The Calligrapher's Daughter

Living in Korea during the early twentieth century, Najin Han is the daughter of a famed calligrapher, from a long line of prestigious artists. Her life spans the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Second World War, and the end of the last Korean dynasty. This debut novel by Eugenia Kim, follows the lives of the Han family as Japan infiltrates the country, their traditons and their lives. Najin, with the support of her mother, seeks independence in a traditional family. She is educated, refined, and equipped to survive war and occupation. Male & female roles, food, living arrangments, marriage, work and the arts are all intertwiend as Father Han stubbornly refuses to let go of tradition and Najiin carefully moves forward to the new world order.

This reveiw by Denise R

This book can be found in our catalog www.newberglibrary.org

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

In Jamie Ford's debut novel, we meet Henry Lee shortly after his wife's death. As he walks past Seattle's famous "Panama Hotel" ,which is being refurbished , he spots a Japanese parasol. Could it belong to Keiko ? The book then flips back forty years earlier where Henry, of Chinese heritage and Keiko, of Japanese heritage become close friends as the two foreign students in the all white school. World War II is in full swing and soon the government rounds up all the Japanese, sending them to internment camps.

As the story unfolds, the reader, Henry's son and Henry himself learn about what made him the man he is today. Henry's father and mother, Keiko and her family, his friend Sheldon, the black saxophonist, and the decisions Henry had to make; all determining his character. Sometimes decisions can be bitter sweet.

Reveiw written by Denise R

This book can be found at http://www.newberglibrary.org/