Lynne Kutsukake

Was a bit disappointed with this novel and felt a bit miss led by the title and the description on the back cover. I was expecting to read a love story between a Japanese woman and an American G.I. Turned out to be the exact opposite. Japanese women turned to one of the main characters ; Kondo to translate letters to and from their American "lovers". But time and time again The G. I. was a writing to tell the Japanese women they were never coming back and despite their promises, were never going to bring them to the USA. Broken hearts galore. The only real show of love in the novel was Fuma's undying love for her missing sister Sumiko. They're relationship was very sweet.… (meer)

So far, my favourite book I've read this year!

This book is told from five perspectives, all beautifully intertwined with each other in a satisfying way. This is a story I hadn't heard before, the story of post-WWII Japan. The US occupation is bringing democracy and a whole generation of heartbroken women with babies that don't look quite Japanese. Fumi's sister is missing and she wants Aya, a repat to help find her. Sumiko is dancing with GI Joes, and refuses to go farther than that. Matt is an American Japanese soldier who doesn't fit in as either American or Japanese. Kondo is a school teacher, writing letters of love to American soldiers from their Japanese girlfriends and translating their break up letters.

I really loved this one!… (meer)

Enjoyable writing.

A heart-wrenching period in history, the aftermath of the WWII on the loser side. The lives and thoughts of the characters interwoven in Tokyo of 1948, all connected through the letters written to General McArthur who brought democracy to the Empire of the Rising Sun.

One of the most interesting details was perhaps how the Nisei Japanese felt (people who were born in America or Canada, who experienced the internment camps and found their way one way or the other back to Japan), and another the situation that many women found themselves in, being the providers for the family, but being shunned by the society, as they became bargirls and danced with US soldiers to get foodstuff.

I found it interesting, that Kutsukake decided to use speech-patterns for the Japanese characters that are more similar to actual Japanese than English: short, clipped sentences, which in Japanese sound fine, but in English might seem a little awkward. For me this however added to the immersion, and made these characters really more Japanese.

Several of the characters got to a breaking point, where there could have been no return. But I personally am glad, that Kutsukake decided to give hope for the characters, and ending the book in a gentle way, instead of going full-on depressing.… (meer)