i just finished reading such an amazing book called hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet, by jamie ford. the story begins with an elderly man, henry lee, passing the panama hotel and discovering that the possessions of many japanese families have been recovered from the basement. the families stored their belongings in the hotel before being taken to internment camps during WWII. after catching a glimpse of a koi patterned parasol, henry is overwhelmed with memories of a forbidden young love with a japanese girl named keiko, whom he lost touch with during the years she was imprisoned. growing up under the rule of traditional chinese parents who were staunchly opposed to the japanese during the wartime, henry was torn between maintaining the approval of his father and following his heart. years later, having lost his wife to cancer a year earlier, henry decides it is appropriate to return to the hotel in hopes of finding some trace of keiko amongst the remnants and gaining closure to a bond that has haunted him for decades.
IT WAS SO GOOD. i read it in a day.
i loved how historically accurate it was too. it wasn't based on a true story, but if you're from the seattle area you can definitely recognize the street names and places if you're at all familiar with the chinatown area. the narration skips back and forth between the 1940s when henry was a child and 1986, when henry is a grown man with a child of his own. you'll probably cry several times if you read it.
