[EA7]≡ Download Free The Woman in the White Kimono A Novel Ana Johns 9780778308140 Books

The Woman in the White Kimono A Novel Ana Johns 9780778308140 Books

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The Woman in the White Kimono A Novel Ana Johns 9780778308140 Books

Spoiler alert - I just can't write this without spoilers, sorry!

Granted, it's only January, but this is the book I've enjoyed reading most this year. I love the themes - reminiscent of Madama Butterfly and its successor, Miss Saigon, among others. (Yes, yes, there are earlier short stories, novels and an earlier opera which has similar themes.) This takes the star-crossed lovers from two different cultures to a whole new level.

While I adore both Madama Butterfly and Miss Saigon, I am so glad to read a version where Cho-Cho San/Kim *doesn't* die. (That actually might not be a spoiler since this is made clear in the very first chapter.). It's a breath of fresh air for the "wanton" woman to survive and live a life outside of the tragedy of bearing a mixed race child out of wedlock.

Ana Johns delves deep into the history immediately following the US occupation of Japan in the 1950s. The novel is rich in cultural details which add layers to the plot. At the end of the novel, Johns provides brief synopses of the historical counterparts to the fictional characters, locations and practices. The characters are believable and sympathetic, their motivations ring true to their cultural backgrounds.

Taken as a whole, the novel is well-written, neatly plotted, with nuanced characterizations. It is definitely worth the time investment of reading. Even though the reader knows from the start that Hajime and Cricket don't end up together, Johns still manages to imbue the plot with an urgency which keeps the reader's attention, adding suspense to a foregone conclusion. Highly recommended!


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The Woman in the White Kimono A Novel Ana Johns 9780778308140 Books Reviews

“The Woman in the White Kimono”, by Ana Johns, alternates poignant personal stories between Japan in 1957 and 17-year old Naoko, and America present day, investigative journalist Tori, the daughter of an American sailor stationed in Japan in the mid-1950s. Of course their stories will connect, but exactly HOW their stories will resolve is what keeps the reader turning the pages.

Japanese post-WWII customs, culture, and atrocities, are beautifully and unflinchingly documented through Naoko’s harrowing plight, in this compelling story about the universal human struggle against death, toward life.
I'm not usually a fan of chick lit, and if I'd realized that's what this is, I wouldn't have ordered it. However, there are a few things that help it transcend the genre (even though, to be clear, it IS a story about forbidden love lost, and the perspectives are female--two parallel first-person narratives, one in the past, one in the present day).

First, it's well written and meticulously researched. Second, much of it centers around post-War Japan and its traditions and customs, even as the world was changing, so much of the cultural backdrop the author incorporates is really interesting, especially from a 21st-century perspective. In an afterword, the author even lays out the factual basis for some of the institutions she created.

I'd say if you enjoy chick lit and want a bit more substance, this would be a good bet.
17-year-old Japanese Naoko's family has found her the perfect husband, perfect for her family and understanding of her fascination with the gaijin still occupying 1957 Japan. But she is already in love with an American and finds that she is pregnant with his child. Her parents vehemently disapprove of him, without knowing of the pregnancy,, but shun her after she turns down the intended groom. The American soldier marries her in a non-recognized marriage, but is shipped off, his request for marriage never approved and never to return. Years later, at his deathbed, he gives a letter and a photograph of a woman in a white kimono to his American daughter, Tori, who holds the letter unopened until quite some time after his death. Her search for the woman in the white kimono is interspersed with Nakano's story.

Author Ana Johns writes convincingly of postwar Japan and makes you care for the characters. Well-written and difficult to put down.
I really enjoyed this book The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns as it held your attention as it jumped from one time period to present day. Usually I do not care for books written this was as you just get involved in the story and it jumps to another event in time. This book written by Ana Johns involved you in her story as being confronted by a picture in her father’s things after he passed away from cancer. The picture of a woman in a white Kimono held a fascination for her as she knew her father served in Japan after World War II. He often told her stories about his time there and things he saw.

When her father was in the hospital, they talked about a letter that he received from Japan that was undelivered and returned. Her father would not say much about it but insisted she open it which she did, after he passed away. This book jumps from present day of the author searching the internet for places mentioned by her father and from this letter. The book goes from present time back to events from 1947 and you read how things were during that time as this young sailor falls for a young Japanese girl. Our author takes us as she flies to Japan to make further study of her father’s life there.

A truly an interesting story which entwined a daughter who adorned her father to find he had another life while serving in the navy during the war. These types of events happened often so I found this book well written with a very interesting twist to make it a great book.
Spoiler alert - I just can't write this without spoilers, sorry!

Granted, it's only January, but this is the book I've enjoyed reading most this year. I love the themes - reminiscent of Madama Butterfly and its successor, Miss Saigon, among others. (Yes, yes, there are earlier short stories, novels and an earlier opera which has similar themes.) This takes the star-crossed lovers from two different cultures to a whole new level.

While I adore both Madama Butterfly and Miss Saigon, I am so glad to read a version where Cho-Cho San/Kim *doesn't* die. (That actually might not be a spoiler since this is made clear in the very first chapter.). It's a breath of fresh air for the "wanton" woman to survive and live a life outside of the tragedy of bearing a mixed race child out of wedlock.

Ana Johns delves deep into the history immediately following the US occupation of Japan in the 1950s. The novel is rich in cultural details which add layers to the plot. At the end of the novel, Johns provides brief synopses of the historical counterparts to the fictional characters, locations and practices. The characters are believable and sympathetic, their motivations ring true to their cultural backgrounds.

Taken as a whole, the novel is well-written, neatly plotted, with nuanced characterizations. It is definitely worth the time investment of reading. Even though the reader knows from the start that Hajime and Cricket don't end up together, Johns still manages to imbue the plot with an urgency which keeps the reader's attention, adding suspense to a foregone conclusion. Highly recommended!