Clark and Division (Japantown, Bk 1)
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Hardcover
I love when a novel exceeds my expectations! This was my experience with Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara.
Given the publisher (Soho Crime) and the cover, I expected this to be gritty noir crime. However, this is powerful historical fiction about the far-reaching impacts of a shameful US policy, told through the experiences of one Japanese American family. The author has conducted extensive research and has written award-winning non-fiction books on the subject, which is evident in this well-written mystery.
The premise: The Ito family (sisters Rose and Aki and their parents) is leading a typical middle-class early 1940s American life in California. Then Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and their world completely changed. Forced to leave their home, jobs, and schools and move to the Manzanar concentration camp, they were incarcerated with thousands of fellow Japanese American citizens for 2 years. The War Relocation Authority chose beautiful and charming Rose to leave the camp first and begin her resettled life in Chicago. When Aki and her parents are allowed to leave and join Rose, their excitement turns to heartbreak when they arrive to learn that Rose died the day before. Aki doesn't believe the official cause of death and while struggling to navigate her new life in Chicago, sets out to learn the truth about her sister's death.
I appreciated so many aspects of this mystery - the relationship dynamics of the Ito family and among Rose and Aki's peers, the depiction of stark poverty in the family's early days in Chicago, and the romance that brings a glimmer of light to otherwise dark times. And, with Aki's plum job at The Newberry Library, I enjoyed her coworkers, their library tasks, and their comments about the patrons.
Thank you to Soho Crime for the review copy of this fantastic novel. I'll be seeking out other mysteries by this author.
Given the publisher (Soho Crime) and the cover, I expected this to be gritty noir crime. However, this is powerful historical fiction about the far-reaching impacts of a shameful US policy, told through the experiences of one Japanese American family. The author has conducted extensive research and has written award-winning non-fiction books on the subject, which is evident in this well-written mystery.
The premise: The Ito family (sisters Rose and Aki and their parents) is leading a typical middle-class early 1940s American life in California. Then Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and their world completely changed. Forced to leave their home, jobs, and schools and move to the Manzanar concentration camp, they were incarcerated with thousands of fellow Japanese American citizens for 2 years. The War Relocation Authority chose beautiful and charming Rose to leave the camp first and begin her resettled life in Chicago. When Aki and her parents are allowed to leave and join Rose, their excitement turns to heartbreak when they arrive to learn that Rose died the day before. Aki doesn't believe the official cause of death and while struggling to navigate her new life in Chicago, sets out to learn the truth about her sister's death.
I appreciated so many aspects of this mystery - the relationship dynamics of the Ito family and among Rose and Aki's peers, the depiction of stark poverty in the family's early days in Chicago, and the romance that brings a glimmer of light to otherwise dark times. And, with Aki's plum job at The Newberry Library, I enjoyed her coworkers, their library tasks, and their comments about the patrons.
Thank you to Soho Crime for the review copy of this fantastic novel. I'll be seeking out other mysteries by this author.
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