Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Woman in the White Kimono  By  cover art

The Woman in the White Kimono

By: Ana Johns
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller,Lauren Ezzo
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $6.99

Buy for $6.99

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Oceans and decades apart, two women are inextricably bound by the secrets between them.

Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura’s prearranged marriage to the son of her father’s business associate would secure her family’s status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man - an American sailor, a gaijin - and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it’s learned Naoko carries the sailor’s child, she’s cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.

America, present day. Tori Kovac, caring for her dying father, finds a letter containing a shocking revelation - one that calls into question everything she understood about him, her family and herself. Setting out to learn the truth behind the letter, Tori’s journey leads her halfway around the world to a remote seaside village in Japan, where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption.

In breathtaking prose and inspired by true stories from a devastating and little-known era in Japanese and American history, The Woman in the White Kimono illuminates a searing portrait of one woman torn between her culture and her heart, and another woman on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.

©2019 Ana Johns (P)2019 Harlequin Audio

What listeners say about The Woman in the White Kimono

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    176
  • 4 Stars
    64
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    150
  • 4 Stars
    41
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    16
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    166
  • 4 Stars
    49
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

DO NOT LISTEN! Decent story, HORRIBLE narration!!!

Decent story but the narration will make you lose your mind, or your ears bleed! EVERY word is over dramatized. The effort it takes to hear the story through the DRAMA of the voices is NOT worth the time to listen. Absolutely HATED this book based purely on the reader. Find something better for your money/credits/time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lovely story but narrator annoying

I liked this book...it is written beautifully. However, the narrator who voiced the American daughter (Tori) was very annoying to me. Just my personal feeling, but I found her to be very dramatic and pretentious—especially during emotional scenes. I just didn’t find the crack in her voice or emotions to be genuine. Her voice imitations of her father and other male characters were cringe-worthy (I physically cringed). Again, just my perception. Overall, the book was well written and i enjoyed it...perhaps not audio form, though.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Could not listen to the book

The speakers voices were so horrible I could not listen to the story. I liked the book snd wanted to listen to it the second time on a trip… not happening. Just unbearable voices and reading.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Terrible narrator

I really enjoyed the story line but one of the two narrators was terrible, the one reading the American girl's voice....just awful. I believe that was Lauren Ezzo. Way too dramatic. I struggled through the book because I liked the story line but her reading was atrocious.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Tedious

No one is interested in every minute action — a sniff, a finger nail scrape — and every passing thought of the main characters. It goes on and on and on. The thoughts are repetitive, annoying and frequently flagrant reminders of the purpose of the book. This must be because in all the monotony the author must realize the reader has probably already forgotten why they are listening. This book could have been cut. And cut. A decent editor could have improved it. The plot is not bad, but the method of telling is maddening!

The readers aren’t to blame; there is really nothing they can do to improve this book. However, the male voices leave something to be desired. The Japanese journalist sounds German. The American father, Jim, sounds like he’s chewing a cud of tobacco.

Would have loved to give this book a better rating but the tedium ... the tedium. The actions should tell most of the story. If you have to gab about every. Single. Feeling. Every. Moment. Then you need to go back to writing class. Oh. My.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Just ok

I was excited to listen to this book but both narrators were TOO much. The narrator who did the daughter was over the top, as was the narrator that did the main character along with her sharp constant intakes of breath. I’ve listened to several books but this one was hard to finish. I was annoyed by both narrators.

The story was also just ok. I enjoy historical novels, with this one hitting on some very accurate information. There were a lot of descriptive words about the main characters thoughts and feelings used that were not needed to convey their intent. I’ve read and listened to better. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

It was just OK

Just had our bookclub meeting and we all agreed the plot was riddled with major holes. The key characters, Jimmy and Cricket were so naive that they were not believable. We learned something about war babies (technically post-war babies) and although a slice of post-war Japanese culture was somewhat addressed, post-war American culture regarding Japanese persons was bypassed. I liked the detective work angle to figure out the chain of past events, Fortunately the story was largely resolved, but too many remaining plot holes left us luke warm about the book. I had to listen at 1.1 and 1.2 speeds as director had the narrator talk too slow, and had Cricket's voice often too dramatic.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A book about an issue of importance

I wasn’t sure at first but kept going and am very glad I did. It is a story from two viewpoints about interracial marriages between our armed force servicemen and host country woman with the resulting mixed blood children. I learned a lot about Japanese culture and the fate of children conceived by a soldier and a Japanese woman
It was a bit preachy at times and the American viewpoint a little over dramatic but in the end a satisfying story that made me cry more than a few times

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very bad audible presentation

The audible presentation ruined the story. I listen to lots of audible books but this was horrible. Several times I wanted to quit but the story kept me going

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, narration ?

Good overall story, so I rated a 4. I rated performance low due to the narrator. There were actually times I hit fast forward to get through the overly emotional, high pitched and breathy reading. There were too many sections read like this that could have been read a little less dramatically. I would recommend this book to friends to read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful