Like The Shipping News, this title pivots on its setting...this time in Washington state. Set after WWII and with a plot involving everything from murder to passionate romance to Japanese interment camps, Guterson breathes life into every facet of this tale. The picturesque locale of Washington lends fog and dreariness to this story of lost love and horrific death.

This book has just the right balance of drama, suspense, mystery and romance. It is set among the historical backdrop of WWII, overshadowed by the dark cloud of the internment of Japanese-Americans and sprinkled with patriotism and prejudice. Add good writing and steady pace and you have all the elements to make a wonderful novel! The author does a great job of illuminating the motives of each character and it's fascinating. I mean, poor Ishamel is motivated by lust and longing and regret and hatred which has led him to a dead-end in life until... well, you'll have to read the book to find out!

I've been so busy I took a long time with this book, however, it is no reflection on how much I like this book, respect the necessity of this book and completely comprehend it's position as a classic book. I now understand why this book is an award winner and found on many syllabus as required reading.

I wasn't really sure what to expect upon beginning this book. I just knew I was looking for something good and worth reading. From the very first page the author's skill made it self known. I could tell that this was not going to be a let down and it wasn't in any way. From the writing style, to the content of the story, to the delivery and emotion in the detail.. there was nothing that I was not satisfied with in this read.

This is a book about a trial within small town of a Japanese American man in the years following WWII but it's so much more than that. The author delves back in to glimpse the history of the town and it's inhabitants before the war, at the onset of the war and the internment camps, during the war the transformation and after. It is also the story of several characters love, forbidden love, choices, friendship, loyalty, patriotism and racism.

This as most know is another classic that producers/directors saw fit to attempt a movie version. I'd known about the movie and may have even watched it very long ago but must not have been impressed because I remembered nothing but the fact that I "may" have seen it on cable possibly. As I neared the half way point in my reading I discovered it again was showing on cable, I recorded it and was looking forward with much anticipation to watching this version and comparing it to the movie. I don't know why because most movie versions fall severely short of their written counterpart that it's almost a waste of time to bother, however, I was interested. Well, after watching the movie I must admit.. my original apprehensions were correct. It fell short. Liberties were taken adding dialog that did not exist or changed the magnificence of the written version. Essential dialogs, characters, scenes were omitted and therefore took away the depth that this wonderful work carries within it. It changed the whole message I believe the author was trying to deliver. I found myself shaking my head and eventually yelling at the screen, "that did not happen!! What are you doing, you're ruining it!" It's so sad that some such wonderful, pivotal works of fiction just can't get their just due in film form. My advice is, if you've seen this movie, forget it, go pick up the book! If you read this book, just forget a movie exists until hopefully Hollywood picks up the topic again (like they did with Gatsby) and hopefully does a better job at it.

I give this book all 5 stars because it deserves it. I would love to go back at some later time and re-read this book giving it more time to quote lots of essential lines, dissect characters and contrast and compare the scenes, atmosphere and history and how it applies to us now in the real world. Again, this is an important piece of literature. I recommend to everyone because this is a required reading. It's not a difficult read at all and you will be consumed. It is a serious modern, classic read though, so if you're into comedy, horror, fantasy or chick lit, this isn't for you.

Just found this on my bookshelf, read years ago and recall it as gorgeous. Time to pass it along.

Thoroughly an engrossing read for a wintery week in the Pacific Northwest! So much descriptive and picturesque prose here of lush hemlock and cedar forests (and herons!) that reminded me of home (David Guterson is from Bainbridge and San Piedro is based on an amalgamation of Puget Sound islands). A powerful reckoning with the island’s sordid and shameful history as one of the first places Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to internment camps in WWII.

According to Wikipedia, Snow Falling on Cedars was written by a teacher, taking 10 years to complete. The success of this book should give hope everywhere to teachers who want to be writers. But not just because it was a successful—it is also a good read.

David Guterson's novel was published in 1994, and became a huge hit, spawning a film version in 1999. The front cover gives away its superstar status, with a giant "The Award-Winning #1 Bestseller" badge.

"Oh great," I said to myself after examining the book. I came across this novel when Matt and Anna were simplifying their life and giving away books. I had heard of it, so I took it. But I had it for about almost a year before I read it. That "#1 Bestseller" just turns me away. I don't want people to think I read only bestsellers! I don't want want anyone to assume I'm a DaVinci Code fan! (Disclosure: I haven't read that novel, and I don't want to. Don't make me).

Anyway... this novel was a quick read, even though it's 460 pages long. Once I was into it, I didn't want to stop reading! The novel focuses on a murder trial in the '50s, when there was a lot of anti-Japanese racism resulting from WWII. Set on a Washington state island, the story revolves on the trial of Katsuo, who is accused of killing Carl over wanted strawberry farmland. It is easy for the citizens to get caught up in the racism, because they recall all of the Japanese citizens being interned in 1942, and many are war veterans. The internment of Japanese-Americans was a disgraceful action; this novel is a good reminder to us to not forget it. I don't think I heard about citizens being interned until I was in high school—which is pretty outrageous. Remember, kids, we study history lest we repeat it!

