Snow Falling on Cedars

Paperback, 460 pages

English language

Published Oct. 29, 1995 by Vintage Contemporaries.

ISBN:: 978-0-679-76402-1
OCLC Number:: 645863831

San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, is a place so isolated that no one who lives there can afford to make enemies. But in 1954 a local fisherman is found suspiciously drowned, and a Japanese American named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with his murder.

In the course of the ensuing trial, it becomes clear that what is at stake is more than a man's guilt. For on San Pedro, memory grows as thickly as cedar trees and the fields of ripe strawberries--memories of a charmed love affair between a white boy and the Japanese girl who grew up to become Kabuo's wife; memories of land desired, paid for, and lost. Above all, San Piedro is haunted by the memory of what happened to its Japanese residents during World War II, when an entire community was sent into exile while its neighbors watched. Gripping, tragic, and densely atmospheric, Snow …

San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, is a place so isolated that no one who lives there can afford to make enemies. But in 1954 a local fisherman is found suspiciously drowned, and a Japanese American named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with his murder.

In the course of the ensuing trial, it becomes clear that what is at stake is more than a man's guilt. For on San Pedro, memory grows as thickly as cedar trees and the fields of ripe strawberries--memories of a charmed love affair between a white boy and the Japanese girl who grew up to become Kabuo's wife; memories of land desired, paid for, and lost. Above all, San Piedro is haunted by the memory of what happened to its Japanese residents during World War II, when an entire community was sent into exile while its neighbors watched. Gripping, tragic, and densely atmospheric, Snow Falling on Cedars is a masterpiece of suspense-- one that leaves us shaken and changed. (back cover)

36 editions

Thom reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

Review of 'Snow Falling on Cedars' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

One book with many different stories, intertwined. Most were good, some didn't do it for me. The courtroom drama I liked, along with the flashbacks and cross-examinations. The police procedural bits were a little too casual in the beginning and a little too convenient in the end. The romantic (or should I say the Moby Dick) side story was mostly irritating - but probably a better love story than Twilight. The racism (and/or nationalism) was accurate and gave an excellent counterpoint to the main story. The descriptive language was beautiful. Mother nature was, throughout the book, a bitch. I have not seen the movie, and don't plan to.

This is the second book in my quest to read from my friend's "10 books that influenced" lists, and I look forward to discussing it with Kila. For me, this book would have been much better without Ishmael.

Subjects

Japanese Americans -- Fiction
Trials (Murder) -- Fiction
Journalists -- Fiction
Washington (State) -- Fiction