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cometreadings's review against another edition
4.0
Kudos to Andrew Lam and his new historical fiction, Repentance.
With amazing twist and turns, and a well crafted written style, I was totally compelled to this story.
It follows a double timeline which shows the reader the present time from Daniel's point of view and the past through his father's pov. Both the men are so different and the shadow of their past has marked a distance impossible to overcome, but there is something from Daniel's father past that might affect the present and the future as well, and change this unstable balance.
I love how the author explores the characters' personalities and their relationships and I was likewise interested in the American Japanese situation, which it was quite to me and that was well described along throughout the book.
I'm used to reading historical fiction books, but the author's style has positively surprised me, and for this, I'm grateful to the publisher and Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for my copy in exchange for my honest review.
With amazing twist and turns, and a well crafted written style, I was totally compelled to this story.
It follows a double timeline which shows the reader the present time from Daniel's point of view and the past through his father's pov. Both the men are so different and the shadow of their past has marked a distance impossible to overcome, but there is something from Daniel's father past that might affect the present and the future as well, and change this unstable balance.
I love how the author explores the characters' personalities and their relationships and I was likewise interested in the American Japanese situation, which it was quite to me and that was well described along throughout the book.
I'm used to reading historical fiction books, but the author's style has positively surprised me, and for this, I'm grateful to the publisher and Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for my copy in exchange for my honest review.
ikuo1000's review against another edition
4.0
Disclosure: I know the author, Andrew Lam, and I read an early draft. I received an advance copy of the book.
Daniel is a Japanese-American surgeon whose marriage is on shaky ground. During World War II, his mother was incarcerated in the Manzanar Japanese internment camp while his father served in the all Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Daniel is estranged from his father, but is forced to come to terms with their relationship when he flies out to visit his parents in response to a medical emergency. Chapters alternate between "present day" scenes in the late 1990s and flashbacks to WWII-era events. The book offers both action-filled war sequences and tender moments.
I especially appreciate that this book brings attention to parts of Asian-American history - Japanese internment and the 442nd - that most people don't even know about. Andrew Lam does justice to their legacies, effectively conveying the unique position occupied by Japanese-American soldiers in the U.S. military and the extent of their bravery, as well as the injustice and sufferings of the Japanese-Americans detained in concentration camps.
While the events that unfold are suspenseful and absorbing, ultimately they serve to depict the human condition through the characters of Daniel and his father. Like each of us, they are flawed. We are presented with a poignant story of expectations and resentment, honor and loss, repentance and atonement.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns of the storytelling, I have to admit, I'm a real stickler about representation and accuracy. On page 13, Daniel's half-white, half-Asian son is unfortunately described as "exotic", which perpetuates the idea that mixed race people are a kind of "other".
On page 47, there is this line: "There weren't any camps for German Americans or Italian Americans." I think this statement could be misleading... It's true there weren't any large-scale camps dedicated exclusively for Germans and Italians, and Germans and Italians weren't rounded up en masse like the Japanese, but they were detained on an individual basis, sometimes alongside Japanese detainees. More than 11,000 people of German ancestry and about 3,000 people of Italian ancestry, including U.S. citizens, were incarcerated during World War II, though those numbers pale compared to the 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were imprisoned.
Anyway, overall, an entertaining story that I could easily imagine on a big screen.
Daniel is a Japanese-American surgeon whose marriage is on shaky ground. During World War II, his mother was incarcerated in the Manzanar Japanese internment camp while his father served in the all Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Daniel is estranged from his father, but is forced to come to terms with their relationship when he flies out to visit his parents in response to a medical emergency. Chapters alternate between "present day" scenes in the late 1990s and flashbacks to WWII-era events. The book offers both action-filled war sequences and tender moments.
I especially appreciate that this book brings attention to parts of Asian-American history - Japanese internment and the 442nd - that most people don't even know about. Andrew Lam does justice to their legacies, effectively conveying the unique position occupied by Japanese-American soldiers in the U.S. military and the extent of their bravery, as well as the injustice and sufferings of the Japanese-Americans detained in concentration camps.
While the events that unfold are suspenseful and absorbing, ultimately they serve to depict the human condition through the characters of Daniel and his father. Like each of us, they are flawed. We are presented with a poignant story of expectations and resentment, honor and loss, repentance and atonement.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns of the storytelling, I have to admit, I'm a real stickler about representation and accuracy. On page 13, Daniel's half-white, half-Asian son is unfortunately described as "exotic", which perpetuates the idea that mixed race people are a kind of "other".
On page 47, there is this line: "There weren't any camps for German Americans or Italian Americans." I think this statement could be misleading... It's true there weren't any large-scale camps dedicated exclusively for Germans and Italians, and Germans and Italians weren't rounded up en masse like the Japanese, but they were detained on an individual basis, sometimes alongside Japanese detainees. More than 11,000 people of German ancestry and about 3,000 people of Italian ancestry, including U.S. citizens, were incarcerated during World War II, though those numbers pale compared to the 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were imprisoned.