Which brings me to the relevance of this novel: it is really easy to read, sure, and very involving. Guterson has a gift for description: the strawberry fields, the snow, the mossy tree, each character's sex life, etc. But there is more to it than pretty words; it really makes you think about racial profiling and stereotyping. Well, Katsuo is a Kendo master, so he must been responsible for Carl's head wound.

I read that Snow Falling on Cedars is taught in many schools (but also banned in some). It is a great novel to teach for things like language, but more so for the potential discussions about racism. It's scary, because in the past seven years, America has painted all of its Arab-American citizens as potential terrorists. So, please read this novel as a reminder not to let these things happen!

DNF - pg. 364.

Okay, I can't do this anymore. It's a wonder I didn't give up earlier. There's no sense in me trying to finish the last 96 pages or so, because I'll just get angry wading through it.

OH. MY. GOD. Why does this book take so goddamn long to get to the point? There's gotta be a tangent and another backstory every time someone new is introduced. There is so much needless information here that if you cut the book in half, and then some, you'd still end up with a bloated flesh of a story. And there's not a lot of story in the present day to begin with. The book is comprised of 90% backstory, and of that 90%, only about 10% of it is necessary. The rest is pointless details about the characters, the shade of leaves, talk about cedars, what some random person in town was doing that day, actions that don't matter, etc., etc., etc.

I dreaded turning the page only to find MORE chunky paragraphs full of verbosity that lends nothing to the story. The writing is nothing special, either -- no poetry or style to it. It's the epitome of telling everything and not showing anything. I don't need to know what the characters are thinking all the time if you just show it to me instead. I don't care about what happens to the story or its characters anymore -- it's failed to elicit much sympathy from me anyways.

And what kinda clunky metaphor is Guerson trying to make with the thunderstorm and all the SNOW and the cedars? OH, the cedars!

Contender for the worst read of the year so far.

Here's an example of what I've been reading for the past 364 pages:

"Ishmael stopped in at the Amity Harbor Restaurant and asked Elena Bridges to put two cheese sandwiches in a paper sack for him; he didn't have time to stay and eat. The restaurant, though half-dark, was full and loud with conversation -- people sat in booths ad at the counter wrapped in coats and scarves, with bags of groceries underfoot, and turned their glances toward the snowfall beyond the windows. They were glad to have found a place to come in from the storm. Later, when they were done eating, it would be difficult for them to go outside again. Ishmael, waiting, listened to the conversation of two fishermen hunkered down at the counter. They were lapping up tomato soup that had been warmed on the gas stove and speculating on when the power might come on again. One wondered if high tide, with the wind behind it at fifty-five knots, might not swamp the town docks. The other said that a wind out of the northwest would bring down a lot of trees that were used to southerlies, including a white fir he feared mightily that grew on a bluff behind his cabin. He had gone out that morning and tied his boat off to a mooring buoy with tripled lines and through his binoculars could see it from his living room swinging about when the wind gusted down the bay. The first man cursed and said he wished he'd done the same with his boat, which would have to take its chances moored on slack lines with a dozen fenders out, six on either side; it was too tricky in these winds to move it."

That's one paragraph. I don't mind long paragraphs, but I do when it's boring and full of stuff I don't need to know about. Instead of describing their convo in that much detail, wouldn't it just be easier and move lively to actually type out the dialogue? Imagine this for the rest of the book -- just dull summary after dull summary of stuff that happened so that the book just renders all the characters as gray and washed-out.

Here's another:

"It had been, he saw now, a war marriage, hurried into because there was no choice and because both of them felt the rightness of it. They had not known each other more than a few months, though he had always admired her from a distance, and it seemed to him, when he thought about it, that their marriage had been meant to happen. His parents approved, and hers approved, and he was happy to leave for the war in the knowledge that she was waiting for him and would be there when he returned. And then he had returned, a murderer, and her fear that he would no longer be himself was realized."

So much of the book is in past perfect tense. Stop telling me, and just SHOW. There's hardly any dialogue anywhere, except in the courtroom scenes, and it's awful.

And by the way, I didn't have the above paragraphs marked. I just flipped to random pages. Because these looooong, lifeless paragraphs are everywhere.

Perhaps the least necessary bit of all:

"Nel's wife had died from cancer of the colon. They had not gotten along particularly well, but nevertheless he missed her. Occasionally he sat in his apartment and wept in order to empty himself of self-pity and remorse. Occasionally he attempted unsuccessfully to masturbate in the hope of rediscovering that lost part of himself he deeply, achingly missed. He was convinced at rare moments that he could succeed and that his youth was still buried inside of himself. The rest of the time he accepted this as untrue and went about the business of consoling himself in various unsatisfying ways. He liked to eat. He enjoyed chess. He did not mind his work and knew himself to be quite good at it. He was a reader and recognized his habit of reading as obsessive and neurotic...."

