The Japanese Lover: A Novel

Good storyline and interesting characters spanning three countries and extending before and beyond the interment of Japanese Americans in camps during WW1.

This is my second visit with this author, Isabel Allende. Her writing is wonderful and her characters come to life. Nevertheless, this story was not as intriguing as the other work I've read. Its the story of a young, damaged woman finding her place among the residents of an assisted living facility. The overarching message is of love and compassion. Well done!

This type of novel is usually not the usual kind I enjoy reading; however, this 322 page soft cover book (The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende) was recommended to me and I decided to read it.I found this book to be a compelling epic novel taking place during World war 11 and moving on to the years involving ever lasting love and how the changing times makes our lives meaningful and enriched.I never give away too much information when reviewing any novel, but if you are a fan of Isabel Allende’ novels this is one you will want to read.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Haiku Moments: How to read, write and enjoy haiku).

I began by liking the main characters in Isabel Allende's The Japanese Lover. The independent, strong and hard working women had the right values and not just sympathetic but also admirable. The relative lack of men behaving badly made for a feeling of even handedness and more welcoming for male readers.This is one of those multi-generational sagas, with star crossed lovers and true to history examples of the emotional baggage we force on people when we force children have live out our prejudices. These events and these wrongs happened. Innocent children, were made to suffer for the sins of their elders.By the end I felt that the denouement had been forced and that Ms Allende had cluttered the story line with too many emotional notes. As if she had a checklist of hot button topics that had to be shoe-horned into the plot. Listing all of the ‘must include’ risks telling the plot but these are just early examples.Irina Brazili is our central character. Through her we will experience the main storyline and gain entry into the one that will cover the generation before her. She may be an illegal alien, but she has also been a victim. We meet her taking on a job in a quirky retirement home in California. Through her we meet the inevitable mother figure, Alma Belasco , who is elderly and here to inspire us with what a strong woman can achieve, while still being vulnerable. Likely she will to give us a tearful if expected death. The Japanese lover is Ichimei Fukuda..Alma is a refugee child of Nazi anti-Semitism while Ichimei will survive the American internment of Japanese innocents. And so it goes through the list of whatever is supposed to be in novels that cover America from the 1940’s to present day.This is my first book by Isabel Allende. It is evident that she can write well. The Japanese Lover is not going to keep me from reading her other and presumably better novels.

This is a story of love, both requited and unrequited. It’s a complex novel of a young Jewish girl, sent to live with relatives in San Francisco as her native Poland falls to the Nazi’s. She’s frightened, alone, and extremely bright. She becomes the apple of her uncle’s eye. And as a child meets the son of the Japanese gardener. They become fast friends, and when sent to the concentration camps, they correspond. His letters to her are highly censored, so he uses his talent of drawing to send her pictures, which she can interpret.Allende follows the protagonist not just through her life, but also through the political times she lives through. We meet her late husband, and several of her friends both long-standing and new. This book deals with complex characters and complex forms of love and romance, and is a beautiful book with a satisfactory ending. I needed a tissue when her husband died. (Can I get involved in a good story? indeed I can!)I truly enjoy living in Allende’s universes. She has never let me down.

This is the story of a girl sent by her family in Nazi Germany to wealthy relatives in California who raised her because of the wartime tragedy, and of the girl's life-long love for the son of family's Japanese gardener. The book varies between this past, and the present when the protagonist is an old woman is living in a retirement home. Here the story centers on her relationships with a worker at the home who is also a refugee as well as with her grandson. But the overriding center of interest is the continuing love between the old woman and the Japanese gardener, and there is a somewhat surprising ending to the story. I have read all of Allende's novels, and I could not call this one my favorite, but still I read it with great interest and admiration. Isabel Allende is one of the greatest writers alive.

Characters are very engaging and the story poignant. The writing is beautifully paced. A joy to read

Love story

von Isabel Allende, mit einem etwas schweren Thema, das Älter werden. Anfangs ist das Buch schwierig zum Lesen. Aber beim Weiterlesen hat man den Eindruck, die Darstellern kennzulernen und sie wachsen uns ans Herz. Ich habe das Buch geliebt. Es ist eben von Isabel...

I have red all Allende's books, and as time goes by her style has getting better and better. With this book she traces a love story that lasts almost all twentieth century. Thanks Isabel for so interesting and informative history background on this book!

Les personnages sont touchants, et l'intrigue très bien construite.J'ai eu beaucoup de mal à lâcher le roman avant de l'avoir fini!Ici, Isabel Allende évoque des thèmes récurants de ces précédents romans. Cependant, puisque c'était mon premier roman de cet auteure, j'ai trouvé ça très agréable à lire. Je recommande :)