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"Haunting....A whodunit complete with courtroom maneuvering and surprising turns of evidence and at the same time a mystery, something altogether richer and deeper." Los Angeles Times
Review:
"Compelling...heartstopping. Finely wrought, flawlessly written." The New York Times Book Review
Review:
"Luminous...a beautifully assured and full-bodied novel [that] becomes a tender examination of fairness and forgiveness....Guterson has fashioned something haunting and true." Pico Iyer, Time
Review:
"[A] thoughtful, poetic first novel, a cleverly constructed courtroom drama with detailed, compelling characters....Packed with lovely moments and as compact as haiku — at the same time, a page-turner full of twists." Kirkus Reviews
Review:
"Guterson...is content to stretch out a flat, stereotypical description as far as possible....[L]uckily for Guterson many readers...are willing to buy into the scam that anything this dull must be Serious and therefore Fine and therefore Beautiful Writing....Beneath all the verbal rubble in Cedars is a good murder mystery crying out to be heard..." B.R. Myers, The Atlantic Monthly
Review:
"Guterson's first novel is compellingly suspenseful on each of its several levels." Dennis Dodge, Booklist
Review:
"Guterson uses a rich scenario and cast of characters to explore issues much deeper than the usual. Like the snowfall that is it constant refrain, Snow Falling on Cedars builds up gradually, steadily, surrounding the reader with its magic." Newsday
Review:
"A powerful meditation on the nature of pride and prejudice and personal responsibility....Casts a deepening spell." Seattle Post Intelligencer
Review:
"Intriguing....Vividly written." San Francisco Chronicle
Review:
"The novel poetically evokes the beauty of the land while revealing the harshness of war, the nuances of our legal system, and the injustice done to those interned in U.S. relocation camps. Highly recommended." Library Journal
Review:
"Luminous....This is poetry masquerading as prose." People
Synopsis:
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.
Synopsis:
A phenomenal West Coast bestseller, winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and an Abby Award nominee, this enthralling novel is at once a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, the story of a doomed love affair, and a stirring meditation on place, prejudice, and justice.
David Guterson is the author of a collection of short stories, The Country Ahead of Us, the Country Behind; Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense; Snow Falling on Cedars, which won the 1995 PEN/Faulkner Award, the Pacific Northwest Bookseller Association Award, and was an international bestseller; and the national bestseller East of the Mountains.
emmejo, June 28, 2010 (view all comments by emmejo)
When a fisherman turns up dead, possibly murdered, his tiny home island is shocked and horrified. Blame quickly falls on a Japanese American man whose family had feuded with the dead man's family for many years. As the murder trial runs, everyone in the town thinks back on the history of the people of the island and the relationships that occurred, trying to understand why this happened.
I found this book boring, to be honest. The writing was dry, the characters distanced, uninteresting and hard to care about and the whole book had an air of taking itself far too seriously, and trying too hard to be "literature" rather than mere fiction.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No (3 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)
Henry Lacey, January 1, 2010 (view all comments by Henry Lacey)
This novel, which was an early effort by Guterson, is simply excellent. His subtle characterization and sensitive portrayal of race relations will take your breath away.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No (4 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
yourotherleft, January 17, 2009 (view all comments by yourotherleft)
Snow Falling on Cedars, set on a scenic island off Washington state known for its fishing and its strawberries, begins and ends with the trial of Kabuo Miyamoto who is charged with the murder of fellow islander and fisherman Carl Heine. As the testimony in the trial proceeds, we meet and become intimately acquainted with many members of the community of islanders which is divided between its white citizens and its significant population of Japanese-Americans. Taking place just after World War II, the novel deals with lingering prejudices from wartime when the island's Japanese Americans were "resettled" in California for the duration of the fighting and when even those white islanders who might have once been favorably disposed to their Japanese counterparts struggle to reconcile their post-war relationships with their Japanese neighbors after fighting the Japanese during the war.
Guterson takes on so much with this novel and does it beautifully. Starting at the center with the trial, Guterson works out throught the entire community exploring a forbidden affair, intense prejudice, war wounds of both the physical and emotional sort, hopes, dreams, struggles, and finally healing for a community that is coming to terms with itself. Guterson's narrative flows seamlessly between past and present between trial testimony and deeply personal memories. His prose is vivid and makes it totally possible to see, smell, and even taste the unique surroundings of San Piedro Island. The greatness of this book lies in the community that Guterson creates and his immense talent for perfectly capturing moments we might have some sense of but could never describe so deliciously.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No (10 of 15 readers found this comment helpful)
Product details
480 pages
Vintage Books USA -
English9780679764021
Reviews:
"Review"
by Los Angeles Times,
"Haunting....A whodunit complete with courtroom maneuvering and surprising turns of evidence and at the same time a mystery, something altogether richer and deeper."
"Review"
by The New York Times Book Review,
"Compelling...heartstopping. Finely wrought, flawlessly written."
"Review"
by Pico Iyer, Time,
"Luminous...a beautifully assured and full-bodied novel [that] becomes a tender examination of fairness and forgiveness....Guterson has fashioned something haunting and true."
"Review"
by Kirkus Reviews,
"[A] thoughtful, poetic first novel, a cleverly constructed courtroom drama with detailed, compelling characters....Packed with lovely moments and as compact as haiku — at the same time, a page-turner full of twists."
"Review"
by B.R. Myers, The Atlantic Monthly,
"Guterson...is content to stretch out a flat, stereotypical description as far as possible....[L]uckily for Guterson many readers...are willing to buy into the scam that anything this dull must be Serious and therefore Fine and therefore Beautiful Writing....Beneath all the verbal rubble in Cedars is a good murder mystery crying out to be heard..."
"Review"
by Dennis Dodge, Booklist,
"Guterson's first novel is compellingly suspenseful on each of its several levels."
"Review"
by Newsday,
"Guterson uses a rich scenario and cast of characters to explore issues much deeper than the usual. Like the snowfall that is it constant refrain, Snow Falling on Cedars builds up gradually, steadily, surrounding the reader with its magic."
"Review"
by Seattle Post Intelligencer,
"A powerful meditation on the nature of pride and prejudice and personal responsibility....Casts a deepening spell."
"Review"
by San Francisco Chronicle,
"Intriguing....Vividly written."
"Review"
by Library Journal,
"The novel poetically evokes the beauty of the land while revealing the harshness of war, the nuances of our legal system, and the injustice done to those interned in U.S. relocation camps. Highly recommended."
"Review"
by People,
"Luminous....This is poetry masquerading as prose."
"Synopsis"
by Random House,
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.
"Synopsis"
by Ingram,
A phenomenal West Coast bestseller, winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and an Abby Award nominee, this enthralling novel is at once a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, the story of a doomed love affair, and a stirring meditation on place, prejudice, and justice.
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