Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet in Around the World

Apr 13, 2012 Claire rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction

A wonderful story of childhood friends in Seattle, second generation immigrants caught up in the brutal effect of being perceived as untrustworthy, having the skin of the enemy.

The discovery of personal effects of Japanese families in the basement of an abandoned hotel, stir up memories for Henry and lead him on a search for the not quite forgotten past.

It seems there is almost unavoidable suffering in being different, whether is because of ethic origin or some other thinng that casts children a ...more

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Jan 11, 2011 Hege rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2011, favoritter

What a sweet, beautiful and warm first love story this was! But also a story about growing up, doing the right things and about those hard decisions in life.
I really loved it, espesially the parts when Henry was young. I'd liked to learn more about Keiko after she lost contact with Henry, Sheldon and Mrs. Beatty, she turned out to be a nice lady after all ;)

But there was some small mistakes made by the author... (Was there any internet support groups in 1986..? Did internet even exsist in 1986. ...more

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Jun 06, 2009 Shomeret rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, my-reviews

I really liked this book about a romantic friendship between Henry, a Chinese American boy, and Keiko, a Japanese American girl during WWII. Henry's relationship with the jazz musician was also wonderful. I have always been fond of the concept of friendship as chosen family particularly when the barriers to the friendships are as great as they were here. I am reminded of The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng which I read last year which is in some ways much more powerful than this book. It's just so ...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Nina rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2012

3.5. I know I am giving extra points because of personal bias towards the subject matter. It was a pretty good read. I liked the setting the most -- 1940's in Seattle's International District and jazz clubs. It's also nice that the book shines a light on race relations at the time: Chinese vs. Japanese, the treatment of Japanese during the war, general Caucasian attitudes towards Asians, and attempted Asian assimilation into American culture.

There was definitely a lot going on with the characte ...more

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Mar 14, 2009 Barbara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, my-book-group-reads

The book goes back and forth between Henry growing up in 1942 and then much later in 1986. I really like when the writers go back and forth in time in their books. It's also about a love story between a Chinese boy and a Japanese girl who grew up together in a time when they weren't allowed to be together. A time of war, how Henry's dad tried to keep Henry and the love of his life apart. You see how Henry's life takes different turns between his school years, marriage and having a son. Then how ...more

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Jan 27, 2009 Lynne added it

Shelves: audiobooks, historical-fiction

I would give this book three stars for the plot but an extra star for the portrayal of the Seattle area during WWII. I enjoyed reading about a place and time about which I had heard from my parents. The Chinese-American perspective on the Japanese internment was also interesting.

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