Book Review: Jamie Ford's Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

After reading a review written by Levenger CEO Steven Leveen and posted on his blog "Well-Read Life" (blog.wellreadlife.com/my_weblog/2010/01/when-reading-becomes-art-you-can-feel-it.html), I was inspired to aquire a copy of Jamie Ford's "Hotel On The Corner of Bitter and Sweet". It proved to be a very rewarding read indeed.

Although it is labeled as fiction, it would probably be more appropriate and telling to have labelled it as historical fiction. Ford was inspired by a mention his father made of having worn an "I Am Chinese" button during the paranoia of World War II and the internment of Japanese-Americans. From that bit of familial history eventually grew a fully fleshed out story that explores the Japanese-American internment, the jazz scene of 1940s Seattle, the glory days of Seattle's now decaying International District, and the complicated dynamics of immigrant families and first and second generation.

It is difficult to fully convey within a review the richness to be found in this novel. We are introduced to a boy (Henry, a first generation Chinese-American) who is required to "speak his American" even at home with parents who have an extremely limited grasp of English and attend a white school (these were the days of segregation) despite his father's traditional Chinese expectations. Then there is Sheldon, a jazz saxophone player who started out on the streets and eventually got to play with Oscar Holden who was one of the fathers of West Coast jazz. And there is Keiko, a second generation Japanese-American who attends school with Henry and finds herself forcibly evacuated to internment camps in the midst of World War II. The book revolves around the historic Panama Hotel which stood on the corner between Chinatown and Nihonmachi (Japantown)- now known collectively as the International District- and where the belongings of some 36 Japanese families were found hidden and remain largely unclaimed in its basement.

This book takes in the whole panorama of what was taking place in Seattle's International District in the 1940s. It follows a split timeline narrative that gives us a clear look of the same area in 1986. This reflects the long-term effects physically and culturally of the evacuation and mirrors the real focus of the story- the long-term effects on people. Henry and Keiko are caught up in these momentous events as they are also conducting a courtship that followed the traditional Asian views of courtship (the rather young age of this couple is normal in the cultures from which their parents come). What makes their courtship anathema is that the Chinese and Japanese were traditional enemies and on opposite sides of World War II, but they were fearless in the face of so much more than that.

Jamie Ford has addressed some very serious questions with this story- questions of the immigrant experience, questions of family dynamics, questions regarding lost history and changing landscapes, and questions of the heart. He has dealt with a subject that has been too little discussed (the internment) and done so without judgement. The subject he most strongly addresses is prejudice, not just toward the Japanese, but in many forms. It is clear that he wrote this from personal passion. For anyone interested in the internment, in the history of jazz and Seattle, and in the immigrant experience, this is a valuable read. Well worth the time, even for those who may not consider themselves to be readers.