Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This novel takes place in 1954, however, the author includes flashbacks from before Pearl Harbor. This novel revolve's around the trial of Kabuo Miyamoto who is accused of murder in the first degree. The author, however, takes a different perspective on the accused. Is he being justly accused for murder or because he is Japanese?



This book also looks back on the life of Hatsue Miyamoto and Ishmael Chamber's lives who, as children and youth, were secretly involoved and in love. But knew their love could not be revealed publicly because of their background's. Even thought the citizen's of San Piedro Island accepted the Japanese, they did not treat them as equals. Then Pearl Harbor happened and all American-Japanese citizen's were sent to work camps for fear that they were spies. Hatsue then falls in love with Kabuo and Ishmael become's bitter.



In all of this, I think the book revolve's more around Ishmael trying to found out who he is. Some parts were a little too deep and seemed to be too long winded. Also, I did not feel that the sexual activities of all the main chacter's did not need to be dwelled on. However, I found the story very interesting, but confusing as it kept going back and forth between the past and present


View all my reviews.