Relapse

It used to mean everything to me. She used to mean everything to me. Now I don’t even know where to go with it. What to do, where to begin. How did any of this even happen. Everything seemed to be going so well. I need a break from my inner thoughts.

Currently Reading: 

If this isn’t an eye opening book, I don’t know what is. 

This is a story of a 1st generation Chinese American boy named Henry in 1942 Seattle. During World War II his father wants to ensure no one confuses him for the ostracized Japanese and sends his son to an all white school with an “I Am Chinese” button on his clothing. There he meets 2nd generation Japanese American girl named Keiko. Though Henry’s father has a passionate hatred for the Japanese, Henry develops a sweet, deep and secretive friendship with her.

Then the president of the USA signs an executive order to round up Japanese Americans and “evacuate” them to internment camps across the western half of the United States. Henry must come to grips with losing his new best friend while trying to understand why or how such an appalling act could be happening to the Japanese Americans. 

This novel brings a lot of memories back from junior year APUSH for me personally. The burgeoning jazz scene in Seattle’s International District in the 1940s comes to life through the eyes of Henry Lee and epitomizes vivid story telling along with pretty accurate historical content built right into the setting of the novel. Although I’m no expert, I feel as though Jamie Ford has a few anachronisms for which I cannot rationalize in respect to time frame.

Overall, the novel isn’t perfect but it has accurately done its job thus far. It’s a pretty enticing read and I look forward to writing a bit more about it. I definitely think it’s worth checking out.