Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet: a novel

Book Cover
Average Rating
Author:
Publisher:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Pub. Date:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Language:
English
Accelerated Reader:
IL: UG - BL: 5.7 - AR Pts: 15
Lexile measure:
850L
Description
"Sentimental, heartfelt….the exploration of Henry’s changing relationship with his family and with Keiko will keep most readers turning pages...A timely debut that not only reminds readers of a shameful episode in American history, but cautions us to examine the present and take heed we don’t repeat those injustices."-- Kirkus Reviews

“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. Especially relevant in today's world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more importantly, it will make you feel."
-- Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain

“Jamie Ford's first novel explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle area during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love. An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut.”
-- Lisa See, bestselling author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan


In the opening pages of Jamie Ford’s stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol.

This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While “scholarshipping” at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship–and innocent love–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.

Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel’s dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.

Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.


From the Hardcover edition.
Also in This Series
More Like This
More Details
ISBN:
9780345505347
9780345512505
9780739382837
9780345505330
9781415962107
Accelerated Reader:
UG
Level 5.7, 15 Points
Lexile measure:
850L
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Tagging
Tags:

No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!


Staff View

Grouping Information

Grouped Work IDf4dfbdee-519b-beaf-22d7-b703461d93d9
Grouping Titlehotel on the corner of bitter and sweet
Grouping Authorjamie ford
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2023-03-23 03:51:40AM
Last Indexed2023-03-23 04:17:07AM

Solr Fields

accelerated_reader_interest_level
UG
accelerated_reader_point_value
15
accelerated_reader_reading_level
5.7
auth_author2
Chin, Feodor
author
Ford, Jamie
author2-role
Baker & Taylor Axis 360
Chin, Feodor.|Narrator
author_display
Ford, Jamie
available_at_addison
Addison Public Library
Online OverDrive Collection
collection_addison
Adults
detailed_location_addison
2nd Floor- Adult Audio Books
2nd Floor- Adult Books
Axis 360
Online OverDrive Collection
display_description
When artifacts from Japanese families sent to internment camps during World War II are uncovered in Seattle, Henry Lee embarks on a quest that leads to memories of growing up Chinese in a city rife with anti-Japanese sentiment.
format_addison
Book
Book on CD
eAudiobook
eBook
format_category_addison
Audio Books
Books
eBook
id
f4dfbdee-519b-beaf-22d7-b703461d93d9
isbn
9780345505330
9780345505347
9780345512505
9780739382837
9781415962107
itype_addison
Audiobook on CD
Fiction
last_indexed
2023-03-23T09:17:07.956Z
lexile_score
850
literary_form
Fiction
literary_form_full
Fiction
local_callnumber_addison
AUDIO BOOK FIC FORD J.
BOOKDISC FIC FORD J.
FIC FORD J.
Online OverDrive
owning_library_addison
Addison Public Library
Addison Public Library Online
owning_location_addison
Addison Public Library
Online OverDrive Collection
primary_isbn
9780345505347
publishDate
2009
2013
2017
publisher
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books (P)
Books on Tape
Random House Audio
Random House Digital
Random House Publishing Group
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Audiobooks -- Unabridged
Domestic fiction
Electronic books
Evacuation and relocation of Japanese Americans (United States : 1942-1945)
FICTION -- Historical
FICTION -- Psychological
FICTION / Contemporary Women
FICTION / Historical
FICTION / Literary
FICTION / Sagas
Family Saga
Father-son relationship -- Fiction
Fathers and sons
Fathers and sons -- Fiction
Fiction
Historical
Historical fiction
Japanese Americans
Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945 -- Fiction
Literary
Psychological fiction
Seattle (Wash.) -- Fiction
Washington (State) -- Seattle
Widowers
Widowers -- Fiction
title_display
Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet : a novel
title_full
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet A Novel
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet Ford, Jamie.
Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet : a novel / Jamie Ford
Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet [CD sound recording] / Jamie Ford
title_short
Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet
title_sub
a novel
topic_facet
Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
FICTION
FICTION / Contemporary Women
FICTION / Historical
FICTION / Literary
FICTION / Sagas
Family Saga
Father-son relationship
Fathers and sons
Fiction
Historical
Historical Fiction
Japanese Americans
Literary
Literature
Psychological
Widowers

