Snow Falling on Cedars
Ratings49
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings49
Average rating3.5
On San Piedro, an island of rugged, spectacular beauty in Puget Sound, home to salmon fishermen and strawberry farmers, a Japanese-American fisherman stands trial, charged with murder. The year is 1954, and the shadow of World War II, with its brutality abroad and internment of Japanese Americans at home, hangs over the courtroom. Ishmael Cambers, who lost an arm in the Pacific war and now runs the island newspaper inherited from his father, is among the journalists covering the trial--a trial that brings him close, once again, to Hatsue Miyamoto, the wife of the accused man and Ishmael's never-forgotten boyhood love.
Now, as a heavy snowfall impedes the progress of Kabuo Miyamoto's trial, he and others must reckon with the past, with culture, nature, and love, and with the possibilities of the human will. Both suspenseful and beautifully crafted, *Snow Falling on Cedars* portrays the psychology of a community, the ambiguities of justice, the racism that persists even between neighbors, and the necessity of individual moral action despite the indifference of nature and circumstance.
Reviews with the most likes.
Lending library find. Reading this in the coastal Pacific Northwest during winter, I would agree with the trade blurb that this is “densely atmospheric” - Guterson's abiding attention to the ecosystems and weather of this area is clear, as both are close to characters in this novel. Style-wise, he's a bit reminiscent of Richard Ford, but without the humor, and Marilynne Robinson, without being so transporting. Good, but not great. I really appreciated the timespan he brought to the subject matter (the unjust incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII is central to the plot), so that the antecedents and aftershocks of trauma also rise to the surface. I was briefly irrationally angry in a few later chapters when I got worried there might be a sad ending (spoiler alert, I guess), but Guterson allows his flawed humans, for whom his affection is also clear, to muddle forward into an imperfect future.
An enjoyable read that dives into the prejudices of people and gives a glimpse of life on a small island. The murder case at the heart of this book takes a backseat at times to go deeper into understanding the characters involved. It touches on the effects of war on the men who fight in it, and their families as well. All while the writing of the case keeps you on the edge of your seat. Highly recommend.
