisance: she is a very real threat to not only what is emerging between Sophie and Mr. Oto but to their safety. Theirs, and that of anyone who helps them.
There is a rather Asian feel to the story-telling, elegant and reserved, echoing the description of Mr. Oto's painting (one of those fictional pieces I'd love to be able to see). This is no ordinary romance novel where two people begin tearing each other's clothes off twelve minutes after they meet. The romance at its heart is gentler, harking back to older novels in the quiet intensity of feeling. Loved it.
The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.
The way Sophie and the Rising Sun went was utterly beautiful. Mr. Oto - and that is all I'm going to call him, as his given name deserves the reveal it gets - is a lovely, lovely character, a man who has done a bit of drifting and is mildly startled to find himself fifty years old and gardening in Georgia. Sophie is a woman who has spent her entire life tending to the old ladies in her life, her mother and two elderly aunts, and now that they have all passed on she is doing some drifting of her own, continuing in the same direction like an object in motion remaining in motion without any outside influence. As the two drift together, something happens.
If this had been all there was to the story - a gently growing connection between two people of different races and very different backgrounds - it would have been a good book. Placing a significant step in the growth of the relationship on the morning of December 7, 1947 helped push it over into something beyond good. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor comes, instantaneously, a rage against the Japanese or anyone who might be Japanese which ... sadly, which is reminiscent of the backlash against anyone perceived as Muslim in the time right after 9/11. A layer is peeled back from the soft and gentle Southern way of life, and what lies underneath is dangerous. Suddenly the town busybody, Ruth, is more than just a plaguey nuisance: she is a very real threat to not only what is emerging between Sophie and Mr. Oto but to their safety. Theirs, and that of anyone who helps them.
There is a rather Asian feel to the story-telling, elegant and reserved, echoing the description of Mr. Oto's painting (one of those fictional pieces I'd love to be able to see). This is no ordinary romance novel where two people begin tearing each other's clothes off twelve minutes after they meet. The romance at its heart is gentler, harking back to older novels in the quiet intensity of feeling. Loved it.
The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.
February 13, 2008
If you're looking for a gentle, heartwarming love story this is the story for you. Don't expect any hot sex scenes. lust, or strife, just the tender approach of love for an unlikely couple. The story is well written and can be read quickly--a good choice for a rainy day. It's too bad they don't write stories like this anymore. Quite a gem!
November 29, 2022
3.5 stars
A different twist on a WW2 historical fiction story. It’s short, and sweet, and you will need Kleenex for certain parts.
Memorable Quotes:
(Pg. 77)-“Sophie stared silently at the chair she’d been sitting in, the book she had been reading, the cup of tea on the table-all things from what felt like a different world, with everything divided now into Before and After.”
A different twist on a WW2 historical fiction story. It’s short, and sweet, and you will need Kleenex for certain parts.
Memorable Quotes:
(Pg. 77)-“Sophie stared silently at the chair she’d been sitting in, the book she had been reading, the cup of tea on the table-all things from what felt like a different world, with everything divided now into Before and After.”
July 25, 2008
There is nothing better than just stumbling upon a book while perusing at the library, knowing nothing about it, and discovering that you have found a gem. That’s how it was with this one—Sophie and the Rising Sun, which I only picked up because my daughter’s name was in the title. It turned out to be such a lovely story. It’s a quick read—only about 200 pages—perfect for a rainy day.
December 30, 2011
A very moving story about an extraordinary love and a town's prejudice during World War II. Set in the sleepy town of Salty Creek, Georgia, where strangers are rare, an unassuming stranger arrives; a quiet, Japanese man in his 50's, with secrets of his own. He becomes a new beginning for lonely Sophie, who lost her first love during World War I. She has resigned herself to a life of living alone, but that changes when she meets Mr. Oto. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Mr. Oto's newfound life comes under siege, he can't be certain of his safety, even in Salty Creek. Sophie must now decide how much she is willing to risk her life a future with a man who has brought such joy into her life.
