I was intrigued by the title of this book. It was catchy and mysterious. What I didn't expect to find within its pages was a love story interwoven into a historical fiction genre; the narrator's story is one of adventure and adolescent love, but at the same time it is culturally informative. Jamie Ford's debut novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, is written from the point-of-view of a boy experiencing the cultural stereotypes brought upon by World War II. Henry longs for a relationship with his traditional Chinese father who clearly hates the Japanese. Henry's mother watches silently as Henry is neglected. But all along, Henry seeks comfort from his friend, Kieko and his jazz playing friend Sheldon. The teens run around the San Francisco area enjoying art, music, and culture together, while avoiding the white bullies who antagonize them at school. But as a result of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Kieko and her family are sent away (even though they are technically more United States citizens than Henry and his family) and the relationship between the teens is put on hold.
As a writer myself, I admire Ford's style. He writes from both the grown Henry and the teen Henry's perspective, giving the novel a time change often. As readers, we know what happened after WWII, and we know that Henry grew up to marry another woman and have a family with her. What Ford does brilliantly is tell the story from the end and from the beginning simultaneously, purposefully leaving out the middle until the end of the novel. The build up of suspense was well-played.
Because of the great story and the unique writing style, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a book that I would like to read again and again.
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