Solr Details Tables

item_details

Bib IdItem IdShelf LocCall NumFormatFormat CategoryNum CopiesIs Order ItemIs eContenteContent SourceeContent URLDetailed StatusLast CheckinLocation
axis360:bk0012231213bk0012231213Axis 360Online Axis 360eAudiobookAudio Books1falsetrueAxis 360http://ereadil.axis360.baker-taylor.com/Title?itemid=0012231213Available OnlineAxis 360
ils:.b18467246.i137242892nd Floor- Adult BooksBOOKDISC FIC FORD J.1falsefalseCheck ShelfJan 26, 2023afic
ils:.b18467246.i137242532nd Floor- Adult BooksBOOKDISC FIC FORD J.1falsefalseCheck ShelfNov 17, 2021afic
ils:.b18467246.i137242652nd Floor- Adult BooksBOOKDISC FIC FORD J.1falsefalseCheck ShelfNov 17, 2021afic
ils:.b18467246.i137242772nd Floor- Adult BooksBOOKDISC FIC FORD J.1falsefalseCheck ShelfNov 17, 2021afic
ils:.b18467246.i137242902nd Floor- Adult BooksBOOKDISC FIC FORD J.1falsefalseCheck ShelfNov 17, 2021afic
ils:.b18467246.i137242412nd Floor- Adult BooksBOOKDISC FIC FORD J.1falsefalseCheck ShelfFeb 23, 2023afic
overdrive:a9b24857-03f0-434a-9db0-265cad9fbc261Online OverDrive CollectionOnline OverDriveeBookeBook0falsetrueOverDriveAvailable Online
overdrive:a9b24857-03f0-434a-9db0-265cad9fbc26-1Online OverDrive CollectionOnline OverDriveeBookeBook12falsetrueOverDriveAvailable Online
ils:.b11854054.i122050602nd Floor- Adult Audio BooksAUDIO BOOK FIC FORD J.1falsefalseCheck ShelfMar 29, 2022aabrb
ils:.b11832344.i121125502nd Floor- Adult BooksFIC FORD J.1falsefalseCheck ShelfMar 03, 2023afic
overdrive:adcc9cbd-58a8-48f1-922f-5421375fc61e-1Online OverDrive CollectionOnline OverDriveeAudiobookAudio Books2falsetrueOverDriveChecked Out
overdrive:adcc9cbd-58a8-48f1-922f-5421375fc61e1Online OverDrive CollectionOnline OverDriveeAudiobookAudio Books0falsetrueOverDriveChecked Out
axis360:bk0008971965bk0008971965Axis 360Online Axis 360eBookeBook1falsetrueAxis 360http://ereadil.axis360.baker-taylor.com/Title?itemid=0008971965Available OnlineAxis 360

record_details

Bib IdFormatFormat CategoryEditionLanguagePublisherPublication DatePhysical DescriptionAbridged
axis360:bk0012231213eAudiobookAudio BooksUnabridgedEnglishRandom House Digital20171 online resource
ils:.b18467246BookBooks2009 Ballantine books trader paperback editionEnglishBallantine Books[2013], ©2009308 pages ; 21 cm.
overdrive:a9b24857-03f0-434a-9db0-265cad9fbc26eBookeBookEnglishRandom House Publishing Group2009
ils:.b11854054Book on CDAudio BooksUnabridgedEnglishRandom House Audiop20099 sound discs (11 hr.) : digital ; 4 3/4 in.
ils:.b11832344BookBooks1st edEnglishBallantine Booksc2009290 p. ; 25 cm.
overdrive:adcc9cbd-58a8-48f1-922f-5421375fc61eeAudiobookAudio BooksEnglishBooks on Tape2009
axis360:bk0008971965eBookeBookEnglishBallantine Books (P)20091 online resource

scoping_details_addison

Bib IdItem IdGrouped StatusStatusLocally OwnedAvailableHoldableBookableIn Library Use OnlyLibrary OwnedHoldable PTypesBookable PTypesLocal Url
axis360:bk0012231213bk0012231213Available OnlineAvailable Onlinefalsetruefalsefalsefalsefalse
ils:.b18467246.i13724289On ShelfCheck Shelffalsetruetruefalsefalsetrue0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 20, 21
ils:.b18467246.i13724253On ShelfCheck Shelffalsetruetruefalsefalsetrue0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 20, 21
ils:.b18467246.i13724265On ShelfCheck Shelffalsetruetruefalsefalsetrue0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 20, 21
ils:.b18467246.i13724277On ShelfCheck Shelffalsetruetruefalsefalsetrue0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 20, 21
ils:.b18467246.i13724290On ShelfCheck Shelffalsetruetruefalsefalsetrue0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 20, 21
ils:.b18467246.i13724241On ShelfCheck Shelffalsetruetruefalsefalsetrue0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 20, 21
overdrive:a9b24857-03f0-434a-9db0-265cad9fbc261Available OnlineAvailable Onlinefalsetruetruefalsefalsetrue
overdrive:a9b24857-03f0-434a-9db0-265cad9fbc26-1Available OnlineAvailable Onlinefalsetruetruefalsefalsefalse
ils:.b11854054.i12205060On ShelfCheck Shelffalsetruetruefalsefalsetrue0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 20, 21
ils:.b11832344.i12112550On ShelfCheck Shelffalsetruetruefalsefalsetrue0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 20, 21
overdrive:adcc9cbd-58a8-48f1-922f-5421375fc61e-1Checked OutChecked Outfalsefalsetruefalsefalsefalse
overdrive:adcc9cbd-58a8-48f1-922f-5421375fc61e1Checked OutChecked Outfalsefalsetruefalsefalsetrue
axis360:bk0008971965bk0008971965Available OnlineAvailable Onlinefalsetruefalsefalsefalsefalse