I really enjoyed this story; if you like author Nicholas Sparks, you will probably enjoy this story too. I think this would be great made into a movie, and I can totally see Kate Winslett playing Sophie.
I really enjoyed this story; if you like author Nicholas Sparks, you will probably enjoy this story too. I think this would be great made into a movie, and I can totally see Kate Winslett playing Sophie.
June 8, 2011
This book made me feel....poetic. That doesn't happen to me a lot. It has romance, but not the butterfly in the stomach kind....the actual learn what love feels like kind. The learning and growing and accepting and understanding that takes place in so many of the characters was really inspiring. There was nothing particularly beautiful in the book, but I would say it leaves you with a sense of beauty. True beauty.
I loved how it switched back and forth between Miss Anne and narrator. By the end of the book I really loved Miss Anne. I wanted to go and visit her myself.
The book follows the pace of life for this small town. Slow, but full of heart and meaning.
This is one I would revisit.
I loved how it switched back and forth between Miss Anne and narrator. By the end of the book I really loved Miss Anne. I wanted to go and visit her myself.
The book follows the pace of life for this small town. Slow, but full of heart and meaning.
This is one I would revisit.
September 18, 2014
Oh, how lovely! This book will leave a smile on your face after finishing. I love all the dialogues: both the spoken and unspoken ones. It is simple and refreshing, a sweet love story without trying too hard. It is a novel with uncomplicated decisions from the main characters and it allows the readers to indulge on a basic blissful life. Oh, how lovely!
March 9, 2012
Lovely sweet story of two 50somethings finding love at the start of the second world war. The hero was an extremely mild mannered man of Japanese descent and the heroine was a spinster who had spent her whole life looking after her mother and aunts. Most of the story was told through the eyes of the hero. I really enjoyed how he felt so much for the heroine without even really knowing her. And after they met, he really treated her like a princess. I loved the description of the painting that he did of her and would have loved to really see it.
The book was a fast read but the story was slow moving and rather lyrical. The imagery was lovely and the relationship seemed destined and true.
I could have used just a bit more concreteness at the end but all in all a very sweet story.
I received this from netGalley for review.
The book was a fast read but the story was slow moving and rather lyrical. The imagery was lovely and the relationship seemed destined and true.
I could have used just a bit more concreteness at the end but all in all a very sweet story.
I received this from netGalley for review.
December 6, 2017
Onvan : Sophie and the Rising Sun - Nevisande : Augusta Trobaugh - ISBN : 452283493 - ISBN13 : 9780452283497 - Dar 224 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2001
February 25, 2012
3.5 Mr Otto is a middle aged man of Japanese ethnicity,although he was born in California and considers himself an American. Sophie is a middle aged spinster, having taken care of her mother and than her elderly aunts, and losing her first love in World War I. Taking place in a small town in Georgia, this is not a passionate love affair but a rather elegant one as is the writing in this novel. When Pearl Harbor is bombed all the small town stereotypes as well as the usual prejudices come into play. There are some wonderful characters in this novel and of course a town troublemaker, who has been causing Sophie trouble most of her life. This is a novel that is simply written but contains beautiful language and images. It is also about looking at a person beneath the surface, which a few amazing women in this town mange to do. It is about second chances and having the courage to form ones own opinions and the willingness and courage to grasp a future.
August 15, 2009
In 1943 a mysterious stranger aarriver sin Salty Creek, Georgia. Mr. Oto, a quiet, unassuming, ,an beomes a gardner for Sophie, who lost her love during World War I. Sophie has resigned herself to a life craing for her aging mother and aging maiden aunts. I agonized until Miss Sophie and Mr. Oto finally speak. To Mr. Oto, whose heart has been full from the moment he saw Sophie,it is a miracle. When the Japanese bomb Peral Harbor, Mr. Oto's new found life comesunder seige. Is any joy possible for Mr. Oto or Sophie? Memorable characters will draw you in. This short novel is full of caring, compassionate characdters. I wanted them to find joy!
