Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
My review
The story of a Japanese man on trial for murder in 1954, on a west coast island still reeling from the after shocks of WWII, this is a book that impressed me enough to read sentences over and over.
It is naturally a good story: murder trial, secret love, WWII (nothing sells like that war) and its aftermath. But that alone wouldn’t have gripped me the way this book did. It is a wonderfully written novel, the language sonorous, vividly drawn in the range and depth of detail on everything that makes up life on a fictional island off the coast of Washington. Having visited a similarly located and real island, Haida Gwaii (The Queen Charlotte Islands) in Canada, I found the descriptions of landscape and the way of life especially riveting.
I was also impressed with the vivid character sketches of a panorama of minor characters. Even walk-ons who barely have a word merit a name, first and last, something about appearance, ability, personality. The weaving of the courtroom drama and scenes from earlier in the lives of all the participants is done incredibly skillfully.
My only quibble with this book is at the end. I felt that it was winding tightly, with tense suspense, toward a sad end. I didn’t want that ending, but it felt inevitable and right given everything that came before it.
But in the last few chapters, with rapid fire speed, a happy ending was pulled out of a hat, and for me it wasn’t convincing and didn’t have the power of the rest of the book. It brought forward the aspects of this book that weren’t as strong as the rest, reminding me that every writer has strengths and weaknesses. (The love triangle never quite struck me as real. Four years of daily necking in a cedar bush without culmination? The abrupt turnaround in feeling?) I even wondered if the ending was changed under editorial pressure
But that aside, this book has so much beauty in its language, from landscape to character descriptions. The courtroom scenes are convincing. The structure amazing. The range of it marvelous: the way it captures a time, the fishing and strawberry farming, social structure, Japanese internment camp, one of the best war scenes I’ve ever read. It’s a book I would re-read just to study the weaving of so many elements.
[...] July 1, 2009 by Lilian Nattel The story of a Japanese man on trial for murder in 1954, on a west coast American island still reeling from the after shocks of WWII, this is a book that impressed me enough to read sentences over and over for their beauty, for the vividness of detail, for what I could learn. Continued here. [...]
I’ve never read this but you make a very convincing case why I should do so! I’ll look it out.
Cool! I’ll be interested in your reaction to it.
I really enjoyed this book, although from memory (dim now, admittedly), I shared your frustration with the ending.
I wondered how other people felt about it–thanks for letting me know.
a bad ending spoils a book for me. it is the hardest part of writing. i get anxious when reading about whether the author will find a strong way to end
That’s really interesting Emily. I agree that beginnings and endings are tough–both have a lot to do and no ameliorating context. But for me this book had so many strengths I could learn from that I could forgive the less than stellar finale.
When I read this book a few years ago, I couldn’t put it down — for the mystery of the crime, and the beauty of the writing, especially the poetic descriptions of the natural environment of the Puget Sound. I grew up in B .C., so I appreciated the author’s skilful descriptions of the setting. The movie was good, but couldn’t compare with the book.
Ray Argyle
http://www.wildaboutwriting.com
I haven’t seen the movie. I wondered how it compared. I’m glad to hear it’s good and not surprised to hear it isn’t nearly as good. I think a movie can be as great a movie as a book is a book but I don’t think a great book can ever be translated into a movie that does it full justice.
I enjoyed this book when I read it a few years ago – I’m originally from the Pacific Northwest and I think that added to my emotional connection with the novel. I also liked how Guterson explored how the war affected the men in the novel, how it changed them. Kabuo and Ishmael both had some very poignant reflections on how their involvement in WWII transformed their perceptions.
I had the same response about the post-war effects. I also found the extended scene of the beach landing one of the best war scenes I’ve ever read.