Anyway, overall, an entertaining story that I could easily imagine on a big screen.
steveab's review against another edition
5.0
An exceptional book. [b:Repentance|43825356|Repentance|Andrew Lam|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1550738948l/43825356._SX50_.jpg|68199254] peels away layer after layer of personal and family secrets. The story unfolds around looking back the World War II internment of Japanese Americans and the parallel story of the segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Unit. It centers on a mid-aged Japanese American heart surgeon (the author is also a doctor). At the top of his game professionally, Daniel has to face up to the crisis in his marriage, his relationship with children (who barely appear, to be honest), and his parents.
The tone of the book mirrors that of Daniel, the central character. At first, both he and the book feel tightly wound, everything just rushing ahead toward we don't know what. After a certain point, though the reader remains eager for resolution, the Daniel and have to slow down and make room for probing the emotional charge of events.
My only gripe with the book is that, as Lam ties up loose ends in the last part of the book, he leaves the marriage issues between Daniel and Beth in too pat a state. I hate to say more without being a spoiler.
Even so, for anyone coming to grips with the effects of family history and legacy, a wonderful book. Yes, anyone. And yet. I wondered as I read could this story have worked if the families were white?
I read Lam's book having just finished two Kristin Hannah novels, [b:Home Front|12022079|Home Front|Kristin Hannah|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344319152l/12022079._SY75_.jpg|16987689] and [b:The Great Alone|34912895|The Great Alone|Kristin Hannah|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1501852423l/34912895._SY75_.jpg|56275107] which I also loved. Hannah's two novels also portray families in crisis, weighted down with secrets and repressed feelings, and both also revolve around the effects of war (the wars in Iraq and Vietnam).
Yet the quality of the history and feelings seem bound up with the confrontation of Japanese American culture, both American-born and immigrant, with the effects of the racist World War II internment program and armed forces segregation. And all this still did not take away from the feelings of universality in the pivotal family relationships. If that makes a bit of sense to you, that's what made the book exceptional for me.
The tone of the book mirrors that of Daniel, the central character. At first, both he and the book feel tightly wound, everything just rushing ahead toward we don't know what. After a certain point, though the reader remains eager for resolution, the Daniel and have to slow down and make room for probing the emotional charge of events.
My only gripe with the book is that, as Lam ties up loose ends in the last part of the book, he leaves the marriage issues between Daniel and Beth in too pat a state. I hate to say more without being a spoiler.
Even so, for anyone coming to grips with the effects of family history and legacy, a wonderful book. Yes, anyone. And yet. I wondered as I read could this story have worked if the families were white?
I read Lam's book having just finished two Kristin Hannah novels, [b:Home Front|12022079|Home Front|Kristin Hannah|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344319152l/12022079._SY75_.jpg|16987689] and [b:The Great Alone|34912895|The Great Alone|Kristin Hannah|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1501852423l/34912895._SY75_.jpg|56275107] which I also loved. Hannah's two novels also portray families in crisis, weighted down with secrets and repressed feelings, and both also revolve around the effects of war (the wars in Iraq and Vietnam).
Yet the quality of the history and feelings seem bound up with the confrontation of Japanese American culture, both American-born and immigrant, with the effects of the racist World War II internment program and armed forces segregation. And all this still did not take away from the feelings of universality in the pivotal family relationships. If that makes a bit of sense to you, that's what made the book exceptional for me.
bridgets_books's review against another edition
4.0
The book starts out slow. I struggled a little to keep reading through the first few chapters of character and storyline set-up. However, I’m so glad I kept reading. As the pace picked up and the story evolved, I became engrossed in the outcome.
The author blends fiction with historical fact to create a mesmerizing tribute to family, Japanese-Americans in WWII, and one man’s battle to redeem himself.
I recommend Repentance to fans of WWll historical fiction, family drama, and general fiction.
The author blends fiction with historical fact to create a mesmerizing tribute to family, Japanese-Americans in WWII, and one man’s battle to redeem himself.
I recommend Repentance to fans of WWll historical fiction, family drama, and general fiction.
slbeckmann's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to Tiny Fox Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This books shines a light on shameful events in US history that are not particularly well-known, and should be: the sequestering of Japanese-Americans in internment camps in the United States in the course of WWII.
The story is well-written and goes from 1944 to 1999, uncovering the story aand history of one family against the backdrop of the service of Japanese-American soldiers in France during WWII, as a son tries to discover what exactly happened to his recently deceased father during the war. The only weak link was the plot strand involving the foundering relationship between the son and his wife - rather formulaic and two-dimensional.
This books shines a light on shameful events in US history that are not particularly well-known, and should be: the sequestering of Japanese-Americans in internment camps in the United States in the course of WWII.