March 16, 2017
It was when WWII was starting. Sophie hired Mr Otto as gardener and handy man, in her home in Georgia. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor; they were in fear. Mr Otto was Japanese and not Chinese as she once thought. Mr Otto fell in love with Sophie, her kindness and her gently ways, reminded him of the Jananese story of the Crane wife. Sophie hid Mr Otto in a small fishing cabin by the ocean. People were snooping and gossiping. Sophie and Mr Otto just disappeared. Sophie vowed life was not going to leave her behind and alone. A beautifully written love story.
January 10, 2012
I am really torn about this book. One one hand, I see a beautiful love story... Oto loves Sophie right away, and his is a beautiful love. There nothing even remotely ugly about Oto. His love isn't one of those, "Oh my manhood stirred at the sight of her and I imagined myself.." kind of loves. His love is pure, his character innocent and naive. Sophie, too, has a clean love for Otto.
On the other hand, where the heck is this love coming from? Oto sees her and from then on, it's all about this weird crane sighting... How do you love someone so passionately that you have only seen from afar or sat there quietly with?
Full review is on Book Babe:
http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2012/...
On the other hand, where the heck is this love coming from? Oto sees her and from then on, it's all about this weird crane sighting... How do you love someone so passionately that you have only seen from afar or sat there quietly with?
Full review is on Book Babe:
http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2012/...
December 31, 2017
This story was so touching and surprised me with its depth. I have read several books by this author, but this is the best. I saw the movie first, on Netflix, and loved it, and knew there must be more details in the book. I was rewarded with a tender story of love, which developed in a Southern town loaded with prejudice, hateful suspicion of other races and even of people who have different lives and thoughts. I have lived in small Southern towns with these suspicions, and experienced that hatred of people who are not white, Christian, or following in lock step the narrow views of the ruling class.
July 25, 2017
Lovely story! I was entranced by the beautiful hearts of the main characters, especially Mr. Oto's. I enjoyed the feeling evoked of sipping iced tea on the front porch as old Miss Anne regaled me with this Southern tale . . . Love these quotes which those who've read the book might recall . . . "You should have seen their eyes!" "Sometimes I see Mr. Oto's face the way it looked when something especially beautiful bloomed under his care." ". . . And his nurturing her into the beautiful flower she was always meant to be."
May 27, 2017
I recently bought this book at my library book sale. I had no idea what it was about or who the author was. I was drawn to it - the cover, the feel of it in my hands. I rarely give a book my highest 5 star rating, but I have added this one to my list. The storytelling was so divine and compelling that I would read a few chapters, put it down to savor what I read, and come back to it later. I actually didn't want the story to end. I loved it! I know I will re-read this book many more times in the future.
July 17, 2019
Amazing how a 200 page book could address so many issues. The main topic is a love story in a small southern town between a man and woman from two different walks of life. It is a sweet story in spite of happening at the same time as the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Maybe even more is the importance of friendship and how much one might risk for a friend. It has all the innuendos of southern small town life. I really liked this book.
January 1, 2013
A quiet and introspective book. I picked this up expecting Southern gothic and instead received a delicate treatment of overcoming social barriers when a Japanese gardner falls in love with a hometown Georgia girl during the outbreak of World War II.
August 23, 2025
Reading this book felt like watching a Hallmark movie.
August 8, 2010
Given to me by a friend from Spirit Moves to read. Most of the reviews seem to classify this as a gentle little love story. Love story, yes. Gentle? I'm not so sure, because I, for one, can't really glean the ending of the story. There are several secrets in this book and the answer to the final one isn't all that clear to me.
