It is not often that a first novel becomes a best seller. But I can see why Snow falling on Cedars became an over night hit.
Before this book, I did know that there were naturalized Japanese in the United States. I even read of their internment during Second World War. I never imagine them planting strawberries in Washington state. This book showed me their struggle to survive in America by slogging on the fields and risking their lives catching fish. Racism is nothing new to those whom grew up in my country. Those who came earlier often would give a hard time to those that turned up later. A brown skin person might prefer another brown skin person over a yellow skin person. Similarly, parents of a Chinese may object more to an Indian suitor than a Caucasian. Well, not many people are truly color blind to skin colors.
I like the way Guterson built on the childhood crush between Hatsue and Ishmael. But it was not to be, she was a beautiful Japanese descent girl. He was a white American. The aggression of imperialistic Japan reduced the possibility of a mixed marriage in the era to zero. Along with a deep, sustained but rejected love of the town newspaper owner, we have a land dispute that spanned two generations. As a reader, I floated up and down with all the emotional swings the author wove together. But for the hunch and intellectual deduction as well as generosity of Ismael, Hatsue's husband could and would have been sentenced to death. Ishmael did the right thing to share the evidence with Hatsue. I suppose his love is true and unselfish, he placed the happiness of his beloved above all else. Yet, by saving Hatsue's husband would probably put her out of his grasp for always. On a suspended sad note, the saga ended.
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