Hotel On The Corner of Bitter And Sweet

This month's reading for the Girlfriends Bookclub was
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
by Jamie Ford

I'm going to tell you right at the start that this was an awesome read. I can strongly recommend it to you!

This is a very sweet love story that goes back and forth between 1946, the war years, and 1986, the year that the Panama Hotel was purchased and restored. It all unfolds in the area of old Japantown in Seattle. Henry Lee (a Chinese American) is learning to move on after the death of his beloved wife of over 30 years. Passing by the old Hotel one day he finds a curious crowd and news reporters all gathered around the entrance. The lovely new owner has promised to restore the hotel to its original beauty. In the process, the belongings of almost 40 families are found in the basement of the Panama Hotel. Families that were all caught up in the "relocation" of Japanese American citizens to the internment camps of WWII. Henry immediately is transferred back to his 12 year old childhood and to the memories of a precious best friend that he made promises to and never forgot. More importantly he remembers life at a different time. A time when prejudice ruled the day and every American of Japanese descent was a possible enemy. Henry struggles between his loyalties to his wife, who he loved dearly, and the possibility of finding a promise from the past that could be a link to his future.

Let me know if you read it or if you have read it. I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Also, I am adding another button to my side bar. If you would like to see all of my book reviews just click on it.

Enjoy!