The story takes place in a small coastal town in Georgia just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The gardener of a town matron (Miss Anne) is a quiet fellow named Mr Oto. He is an American, of Japanese descent, though the town believes him to be Chinese. How he got to a small town in Georgia, from his home in California, is revealed through a back-story. He keeps pretty much to himself, but has found himself admiring, from afar, the town spinster, Sophie. Sophie's life might have taken a different track, had she not had to care for her mother and aging aunts, or had the man she loved, actually loved her back, and actually survived The Great War. In her middle years, she finds herself entering into a gentle friendship with the equally disappointed in life and love Mr Oto. They paint together, and share quiet beauties of the world around them. Each grows to love the other. But as this friendship grows into love, the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor and Mr Oto has to flee Salty Creek, for his own safety and for the safety of those who have befriended him.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
There are a lot of secrets in this book: Mr Oto's heritage, where he is hiding, if Sophie's love actually loved her back, and ultimately, what happened to Sophie and Mr Oto. Metaphors abound in the book: the Japanese Crane that appears to Mr Oto, the little pink dogwood trees in Miss Anne's garden, the stuffed birds of her mother's that Sophie kept in small box, hurricanes, winds, the sea. I just find that I'm not 100% clear about how the story ended. Most people seem to think that Mr Oto and Sophie actually ran away together. But I have my doubts. He made a sacrifice to the sea, she to the winds. They may have been together at the end, but how the heck did they get away anywhere in the middle of the floods and winds of a hurricane. And if they did get away, they still have a myriad of problems of a mixed union at such a volatile time in our history. They would be welcome nowhere. Maybe the sea claimed them and swept their bodies so far out that they weren't washed up on shore anywhere. Maybe they escaped and started a life together. I'm just not sure. And the only person left in the story who might know, Big Sally, got bashed on the head with a blow hard enough to turn her bitter to nice and help her forget the secrets she kept.
The story takes place in a small coastal town in Georgia just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The gardener of a town matron (Miss Anne) is a quiet fellow named Mr Oto. He is an American, of Japanese descent, though the town believes him to be Chinese. How he got to a small town in Georgia, from his home in California, is revealed through a back-story. He keeps pretty much to himself, but has found himself admiring, from afar, the town spinster, Sophie. Sophie's life might have taken a different track, had she not had to care for her mother and aging aunts, or had the man she loved, actually loved her back, and actually survived The Great War. In her middle years, she finds herself entering into a gentle friendship with the equally disappointed in life and love Mr Oto. They paint together, and share quiet beauties of the world around them. Each grows to love the other. But as this friendship grows into love, the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor and Mr Oto has to flee Salty Creek, for his own safety and for the safety of those who have befriended him.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
There are a lot of secrets in this book: Mr Oto's heritage, where he is hiding, if Sophie's love actually loved her back, and ultimately, what happened to Sophie and Mr Oto. Metaphors abound in the book: the Japanese Crane that appears to Mr Oto, the little pink dogwood trees in Miss Anne's garden, the stuffed birds of her mother's that Sophie kept in small box, hurricanes, winds, the sea. I just find that I'm not 100% clear about how the story ended. Most people seem to think that Mr Oto and Sophie actually ran away together. But I have my doubts. He made a sacrifice to the sea, she to the winds. They may have been together at the end, but how the heck did they get away anywhere in the middle of the floods and winds of a hurricane. And if they did get away, they still have a myriad of problems of a mixed union at such a volatile time in our history. They would be welcome nowhere. Maybe the sea claimed them and swept their bodies so far out that they weren't washed up on shore anywhere. Maybe they escaped and started a life together. I'm just not sure. And the only person left in the story who might know, Big Sally, got bashed on the head with a blow hard enough to turn her bitter to nice and help her forget the secrets she kept.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2011
In the years preceding America's entry into World War II, a quiet Georgia town called Salty Creek is home to a peculiar and risky romance.
For quite some time, only polite and brief exchanges were ever had between a spinster named Sophie and Miss Anne's courteous and enigmatic “Chinese” gardener, Mr. Oto. Miss Anne, a moral woman whose memories of the event are at the center of this tale, provides Oto with refuge after he arrives, disgraced, starving, and essentially dropped from a Greyhound bus, in Salty Creek. Then, Oto notices Sophie and begins to fall in love. Sophie, whose own true love was lost in World War I, has settled on leading a dull and miserable existence following the death of her female family members for whom she cared. But somehow she is drawn to Mr. Oto. Love always seems to find us when we are not searching...
