The Japanese lover - Gatti Ninja

368 pages

English language

Published May 21, 2017

ISBN:: 978-1-4448-3422-2
OCLC Number:: 1000307015

(1 review)

1939: As the world goes to war, Alma Belasco's Polish parents send her to live in safety with relatives in San Francisco. There she meets Ichimei Fukuda, the son of the family's Japanese gardener, and between them a tender love blossoms. But following Pearl Harbor, Ichimei and his family are declared enemies by the US government and relocated to internment camps. Although Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, theirs is a love they are forever forced to hide... Decades later, care worker Irina Bazili meets Alma and her grandson, Seth, at Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, and learn about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years.

11 editions

Heather reviewed The Japanese lover by Isabel Allende

Review of 'The Japanese lover' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I always hear about Allende as a magical realism author but the two books I've read by her (Ines of My Soul, The Japanese Lover) have both been historical fiction.Alma has lead a life of privilege so it is surprising when she suddenly gives it all up and moves into an assisted living community. She hires a popular employee, Irina, to work after hours for her as a personal assistant. Both women have secrets that they are keeping from the world that gradually come to light as their lives become intertwined.This book covers the interment of Japanese people following Pearl Harbor and how it affected the people who were forced into the camps. Each member of the Fukada family responds in a different way. Some are broken and some find strength that they didn't know they had.I found it interesting to see how Alma and Ichimei's lives intersected …

I always hear about Allende as a magical realism author but the two books I've read by her (Ines of My Soul, The Japanese Lover) have both been historical fiction.Alma has lead a life of privilege so it is surprising when she suddenly gives it all up and moves into an assisted living community. She hires a popular employee, Irina, to work after hours for her as a personal assistant. Both women have secrets that they are keeping from the world that gradually come to light as their lives become intertwined.This book covers the interment of Japanese people following Pearl Harbor and how it affected the people who were forced into the camps. Each member of the Fukada family responds in a different way. Some are broken and some find strength that they didn't know they had.I found it interesting to see how Alma and Ichimei's lives intersected at different points. I don't think that you get a strong read on either of them as people. This isn't a book that makes you really like any of the characters but the slowly unfolding mysteries are intriguing.I could have done without Irina's story. It seemed very superficial to me. It either needed to be gotten into more deeply or left out.This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story

Subjects

Older women
Family secrets
Man-woman relationships
Japanese Americans
World War, 1939-1945
Fiction

Places

San Francisco (Calif.)
California
San Francisco