A secret dating from Hiroshima at the time of the bomb will finally come to light more than a half century later in Los Angeles, the summer of 1999. Mas Arai, a gardener and widower is a Kibei -- born in the U.S., taken to Japan as a boy -- who made it back to California at 18. Joji Haneda, another Kibei Mas knew in Hiroshima, and who became a gardener in California as well, has died.
Nobody liked Joji, but several people show up from Japan to look into his effects and his past. The story has typical noir themes and twists: potential witnesses threatened, Mas's prized 1956 Ford truck stolen, a heated poker game climaxes in a brawl and police bust, the deceased Haneda's mistress is beaten to a pulp, and an innocent young Japanese reporter is charged. There is an envelope fat with cash, and a private investigator from Japan offers Mas big money for information, then $30,000 to keep out of it. Someone removes the oxygen mask from a beating victim in the hospital and hastens his death. The novel is adequately plotted and has a solid grasp of the different social sub-groups of Kibei, Nisei (Japanese-Americans born in the U.S.), “no-no boys” who refused to sign any kind of loyalty oaths in the internment camps, and U.S. Army vets—their conflicting loyalties and suspicions—but as a noir thriller it remains weak. | ||
Plot & Themes Time/era of story - 1980's-1999 Ethnic/Regional/Religion Other aspects: Crime & Police story Yes Story of Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book War/Revolt/Disaster on civilians Yes Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes Conflict: Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 60's-90's Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - long-lived adults Profession/status: How sensitive is this character? Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 () United States Yes The US: - California Asia/Pacific Yes Asian country: - Japan City? Yes City: - Los Angeles Misc setting Writing Style Sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references only Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |