Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura's prearranged marriage to the son of her father's business associate would secure her family's status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man-an American sailor, a gaijin-and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it's learned Naoko carries the sailor's child, she's cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.
America, present day. Tori Kovac, caring for her dying father, finds a letter containing a shocking revelation-one that calls into question everything she understood about him, her family and herself. Setting out to learn the truth behind the letter, Tori's journey leads her halfway around the world to a remote seaside village in Japan, where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption.
In breath-taking prose and inspired by true stories from a devastating and little-known era in Japanese and American history, The Woman in the White Kimono illuminates a searing portrait of one woman torn between her culture and her heart, and another woman on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.
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[My given name is Naoko Nakamura]***
(@Legend_Press, 15 July 2019, 352 pages, ebook, ARC from (@Legend_Press and voluntarily reviewed, #BlogTour 16 July #Legend100)
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I don't often read historical fiction but when I do I seem to have a penchant for books set in Tokyo, Japan and the like. I have no idea why. The culture fascinates me. One of the most enjoyable things about this book is the way the novel moves back and forth in time, telling a story set in the past and one in the present and gradually revealing the links between both. I love time shifts. This is a beautifully written book. Every page was a pleasure to read. The author does an impressive job of bringing Japan in the 19050's to vivid, evocative life. The book stabbed me right in the heart but this is a good thing. I was impressed to discover that the plot is fiction but Naoko's experiences echo a lot of Japanese women following WWII. This is a book to get lost in.
