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.

Hated it. Moved slow and could not figure out what the heck was going on.

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.

Amazon.com
This is the kind of book where you can smell and hear and see the fictional world the writer has created, so palpably does the atmosphere come through. Set on an island in the straits north of Puget Sound, in Washington, where everyone is either a fisherman or a berry farmer, the story is nominally about a murder trial. But since it's set in the 1950s, lingering memories of World War II, internment camps and racism helps fuel suspicion of a Japanese-American fisherman, a lifelong resident of the islands. It's a great story, but the primary pleasure of the book is Guterson's renderings of the people and the place.

Deep human relations and how a town was torn apart by the internment of the Japanese people during WW2.

wonderful reading - great prose - about changing your dreams.

Very intense! Intriguing insight on prejudice.

this is a good story about the north west coast and the lot of Japanese Americans during and shortly after WWII. The writing is good and the message is good.

Haunting historical mystery.

I loved this story...especially living here in the Pacific Northwest where it takes place...I know these places and can just imagine this story actually taking place years ago. Definitely a good read

Read All Book Reviews of "Snow Falling on Cedars"

had a hard time getting through the first few chapters

One of my favorite books.

I truly enjoyed this book, it was a great book to read for me.

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 one man's guilt. For on San Piedro, 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 WWII, when an entire community was sent into exile while its neighbors watched. Gripping, tragic, and densely atmospheric, Snow Falling on Cedars is a masterpiece os suspense-but one that leaves us shaken and changed.

A wonderful storry. An excellent copy.

A beautifully written book by a gifted author.

"Gripping, tragic, and densly atmospheric... a masterpiece of suspense... one that leaves us shaken and changed."

great story.

This is a lovely book. Takes place in the Pacific Northwest.

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 one man's guilt. For on San Piedro, memory grows as thickly as cedar trees and the fields of ripe strawberries--memories of a charmed love affair between a white boy and a 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 the entire community was sent into exile while its neighbors watched.

Read All Book Reviews of "Snow Falling on Cedars"