Book Report #164 - House on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

House on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

A slow and elegant story that takes place in Seattle both in the 80s and the 40s. Henry is a Chinese boy who doesn't feel like he fits in to the Chinese or American worlds of Seattle. His father is a militant Chinese man who only allows Henry to speak English in the house.  He proudly sends Henry "scholarshipping" to a good American school.

It is there that Henry meets a Japanese girl, Keiko, and they hit it off. Of course, his father would never allow them to be friends but what he doesn't know can't hurt him.

Keiko is relocated to an internment camp in Puyallup, and Henry does what he can to stay connected. This tears his family apart, but he is devoted to Keiko.

Back in the 80s, The Panama Hotel in Seattle is being refurbished, so the basement is opened and the belongings of many Japanese families who were sent to camps are discovered. This causes Henry, now a retired man whose wife recently died, to reflect on his childhood and Keiko.

The story that emerges is so much more than I have said, and so moving. I refuse to say anything more, and fear I've already said too much.

General consensus: Gorgeous and moving. A beautifully written story of redemption and possibility.