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Snow Falling on Cedars
Snow Falling on Cedars
Author: David Guterson
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 coldblooded 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. Is...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780151004430
ISBN-10: 0151004439
Pages: 352
Rating:
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 7

4.3 stars, based on 7 ratings
Publisher: Harcourt
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on + 29 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 22
Though there is a dearth of books covering the Japanese-American internment, and it was refreshing to finally find one, I was frustrated after reading through this plodding, intermittent book. The characters lack depth, and the lead character, Hatsue, seems like a caricature of the submissive Japanese wife. The men in the story fare little better. The way in which Hatsue and Ishmael's affair began and ended made them both seem like ridiculous 15-year-olds, rather than tragic or fated ex-lovers. Perhaps they were intended to be that way. It is a page-turner, but not a entirely gripping one. My final thought: playing off a collective historical guilt does not make for a compelling book. For most, it's hard to give a bad review to a book that is peripherally about the Japanese internment. Not me. I say "Yuck," and mean it.
cloverluv avatar reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on + 129 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 12
Hated it. Moved slow and could not figure out what the heck was going on.
reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
Though and award winner and highly regarded, I found this novel to be wordy, long, and rather boring. It was a struggle to finish and in the end not worth the effort. Great writer for sure but the story just didn't catch fire and the constant flashbacks accompanied by painfully drawn out back-story put me to...zzzzzzzzzz
write2read avatar reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on + 31 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Have you read this yet? Is it on your favorites list?
If not it's a must read. Not just a mystery; it's a mind mover.
reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Very intense! Intriguing insight on prejudice.
Read All 120 Book Reviews of "Snow Falling on Cedars"

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reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on + 10 more book reviews
The first abridged audio book that has so good it made me want to go out and get the unabridged novel.
VCD3 avatar reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on + 196 more book reviews
Very entertaining. Some historical fiction wrapped around a murder trial.
reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on + 83 more book reviews
gentle, warm.
reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on + 6 more book reviews
had a hard time getting through the first few chapters
reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on
Book was a good courtroom story tying in various hisorical and personal issues as they pertained to the trial at hand. Informitave, and a good read.
plant-princess avatar reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on + 24 more book reviews
I could not get into this book. It was very slow and I did not finish it, which is very rare for me.
reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on + 101 more book reviews
I found it rather slow, I am not sure I had the patience to finish it
reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on + 51 more book reviews
The basic storyline is one to draw you in. However, the falshbacks and flash forwards are difficult to keep track of; providing the reader with a sometimes struggling mind as to what time period they are reading in. The love plot, meant to be soft and full of passion, left me with a feeling of fatigue, boredom, and redundancy. The ending is wonderful. Since everyone is different, I would give this one a try.
reviewed Snow Falling on Cedars on
This is a compelling book that examines prejudice between people of different races, even though they are all Americans. This is a story about a Japanese-American family living on San Piedro Island, Washington in the days leading up to and ten years after World War II, in which the Japanese were the American enemy. Has a murder been committed? Is a member of a respected Japanese family guilty?


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