From the book jacket: In sunny California, the Vietnam War may have just ended but nine-year-old Helen Johnson’s world is beginning to crumble. Her mother’s behavior has become increasingly erratic, her father, a recently released POW, is powerless to help, and her brother is too young to understand. Convinced that the key to keeping her family together lies in the mysteries surrounding her mother’s adoption from Japan, Helen writes to her great-uncle Hideo in the Japanese town of Kamakura, beginning a journey that will take her across the ocean and through the war-torn histories of both countries.

My reactions
This beautifully written, poignant novel tackles the aftermath of war and how those aftereffects ripple through multiple generations. The story is told from differing viewpoints, alternating between Hideo in Japan and Helen in California. It begins with Hideo receiving an airmail letter from the granddaughter of his late sister – someone he didn’t even know existed. Taniguchi then moves back several months in time to share Helen’s experiences as her mother is obviously headed for a nervous breakdown (as it was termed in 1975). The novel continues moving back and forth between the two viewpoints, with some memories of WW2 and the time immediately post war when the conquering forces (i.e. USA) occupied the major cities of Japan.

War exacts a terrible toll on the participants and on the bystanders who get in the way. But the effects of war may last much longer than the reconstruction. This isn’t the first book I’ve read about war and its aftermath. It’s not the first I’ve read about the fire bombings in Tokyo, or the atrocities committed on the civilian population by occupying military forces. But there was something about the way Taniguchi revealed these elements that just broke my heart. I rarely cry when reading a novel, but I was definitely in tears several times during this one.

I feel I learned a little of the Japanese mentality by seeing things from Hideo and his wife’s points of view. I thought Taniguchi captured the way in which a child thinks, the kind of logic a child would use in piecing together an explanation for what is going on around her. I do wish I knew more about Anna and James (Helen’s parents). Their pain and suffering was a central point in the story, yet we never hear from them directly.

I certainly don’t mean to make the book sound bleak and hopeless, because there is plenty of hope and redemption in these pages. I loved Helen – her tender heart, her courage and resilience. And Hideo’s quiet strength, endurance and healing heart. And while there is no clearly happy resolution, the novel’s ending looks to the future with hope.
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I randomly picked up this book at the library because it was small and lightweight and I didn't have much room in my bag at the time.

I like books told from the perspective of children. This was told partly from the perspective of a nine year old girl whose mom was adopted from Japan and her dad was a Vietnam veteran. It was also told from the perspective of her great uncle who was living in Japan. The way these two voices combined to tell the story was quite engaging.

I was also very interested in the historical context of this book. It made me want to learn more about Japan's role in World War II outside of the Pearl Harbor/atomic bombs that seems like the only things I really know much about. And it made me want to learn more about manchuria.

Hmm.. that is about it.

except that when i write reviews for books i feel like i am in fourth grade writing a book report.

oh well.

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This is a beautiful and tender story told by a nine-year old girl Helen about her difficult life with her brother Ken, her mom Anna, and her dad James. Her mentally ill mother, biracial Japanese and Causasian American, is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, while her Caucasian American dad is suffering the lingering psychological effects of his wartime experiences in Vietnam. Helen's uncle Steve (James' brother) and his wife Mary take Helen to Japan to meet her great-uncle Hideo and his wife Chiyo in an attempt to understand family dynamics and then work out a solution to help the family to heal.

The tempo of this story is much like a ship at sea, gently rolling to and fro, never losing its direction and yet dealing fully with a heavy undercurrent. I love the way the story itself leads to a deeper understanding of the post-WWII Japanese psyche. It's nice to hear this story being told from the Japanese point of view instead of from the American point of view as the story progresses. It brings out the humanity we all share. ( )