“Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” by Jamie Ford is a historical fiction novel set in Seattle, Washington, during World War II. The story follows Henry Lee, a Chinese-American boy who falls in love with a Japanese-American girl, Keiko Okabe, during a time of racial tension and prejudice in America.
The novel begins in 1986 when Henry is a widower in his early 50s. He stumbles upon the Panama Hotel in Seattle’s International District, which has been boarded up since the war. The hotel brings back memories of his childhood and his relationship with Keiko. As he reflects on his past, the narrative takes the reader back to the early 1940s when Henry is a 12-year-old boy.
Henry’s father is a traditionalist who wants his son to embrace their Chinese heritage and forget about the American culture around them. Despite his father’s wishes, Henry befriends Keiko, a Japanese-American girl who is also struggling to find her place in a society that views her with suspicion and fear.
As World War II breaks out, Japanese-Americans are forced into internment camps, and Keiko’s family is among them. Henry and Keiko promise to write to each other and stay in touch, but their letters are intercepted by Henry’s father, who forbids him from having any contact with Keiko.
As Henry grows older, he becomes estranged from his father and marries Ethel, a Chinese-American woman who is more traditional and obedient than Keiko. However, Henry never forgets Keiko and the promise he made to her. When he discovers that the Panama Hotel has been holding the belongings of Japanese families who were interned during the war, he is determined to find Keiko’s belongings and return them to her.
The novel explores themes of love, loss, identity, and belonging. It also sheds light on the discrimination and prejudice faced by Chinese and Japanese Americans during World War II. Through Henry’s journey, the reader sees how difficult it was for Asian Americans to navigate their identity in a country that viewed them as foreigners and threats.
Overall, “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” is a moving and poignant story of two young people caught up in the turmoil of war and racism. Jamie Ford masterfully weaves together historical events and personal stories, creating a powerful and unforgettable narrative that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit.
3 Comments
Lynne Amos · March 26, 2023 at 7:23 pm
I was surprised to learn of the harsh treatment of Japanese people living in America during the Second World War.
The story is about the close friendship between a Chinese boy Henry and a Japanese girl Keiko but the thing that stood out to me was the fact that true feelings were kept hidden leading to conflict within the family at times. But Henry continues this theme with his own son and it’s only when his son Marty brings home his girlfriend who is interested in helping Henry find out what happened to Keiko that Henry starts to open up.
I found this book interesting and educational
.
Joyce Beadnall · March 27, 2023 at 4:11 pm
I found this book well-written, easy to read; and enlightening. I felt for Henry’s parents, striving to keep the family safe from harm and prejudice; also for Henry and his generation, with their different pressures to cope
with.
What difficult choices he had to make as a teenager! And how upsetting that his choices had such a disastrous effect on his family
life! It was such a relief when he was able to talk about these events to his son and his wife,
Also when Henry and Marty became closer, as a result.
katie Hoey · March 28, 2023 at 3:48 pm
This book is a love story of many things:- the city of Seattle; families and people in cultural transition; the letting go of well loved traditions and an innocent romance between a young boy and a young girl. It’s
about history, culture and music.
I think the title The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is so apt as the story is both bitter and sweet
Before reading the book I had no idea that Japanese people living in the USA faced such racism during the war- being interned and having all possessions including businesses, confiscated.
However, after saying that Italians were treated in a similar way in the UK during the war. Overnight, all 20,000 Italians resident in the United Kingdom saw themselves classified as enemy aliens and, of those, men who had lived in Britain for less than 20 years, and who were between the ages of 16 and 70, were considered for internment.
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