...Eventually, a strong friendship develops between them. While the rest of the townspeople attend church services on Sunday, Sophie and Oto sit quietly by the river and paint. Both recognize the unconventional nature of their relationship and proceed with precaution as a result. Yet the passion they feel for each other slowly rises to the surface, just in time for hell to be unleashed.
Oto, who is only mistaken by the simple townspeople for someone of Chinese ancestry, is actually Japanese by descent (though he is California-born), and when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, he is forced into hiding to escape the onslaught of misguided aggression and, in some cases, unadulterated hatred. Now, Sophie and Miss Anne provide what they can to sustain Oto, but will it be enough, or are the divisions caused by war too great for them to bear?
Sophie and the Rising Sun is a romance that deals with the problems of racial tensions and gives us an account of love's power to overcome even seemingly insurmountable obstacles, such as great disparities in age or ancestry. The novel is the most recent release from Augusta Trobaugh, whose stories have a lot to offer for those readers who can never get enough of romance. Sophie and the Rising Sun is pleasant and simple to read, but there is a certain intricacy to the plot. Perhaps it is the story's ability to grapple with some difficult topics, or maybe it is the nearly poetic innocence of Sophie and Oto's blossoming love (even in spite of its seeming so uncharacteristic). Whatever the reason, if you happen to be a fan of romance, you do not want to pass up Sophie and the Rising Sun by Augusta Trobaugh, available in bookstores everywhere.
For quite some time, only polite and brief exchanges were ever had between a spinster named Sophie and Miss Anne's courteous and enigmatic “Chinese” gardener, Mr. Oto. Miss Anne, a moral woman whose memories of the event are at the center of this tale, provides Oto with refuge after he arrives, disgraced, starving, and essentially dropped from a Greyhound bus, in Salty Creek. Then, Oto notices Sophie and begins to fall in love. Sophie, whose own true love was lost in World War I, has settled on leading a dull and miserable existence following the death of her female family members for whom she cared. But somehow she is drawn to Mr. Oto. Love always seems to find us when we are not searching...
...Eventually, a strong friendship develops between them. While the rest of the townspeople attend church services on Sunday, Sophie and Oto sit quietly by the river and paint. Both recognize the unconventional nature of their relationship and proceed with precaution as a result. Yet the passion they feel for each other slowly rises to the surface, just in time for hell to be unleashed.
Oto, who is only mistaken by the simple townspeople for someone of Chinese ancestry, is actually Japanese by descent (though he is California-born), and when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, he is forced into hiding to escape the onslaught of misguided aggression and, in some cases, unadulterated hatred. Now, Sophie and Miss Anne provide what they can to sustain Oto, but will it be enough, or are the divisions caused by war too great for them to bear?
Sophie and the Rising Sun is a romance that deals with the problems of racial tensions and gives us an account of love's power to overcome even seemingly insurmountable obstacles, such as great disparities in age or ancestry. The novel is the most recent release from Augusta Trobaugh, whose stories have a lot to offer for those readers who can never get enough of romance. Sophie and the Rising Sun is pleasant and simple to read, but there is a certain intricacy to the plot. Perhaps it is the story's ability to grapple with some difficult topics, or maybe it is the nearly poetic innocence of Sophie and Oto's blossoming love (even in spite of its seeming so uncharacteristic). Whatever the reason, if you happen to be a fan of romance, you do not want to pass up Sophie and the Rising Sun by Augusta Trobaugh, available in bookstores everywhere.
May 10, 2012
Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com...
Sophie and the Rising Sun is a story of World War II - specifically of World War II right as the attack on Pearl Harbor happens. It is a story of that time but set in a small Georgia town. As such, it is period piece about the American South.
