His Book Review: Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson (1994)

Why he read it: heard of it and the movie years ago; current interest in books about the Japanese Internment Camps during WWII

Would he recommend it: Yes

His review: There is a controversy in Holocaust studies about non-participant literature, novels and plays written by authors who have no direct personal connection to the Holocaust. For some, these non-participant works lack credibility, and are usurping the Holocaust as an easy emotional hook. For others, though, the Holocaust is an universal, historical event; if non-participants aren’t allowed to use it within their works, once there are no more survivors it will be lost in history.

I think a similar argument could be made about the Japanese-American Internment Camps from WWII. There are several powerful memoirs from individuals that experienced life in those camps, as well as fictional works. But there are also fictional works written by non-participants, works worth reading. They question I ask is if they are treating the Internment Camp experience with authenticity? Or are they using it as an easy plot device?

This popular novel from the 1990s fits, for me, within the former category. I felt that the use of the Japanese Internment Camp experience as the setting for a murder mystery would give readers, not familiar with the camps, an appropriate study of the cultural and racial elements at play in the Pacific Northwest at this time. This book is about those racial elements, of Japanese living for many years in these communities, but not fully accepted. When Pearl Harbor is attacked, the Japanese were quickly (and too easily) excised from those communities, with lasting scars.

Guterson’s skill is creating characters. I could certainly identify with the love-lorn Ishmael Chambers, but I liked that he didn’t make this a tragic romance. It is certainly worth debating if Hatsue’s hesitation to love Ishmael is driven by the communities rejection of such mixed race relationships, or if it was more personal. I like that Guterson doesn’t paint the Japanese as simply victims and the whites as racists—he paints a complex picture of this complex life. Even minor characters are given their moments, which makes this more than a simply mystery novel.

In fact, it was the mystery that weakened the book somewhat for me. The rather convenient solution, spearheaded by Ishmael, was a bit too easy of a ending. But otherwise, this a book worth reading to give insight into this historical moment and the people trying to live in it.