That last paragraph continues on for a couple more sentences, but I'm tired. I don't want to think about this book anymore. This is a peripheral character by the way, so did I really need to know this much about him? Why do I have to know the life story of EVERY character that's in this town?

The first time I read this book I was much younger and happier than today. I remember that it made a great impression on me and I loved it very much. So if this review had written at that time, it would get a 5-star book. But that's not the case this time.

 As I sometimes do, I see a book that reminds me of something from the past, and I reread it.
But the present reading didn't give me the same enthusiasm for the first time, perhaps because I am no longer fond of the genre of detective stories or instead this time I didn't notice there ware any mystery, suspense or detective story Tchlas. The beginning of the book and its end were a bit boring to my taste, yet, the middle of the book remained as good as I remembered it was - fascinating and teach about the prejudices and relations between Japanese and American immigrants in the war, after Pearl Harbor and the years after. All through a story about a small town surrounded by the sea and the trial of a local Japanese, through which the mixed feelings of the islanders towards immigrants introduced from hatred to sympathy and everything in between.

In conclusion, I would say that the book is suitable for reading once in life.

More than two decades ago, David Guterson was a high school English teacher working on a book that would make him famous.

“The novels I’ve published in the wake of ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ have been inundated by its enduring presence,” he writes in the spring issue of the American Scholar. He’s not complaining or bragging — he’s just reflecting on the curious case of an idealistic young man determined to save the world by writing fiction.

“Looking Back, Warily, but With Affection” is a smart, modest essay about literary ambition and the peculiar costs of fame.

To read more, go to The Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/s...

Guterson really knows how to tell a story! I liked how he gave background information on the characters because it really built the characters and gave an excellent history to help the reader understand where the writer was going with the events.

Overall, I was disappointed by this book. It could have been amazing, but Guterson doesn't seem to be able to create a compelling story or fully flesh out his characters. His greatest strength may be his ability to convey place - not in his occasionally overwrought, almost painfully flowery metaphors and similes, but in the rare moments where he captures the essence of the Pacific northwest in small but important details, simply stated. His language is evocative and moody, and there's no question that he knows what he wants to accomplish through his setting.

His characters, though, are another thing. The major players - Ishmael, Hatsue - are pretty fully formed and complex. Though the end of the book doesn't find them obviously transformed, this is for the best because it's truest to who they are. The rest of the characters are mostly embarrassingly stock stereotypes of 'town folk'.

The book moved slowly, which didn't bother me too much, but the resolution was underwhelming. It would have been problematic in many ways for Guterson to give us a ending like "the whole town learned an important lesson about diversity and tolerance" but at least that would have been an ending. The story ends timidly, afraid to explore anything too daring.

It’s 1954 on an island off the Washington coast and Kabuo Miyamota is on trial for his life. Kabuo, a struggling commercial fisherman, has been accused of killing another fisherman, Carl Heine, over a land dispute.

It’s easy to see why he might be convicted. There’s motive, opportunity, and a pile of circumstantial evidence. There’s also a lot of prejudice against Japanese Americans who are regarded with hostility especially after World War II. And Kabuo himself doesn’t help. Here is the opening sentence of this beautiful novel.

The accused man, Kabuo Miyamota, sat proudly upright with a rigid grace, his palms placed softly on the defendant’s table—the posture of a man who has detached himself insofar as this is possible at his own trial. Some in the gallery would later say that his stillness suggested a disdain for the proceedings; others felt certain it veiled a fear of the verdict that was to come. Whichever it was, Kabuo showed nothing—not even a flicker of the eyes.

“You look like one of Tojo’s soldiers,” his wife later tells him. “You’d better quit sitting up so straight and tall. These jury people will be afraid of you.”

But he can’t. And that detachment, that strict insistence on giving nothing to the world, is one of the many themes Guterson explores. Another is the idea of perspective. As we get deeper into the trial and learn the secrets of each person involved, we see what's happened to these characters and how their life experiences influences everything they do. How can the true cause of a death be determined when everyone—even the medical examiner—can only see through the tiny, flawed lens of his or her own beliefs.

This is especially true for another one of the novel’s protagonists, Ishmael Chambers. Ishmael, who runs the island’s newspaper, lost his arm fighting the Japanese, and the terrible pain in that phantom limb represents all the things he doesn’t have—a wife, a sense of community, the life he wanted. Ishmael fell in love with Kabuo’s wife when they were young, and he’s never really left the hollowed out cedar tree where they used to meet. Kabuo may hold himself back at his trial, but Ishmael isn’t even really there.

This is a wonderful novel. It’s addictively plot-driven yet the events that take place are all in the service of the larger ideas that Guterson is exploring. Highly recommend.