Sophie is the town spinster with an overpowering mother and a lost love in her background. Ms. Anne is the one in town not afraid to do things a little differently. Ms. Ruth is the town busybody. And Mr. Oto is the anomaly in town - an American of Japanese heritage who lands in the town and stays. The book is about the "friendship" between Sophie and Mr. Oto and the ramifications of the Pearl Harbor attacks on this small town and these individuals. The book is about the choices the characters make in response to the war and the consequences.
Sophie and the Rising Sun is a delightful story to read. It is definitely more a story of small town America than war. The news of Pearl Harbor is the trigger for what follows. However, the focus clearly remains on the individual characters and this small town. It is interesting to feel the town and characters so far removed from the war yet at the same time so deeply embedded in it because of the prejudice and fear it created.
The prejudices in our lives come across so clearly in this book. Mr. Oto is as American as Ms. Ruth, yet is judged by the way he looks and speaks and by his heritage. Certain people cannot look past the surface differences to see that he is just like them. We would like to think this does not happen here in America, but unfortunately it did and it still does. So, I found myself laughing because the "period piece" nature of this book made the prejudices seem ludicrous. However, I also found myself thinking that this could very well occur now but hoping that it will not.
***Reviewed for the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program***
Sophie and the Rising Sun is a story of World War II - specifically of World War II right as the attack on Pearl Harbor happens. It is a story of that time but set in a small Georgia town. As such, it is period piece about the American South.
Sophie is the town spinster with an overpowering mother and a lost love in her background. Ms. Anne is the one in town not afraid to do things a little differently. Ms. Ruth is the town busybody. And Mr. Oto is the anomaly in town - an American of Japanese heritage who lands in the town and stays. The book is about the "friendship" between Sophie and Mr. Oto and the ramifications of the Pearl Harbor attacks on this small town and these individuals. The book is about the choices the characters make in response to the war and the consequences.
Sophie and the Rising Sun is a delightful story to read. It is definitely more a story of small town America than war. The news of Pearl Harbor is the trigger for what follows. However, the focus clearly remains on the individual characters and this small town. It is interesting to feel the town and characters so far removed from the war yet at the same time so deeply embedded in it because of the prejudice and fear it created.
The prejudices in our lives come across so clearly in this book. Mr. Oto is as American as Ms. Ruth, yet is judged by the way he looks and speaks and by his heritage. Certain people cannot look past the surface differences to see that he is just like them. We would like to think this does not happen here in America, but unfortunately it did and it still does. So, I found myself laughing because the "period piece" nature of this book made the prejudices seem ludicrous. However, I also found myself thinking that this could very well occur now but hoping that it will not.
***Reviewed for the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program***
June 25, 2015
"Sophie and the Rising Sun" by Augusta Trobaugh is a bit like a haiku in novel form: brief, beautiful, full of symbolism and complex for its simplicity. It is romantic in the very best way, pitting the idealism of love against the cold realities of circumstance.
Told in various viewpoints, the story places a not-quite-hopeless spinster and a middle-aged Japanese-American gardener in a small Southern town on the eve of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The author chose her setting in which dangerous prejudice was a historical fact rather than an outdated Southern stereotype. (It's a pet peeve of mine that, in modern works, Southern characters are often subject to being painted with a broad brush of colloquialisms and ignorance. I appreciated that this author respected her characters, even her main villain, more than that. There are archetypes, but no ridiculous caricatures.)
There is a curious lack of male characters of any real importance (other than the male protagonist), which I realized after I finished reading the book. I wouldn't say this detracts, though. References to Christianity are present more for characterizations (certain hypocritical characters) than for thematic reasons.
My one critical note with the story is I can respect this artistic decision, but it's not my preference.
Recommended for lovers of small Southern coastal towns, fans of Japanese culture, and readers who appreciate a gentle romance.
