Lori M. (lormac) reviewed Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Audio CD) (Unabridged) on + 120 more book reviews
** spoiler alert ** The only thing I enjoyed about this book was the information it provided about the WWII internment of Seattle's Japanese community. The story otherwise was very flimsy. My particular complaint: I do not believe that an 11 year old boy would develop the intense romantic attachment described in the book - maybe if the author had made the character 15, I could have understood his obsession, and his willingness to turn his back on his family for the sake of love, but an 11-year-old?!! I don't care how mature or lonely Henry is supposed to be, in a matter of months Keiko would have been a mere memory. Also, I could not swallow the idea that Ethel had nothing to do with the postal deception that occurred, or that Henry's father was so important in the Chinese community that he could have engineered the plot (especially after the author makes it clear that the Lee family were just scraping by financially, and especially after he had a stroke). I liked the ending nevertheless which earned it a second star.
Margaret T. (megt) reviewed Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Audio CD) (Unabridged) on + 178 more book reviews
I agree with previous review that said the historical facts were the only redeeming thing about this book. I tried it in print first and gave up because it was so slow. Then I found the audio and I wanted to try it again since it had been such a popular book in some circles. I used it to put my self to sleep for many nights; I skipped over most of it but did read/listen to the last few chapters, so I could tell myself I finished it.
