Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

A Novel

By: Jamie Ford

Narrated by: Feodor Chin

Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-seller.

“An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut that explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle era during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love.” (Lisa See)

In 1986, Henry Lee joins a crowd outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has discovered the belongings of Japanese families who were sent to internment camps during World War II. As the owner displays and unfurls a Japanese parasol, Henry, a Chinese American, remembers a young Japanese American girl from his childhood in the 1940s - Keiko Okabe, with whom he forged a bond of friendship and innocent love that transcended the prejudices of their Old World ancestors. After Keiko and her family were evacuated to the internment camps, she and Henry could only hope that their promise to each other would be kept.

Now, 40 years later, Henry explores the hotel’s basement for the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot even begin to measure. His search will take him on a journey to revisit the sacrifices he has made for family, for love, for country.

Praise for Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet:

“A tender and satisfying novel set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war - not the sweeping damage of the battlefield but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. This is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more important, it will make you feel.” (Garth Stein, best-selling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain)

“Mesmerizing and evocative, a tale of conflicted loyalties and timeless devotion.” (Sara Gruen, best-selling author of Water for Elephants)

“A wartime-era Chinese-Japanese variation on Romeo and Juliet.... The period detail [is] so revealing and so well rendered.” (The Seattle Times)

“A poignant story that transports the reader back in time...a satisfying and heart-wrenching tale.” (Deseret Morning News)

“A lovely combination of romantic coincidence, historic detail and realism that is smooth and highly readable.... Ford does wonderful work in re-creating prewar Seattle.” (The Oregonian)

©2009 Jamie Ford (P)2009 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut that explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle era during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love.” (Lisa See)

“A tender and satisfying novel set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war - not the sweeping damage of the battlefield but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. This is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more important, it will make you feel.” (Garth Stein, best-selling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain)

“Mesmerizing and evocative, a tale of conflicted loyalties and timeless devotion.” (Sara Gruen, best-selling author of Water for Elephants)

An okay read

The topic of this novel, the incarceration of Northwester Japanese families during WWII had a lot of potential. It's not the topic of many novels. I love historical fiction, but I found this one a bit campy and predictable. It's hard to be engaged in a romance between 12 year olds. The sub-plot of the items found in the Panama Hotel could have been utilized better. Overall, an entertaining read, but I almost alway knew what was coming next and this was usually accompanied by an eye roll. Too bad it did not live up to its potential.

Fantastic narration

I liked the book on its own merits, but Feodor Chin's narration really brings it to life. A perfect match.

Friends said it was good!

This is a wonderful story and I thoroughly enjoyed the audible reading. I loved following the chinese family through Henry and the Japonese family through Kako during the forties and later in the nineties.

Able to find sweetness in the bitter

If you could sum up Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet in three words, what would they be?

Lost and found love.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet?

When his father said he did it for him.

Have you listened to any of Feodor Chin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Love overcomes

Beautiful story

It gave me chills at the end. Such a beautiful, hopefully story and so much important history. I Loved it.

Great story

I loved the historical part of this story from World War II. The Japanese people were sent to camps and on this story we a glimpse of that life

A moving and rich story

This is the first fiction book I've listened to in quite some time. It was quite enjoyable and thought the narrator did a wonderful job. The story itself was moving, I also wasn't aware of the wartime happenings in the 40's. I would recommend!

Slow moving

It is refreshing to read a novel about the internment of Japanese Americans during WWI. This is a nice story. However, it is a bit drawn out and maudlin. I found myself becoming impatient and close to abandoning it.

my kind of love story

loved it.
the story was sweet and bittersweet.
the performer gave a soothing performance. I really enjoyed it.

required reading!

i believe this should be required reading for 9th graders. I wish I had known the history it follows.