Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: The international bestseller and word-of-mouth sensation

Product Information

Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his father; that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made years ago. In one paragraph--on page four of the book, I believe--the narrator tells the readers that the main character's son is seeing a grief counselor and participating in an Internet support group. Ford expanded his original short story until it became his debut novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. With his friend, a local jazz musician named Sheldon, he also visits her in the Minidoka internment camp in Idaho. This is the story of Henry, an American born Chinese American and his family, including his dogmatic and anti-Japanese father.

To him Keiko is his special friend, she’s American, her parents are professional people, she doesn’t even speak Japanese. Henry also supports his son Marty at college, and welcomes Marty's girlfriend, a non-Chinese girl named Samantha, into their family. I think a part of me resists because I love finding "little" books that deserve kudos and talking about them. Neither America at the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbour nor Jazz music are topics I would have chosen to read about. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II.Today (2016), the International District is an incredibly diverse population of different cultures and countries, but it mostly reflects many Asian cultures. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, his father wore an "I Am Chinese" pin so people wouldn't assume he was Japanese and attack or harass him ( source). I thought Henry was far too sophisticated in his thinking for a 12 year old boy but this was the only quibble I had with the whole book.

Doing this while an ongoing war has intensified panic and fear Henry is lucky to find two mentors - a Black man and a White woman - who allow him the space and support he needs to become a liberal American-Chinese adult father. It made me linger on the final pages as I did not want to finish the book and it is one that will stay with me, I look forward to more books by this brilliant author!I’ve had friends travel to Iran in the past and they’ve told me wonderful things—about the history, the culture, and especially the kind and generous people. This coming-of-age story about first love and forging one’s own way in the world, even against a parent’s wishes, is set against a backdrop of prejudice and misguided patriotism that rises to a crescendo after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1942. It meant he had to communicate in sign language with his parents, except on occasion when he had to translate for them. The characterisation is second-to-none, the story is intriguing, to say the least, and throws up some issues I wasn't even aware of. Thank you to Tandis for publishing this book, and a special thank you to Marjan Mohammadi for her hard work and expertise in translating this story.

In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart. The relationship between Henry and Keiko is developed from the racial minority connection but grows into a genuine attraction and ultimately love.Among the fascinated crowd gathering outside the hotel stands Henry Lee, and, as the owner unfurls a distinctive parasol, he is flooded by memories of his childhood. I would go as far as using the word ‘masterpiece’ to describe it and I feel a little bereft at the thought that I no longer have the wonderful world of Henry Lee to escape to having finished the book. The story covers an aspect of the war that I hadn’t really appreciated, how Japanese immigrants were treated in the United States after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. He wonders and starts off on a mission to see if he can track her down or at least find out what happened to her. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet' is a love story of many things - Seattle, families and people in cultural transition, letting go of beloved traditions, an innocent romance between a boy and a girl - while it also quietly reflects on the failures and stresses behind 'multiculturalism'.

Henry Lee was born in and lived his entire life in Seattle, Washington State, in America to immigrant Chinese parents. After years of getting comments and feedback on this review, I will take the time to edit it for two important details. I really feel the author had the outline of a great plot but was unable to fill out this story as it lacked so much, it needed more emotion, and a lot more punch. Even though Jamie Ford didn't know it at the time, his childhood friend's father was sent to an internment camp just like Keiko and her family.

The chapters set in 1942 reveal twelve-year-old Henry’s childhood difficulties with his father; his friendships with Sheldon, an African-American jazz-playing saxophonist, and Mrs. I thought it was a really interesting book about a period that's not very often written about, and I enjoyed it very much. I knew nothing about the events in these communities; I found it fascinating and feel this novel really highlights this through its story. Random Things Through My Letterbox ' Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet', by Jamie Ford is a novel to recommend, one of those rare stories which would appeal to so many. Reading groups will find plenty to discuss in this book, but if you want something more, you could also read Jane Smiley’s recent book Private Life which also deals with the internment of Japanese families in the US.