Told in various viewpoints, the story places a not-quite-hopeless spinster and a middle-aged Japanese-American gardener in a small Southern town on the eve of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The author chose her setting in which dangerous prejudice was a historical fact rather than an outdated Southern stereotype. (It's a pet peeve of mine that, in modern works, Southern characters are often subject to being painted with a broad brush of colloquialisms and ignorance. I appreciated that this author respected her characters, even her main villain, more than that. There are archetypes, but no ridiculous caricatures.)
There is a curious lack of male characters of any real importance (other than the male protagonist), which I realized after I finished reading the book. I wouldn't say this detracts, though. References to Christianity are present more for characterizations (certain hypocritical characters) than for thematic reasons.
My one critical note with the story is I can respect this artistic decision, but it's not my preference.
Recommended for lovers of small Southern coastal towns, fans of Japanese culture, and readers who appreciate a gentle romance.
May 18, 2016
I am not sure what I was expecting when I started this book but what I got was a beautiful chaste love story between southern belle Sophie and Japanese American Mr. Oto. This was a beautifully written look at the south during the time of Pearl Harbor and everything changed for Mr. Oto and the women in his life his boss Miss Ann and his friend (and woman he loves) Miss Sophie. But this was so much more than a love story; it’s a friendship story and also a historical look at a very tough time especially for Japanese Americans and the people who cared about them, and the people who blamed them for everything.
This was a sweet story and even the “bad guy/woman” was redeemable she wasn’t so much a bad guy just an old busybody. My favorite character was Big Sally, or Queen Sally as she’d rather be called, she took such good care of everyone. I liked the friendships in this book between Sally, Sophie and Miss Ann.
This is a short, but good story , if you are a fan southern fiction and/or friendship stories I would recommend this one.
This was narrated by Rue McClanahan of Golden Girls fame and she did a good job but sometimes with someone so recognizable her voice almost gets in the way of the story because you are picturing her as all the characters instead of the characters speaking for themselves.
4 stars
This was a sweet story and even the “bad guy/woman” was redeemable she wasn’t so much a bad guy just an old busybody. My favorite character was Big Sally, or Queen Sally as she’d rather be called, she took such good care of everyone. I liked the friendships in this book between Sally, Sophie and Miss Ann.
This is a short, but good story , if you are a fan southern fiction and/or friendship stories I would recommend this one.
This was narrated by Rue McClanahan of Golden Girls fame and she did a good job but sometimes with someone so recognizable her voice almost gets in the way of the story because you are picturing her as all the characters instead of the characters speaking for themselves.
4 stars
April 9, 2012
Author: Augusta Trobaugh
Title: Sophie and the Rising Sun
Description : This is a short novel, close to a novella, set in Georgia in 1941. When Miss Anne’s oriental gardener and Miss Sophie begin to become friends, not only do they face their racial differences, but their age—and the beginning of WWII.
Review source: Library Thing Early Reviewers
Plot: Nothing mind-blowing. Two people who think they have missed love somehow find it, in the worst of all possible circumstances. Complicated by the church-going, Bible-thumping busybody that always hangs out somewhere in small towns like these.
Characters: Most of the characters are sympathetic, except for the above-mentioned busybody.
Writing style: Very understated. The book wasn’t put out by a religious press, but it could have been.
Audience: This book is a love story, but it’s not a romance (if that makes sense). I think romance readers might like it, though, as would literary fiction readers and those who normally go for Christian fiction.
Wrap-up: This book is quiet and understated, like its hero and heroine. It’s worth a read, though. 4/5*
Title: Sophie and the Rising Sun
Description : This is a short novel, close to a novella, set in Georgia in 1941. When Miss Anne’s oriental gardener and Miss Sophie begin to become friends, not only do they face their racial differences, but their age—and the beginning of WWII.
Review source: Library Thing Early Reviewers
Plot: Nothing mind-blowing. Two people who think they have missed love somehow find it, in the worst of all possible circumstances. Complicated by the church-going, Bible-thumping busybody that always hangs out somewhere in small towns like these.
Characters: Most of the characters are sympathetic, except for the above-mentioned busybody.
