Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (An Unabridged Production) Review

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(More customer reviews)Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is one of those novels that I've heard a lot of good buzz about. Everyone that I know who has read it seems to love it. So when I saw an audio sitting on the shelf of my local library I thought that I would give it a go. Wondering all the while if it would live up to the hype that I'd heard. Well, hype is the wrong word but I can't think of one that will fit. This isn't a book in which I hear people screaming about from the rooftops but its got this quiet and growing following that is harder to ignore then those who scream to be read. When you pick up Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet know that there are no big bangs or earth shattering revelations. Instead there is just this rich story about a boy and a girl and the cruel realities of living in a world during a time of war. The story is told in two parts, there is 10 year old Henry living in Chinatown in the 1940's war is raging in Europe and there is an ever growing disdain for people of Japanese decent. The other is through Henry's eyes as a fully grown man still living in the same area of Seattle but in a world that is far far different from his youth. This story is also about a Japanese girl named Keiko who Henry meets at the white school that his father insists on sending him to and that of Henry's son, a modern boy who thinks that his father is stuck in the past and old ways.
Words can't describe just how amazing this story was. Jamie Ford has such a gift with words and story telling that I often thought that I was right there in the story standing next to Henry and seeing the world through his eyes. My heart leapt when his did and it broke when Henry suffered. I would sometimes find myself talking over the narrator of the audio - speaking to Henry's son telling him that he didn't understand, that if he knew all that his father had gone through he'd be in awe of him.
Speaking of the narrator, can I just say that I loved Feodor Chin's voice? He did an amazing job with this book and the accents. There were never any issues in trying to determine who was speaking as he had such distinct twists for all the different characters. I really enjoyed listening to this audio, not just because it was a great story but because the narrator was just so good. This is definitely a narrator that I am going to be on the look out for later on. Just as Jamie Ford is an author to watch. His words are pure poetry and his words are so amazingly drawn. I know I keep saying that but its true. Just as its equally true that I really can't find the words to fully express just how wonderful this story is. So rather than hear me gush fantastic about it I strongly suggest that you go and discover it for yourself.
As originally posted on my blog Ticket to Anywhere

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"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

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by Jamie Ford (Author)Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Paperback) Review

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(More customer reviews)This story covers a dark period of American History, the Japanese Internment of native Japanese
American Citizens during World War II in the Seattle, Washington area. The 2 main characters of different
asian heritage keep each other going and strong. Reading of their commitments to each other drive
you to quickly finish the story. The compassion and trust portrayed between these two characters, makes this
story so absorbing and rich. A must read for history and faith in each other.

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Journey Along the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad: Pictorial History of Pocono Mountain Boarding Homes, Hotels, Inns & Resorts from the Delaware Water Gap to Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania Review

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(More customer reviews)The cities were hot and the Pocono Mountains began beckoning the city folk to come to their doorsteps, cool off, have a bit of lemonade and perhaps take a dip in a lake or even take in some fine dining. At the turn of the 19th century the boarding homes, hotels, inns, resorts, farmhouses and cottages threw out their welcome mats "for people who needed to escape the cities." For the economically depressed Pocono places of lodging and for the city folks anxious for a vacation it was a win-win situation. All aboard! The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad was more than happy to accommodate the hordes!
The reader's journey begins at the Delaware Water Gap, often noted as "The Gateway to the Poconos." There were eight stops along the Lackawanna route and where one chose to stop would only be conjecture. Perhaps it was an advertisement, word of mouth or even the appeal of a postcard received from a friend. The remaining stops were East Stroudsberg, Analomink (Spragueville), Henryville (Oakland), Mount Pocono, Pocono Summit and Tobyhanna (Naglesville, Tobyhanna Mills). In the last of the 1800s people began to flock to the area in droves and the tourist industry began to flourish. Another little known industry prior to 1898 began to flourish as well. It was the postcard.
The accommodations scattered along these routes were viewed and photographed through the now unknown eyes of a postcard photographer. The astonishing postcard compilation in this book documents the social history of the times via the Golden Age of Postcards to the present day Photochrome. There is a smattering of photographs courtesy of local historical societies, newspaper advertisements and assorted ephemera. Each is accompanied by a short vignette of known information, or in some cases, some very telling and sorry societal prejudice. For example, the Van Horn Inn at Shawnee, advertised "fresh vegetables, excellent spring water in every room and Gentiles only." Most places did not say, but the implication was quite clear . . .
Some were not welcome, but those who were arriving at the stations were carried at first by "horse drawn carriages" and later by automobile. The Montanesca checked references "for all new vacationers." The Spruce Cabin Inn in Canadensis was the first "to serve liquor," and The Farm on the Hill was the first inn that "welcomed honeymoon couples." Unfortunately many of these places were destroyed by fire, demolished to make way for modern day buildings or converted to private homes or apartments. The memories of many of these places now lie in the mind's eye of the few who remember them and in books and postcards. As the author so aptly states, "Now Mount Pocono is more a place to live than to play."
This is an astounding compilation of postal history of a bygone era. This book fills many gaps in the history of the hotel industry as well as that of the railroad industry as both were dependent upon the other. Some of these cards, most likely the linens, were slightly grainy as they are notoriously difficult to reproduce. All have been reproduced in black and white as color would have been financially prohibitive. In the back of the book are additional vignettes, a listing of all the establishments in the book, a bibliography and additional recommended resources.
Quill says: Pick a dream . . . this book will provide them for days on end!

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Postcard images capture the transformation of the Pocono Mountains from secluded wilderness to vacation destination.With the arrival of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, numerous stations throughout the Pocono regions served those temporarily fleeing the confines of city life. A multitude of boarding homes, hotels, inns and resorts provided travelers with a wide variety of accommodations and activities. This work is a representation of the author's 10 year endeavor to collect postcards depicting the Pocono Mountains. The images illustrate how the area's tourism industry developed. Readers are destined to enjoy a journey through time while rediscovering treasured memories from a bygone era.

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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet Review

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(More customer reviews)I was excited to read this book because I knew it was set in Seattle during the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and that's a time period that has always interested me. I expected an interesting trip through history, but what I got was so, so much more than that.
Henry Lee is still mourning the death of his wife when he learns that the belongings of Japanese Americans hidden in the basement of Seattle's Panama Hotel for decades have been discovered. Henry is drawn to the basement, and what he's searching for there opens a door he thought he had closed forever. The story switches back and forth between 1986 and the 1940s, when a 12-year-old Henry attending an American school (he's "scholarshipping" as his father likes to say) meets another international student working in the school kitchen. Keiko is Japanese American, the enemy according to Henry's father, but the two become best friends before her family is imprisoned in one of the relocation camps.
This book does a phenomenal job exploring the history and attitudes of this time period, and Ford's portrayal of Seattle's ethnic neighborhoods is amazing. But really, the thing that pulled me into this novel the most was the richness of the relationships -- Henry and Keiko, Henry and his father, Henry's mother and his father, and Henry and his own son. HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET looks at the best and worst of human relationships, the way we regard others, the way we find ourselves reenacting our relationships with our parents with our own children, the choices we make along the way. Mostly, though, this book reminds us that there is always room -- and time -- for forgiveness and redemption.
I finished this book in tears, moved by the people who came to life so vividly in this story and sad that it had to end at all. HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET is a perfect, perfect choice for book clubs or for anyone craving a compelling story about human nature at its worst and at its best. An amazing, amazing book. It will be one of your favorites, I can almost promise.

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