Writing style: Very understated. The book wasn’t put out by a religious press, but it could have been.
Audience: This book is a love story, but it’s not a romance (if that makes sense). I think romance readers might like it, though, as would literary fiction readers and those who normally go for Christian fiction.
Wrap-up: This book is quiet and understated, like its hero and heroine. It’s worth a read, though. 4/5*
December 26, 2011
Wonderful - The Help Meets Nicholas Sparks
This story is a wonderful, lovely tale. I instantly liked Sophie, Miss Anne, Mr. Oto and was drawn into their world. Miss Ruth is portrayed in a perfectly nasty way. Well done. Queen Sally was fun and I only wish she had a bigger part in the book.
If you are a fan of Nicholas Sparks and his soft, sometimes gushy, love stories, I suggest you try Sophie and the Rising Sun. While Mr. Sparks can leave us with a face full of tears, I was left with a smile after reading this book.
A couple of sections seemed rater contrived (how Mr. Oto arrive in Salty Creek and an incident involving an ankle injury), but I was able to look past that and just go with the flow of the story. Although the writing of this book doesn't reach the depth of The Help, I enjoyed the similarities this book had with that story.
This would make a fantastic movie for Lifetime or the Hallmark Channel. Producers searching for new material - stop here!
A lovely read. I encourage you to pick it up.
This story is a wonderful, lovely tale. I instantly liked Sophie, Miss Anne, Mr. Oto and was drawn into their world. Miss Ruth is portrayed in a perfectly nasty way. Well done. Queen Sally was fun and I only wish she had a bigger part in the book.
If you are a fan of Nicholas Sparks and his soft, sometimes gushy, love stories, I suggest you try Sophie and the Rising Sun. While Mr. Sparks can leave us with a face full of tears, I was left with a smile after reading this book.
A couple of sections seemed rater contrived (how Mr. Oto arrive in Salty Creek and an incident involving an ankle injury), but I was able to look past that and just go with the flow of the story. Although the writing of this book doesn't reach the depth of The Help, I enjoyed the similarities this book had with that story.
This would make a fantastic movie for Lifetime or the Hallmark Channel. Producers searching for new material - stop here!
A lovely read. I encourage you to pick it up.
December 12, 2016
I picked this up primarily because I liked the cover photo plus the title's allusion to something Japanese and boy am I glad I did! This is a tender love story set in the 1930s between an odd pair; a spinster and a Japanese gardener. It reminds me of one of my favorite movies of life, The Road Home, which is proof that a love story can be both moving and unforgettable without having to add any gratuitous sex scenes. Sophie and the Rising Sun had me reading a certain line, pausing, and then reading that same line again. I enjoyed the writing tremendously that I would read some sentences over and over again. There was a strange, almost magical element about a crane, but other than that, the story is a blend of love, friendship, art and the racial prejudices of that era. All of that with a little bit of thrill mixed in. I also just found out this was made into a movie to be released next year! Oh my heart! I imagine Takeshi Kaneshiro would make the perfect Mr. Oto but they cast a different actor. Bummer. And if you're curious, my other favorite movie is The Little Mermaid. :p
September 15, 2011
Sophie and the Rising Sun by Augusta Trobaugh is an exquisitely told tale set in a small Georgia town, complete with the standard righteous town busybody and all the prejudices of small towns in the Deep South in the early 1940s. Mr. Oto, a “foreign” man, arrives half-starved and becomes Miss Anne’s “Chinese” gardener. Mr. Oto and Sophie, a “real lady” who never had a chance at love, slowly develop a relationship as delicate and beautiful as the bird’s wing in the Japanese folk tale that is skillfully woven into the story, blending truth, dream, and fantasy. The bombing of Pearl Harbor enrages the town, forcing Miss Anne and Sophie to making fateful decisions in their attempts to protect Mr. Oto. The book is a quick, pleasant read that gives the the reader a look into a different world through sympathetic eyes. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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