The story is well-written and goes from 1944 to 1999, uncovering the story aand history of one family against the backdrop of the service of Japanese-American soldiers in France during WWII, as a son tries to discover what exactly happened to his recently deceased father during the war. The only weak link was the plot strand involving the foundering relationship between the son and his wife - rather formulaic and two-dimensional.
elysianfield's review
3.0
Daniel Tokunaga is a successful cardiac surgeon of Japanese-American descent. He’s never given his father’s war service a second thought until Department of Defense makes contact wanting to know about his war efforts. Daniel has a difficult relationship with his estranged father who’s always been remote and strict.
The book follows Daniel in the present day and his father Ray in the past. Through tragedy, Daniel learns who his father really is and what he sacrificed for his family’s sake.
I knew there were Japanese internment camps in the USA but didn’t know anything more. I would have liked to know more about the camps and more about how the Japanese came to volunteer to fight despite their treatment.
The book is well written, but I would have liked to learn more about the camps and situation in the US at that time. I also found Daniel to be very judgmental and easy to find the worst about his father.
The book follows Daniel in the present day and his father Ray in the past. Through tragedy, Daniel learns who his father really is and what he sacrificed for his family’s sake.
I knew there were Japanese internment camps in the USA but didn’t know anything more. I would have liked to know more about the camps and more about how the Japanese came to volunteer to fight despite their treatment.
The book is well written, but I would have liked to learn more about the camps and situation in the US at that time. I also found Daniel to be very judgmental and easy to find the worst about his father.
philantrop's review
3.0
“The fact that they had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor didn’t matter. They were guilty by association, by the color of their skin and the slant of their eyes. It didn’t matter that they didn’t speak Japanese, or that they were American citizens. The bottom line was that their kind had perpetrated a horrid crime that came from the land of their ancestors. The shame was a burden that all Nisei silently bore, a burden every soldier in the 442nd was fighting to be free of.”
I got this book for free as a win from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. Thanks!
“Repentance” tells the story of Daniel Tokunaga, a successful surgeon, who is confronted with his estranged father’s past during the Second World War. Daniel’s father is of Japanese descent and fought as part of the 442nd Infantry Regiment, the most decorated unit in U.S. military history.
During (mostly) alternating chapters narrating of 1944 (Daniel’s father and his best friend) and 1998 till 1999 we learn a lot about Daniel and his own family as well.
Even though Lam doesn’t have his own style, his writing is fairly well, at times very atmospheric and – in the respective context – mostly absolutely plausible and believable. Lam’s prose at times feels even poetic:
“The house sucked up his voice, offered no return. […] The house was a time capsule. A grave, he thought. Even a clock’s tick would have been welcome music. The dead room gave Daniel the creeps. Inside, the distant pulsation of the cicadas felt far away. Inside, time had died—life gone elsewhere. Even the past had passed on.”
Especially the war time perspective is brilliantly developed and I found ourselves immersed in the narration:
“The horror of their situation now dawned on Ray. Unable to advance, unable to retreat, six guys left against four machine guns, one of which they couldn’t see but which could see them the minute they lifted their heads or stepped out from behind a tree.”
Why then only three stars? There are two issues with this book: First of all, “Repentance” is missing the chance to tell the story of the 442nd – why did it become the most decorated unit? Why did those Nisei fight so valiantly? Lam could have elaborated on this beyond the rather simplistic direct answer he gives himself:
“The fact that they had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor didn’t matter. They were guilty by association, by the color of their skin and the slant of their eyes. It didn’t matter that they didn’t speak Japanese, or that they were American citizens. The bottom line was that their kind had perpetrated a horrid crime that came from the land of their ancestors. The shame was a burden that all Nisei silently bore, a burden every soldier in the 442nd was fighting to be free of.”
Especially in the light of Americans of Japanese descent being held in civilian internment under harsh conditions, why would people volunteer to fight and die for the country that did that to them? The book leaves us without even trying to explain that.
The story “Repentance” tells us is a powerful one and it would certainly have been possible to highlight the special challenges that the Nisei faced in the USA before, during and – in part at least – after World War II. I for one would have been interested to learn more about that.
In the author’s “Historical Notes” there is indeed additional information about the 442nd but it comes too late (it should have been interwoven in the story) and it’s too little to make any great difference.
The second issue I have is with Daniel, the protagonist, himself: When he learns about a family secret his father, Ray, has kept, Daniel is very, very quick to condemn Ray. No doubt, under the specific circumstances Daniel is sad and confused and he says so:
“He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. “I still can’t wrap my head around the stuff with my dad. It’s just so bizarre.””
That is wholly understandable and believable. Nevertheless, he completely condemns his father and is generally awfully quick to judge:
“No wonder his father hadn’t wanted the government to investigate his medal. Because he hadn’t earned it…worse, he’d lied […]”
Not quite the next second but at most hours later, he clearly identifies with his father again:
“Celeste, I would love to tell you about my dad. I’m very proud of him.”
Daniel actually “oscillates” between blaming his father for everything gone wrong in both their lives and blaming himself. Both with equal vigour and both implausibly quickly, often in the course of hours:
“As Daniel perused his dad’s archive of his life, he felt a deep sense of regret. Was it my fault for keeping us apart all those years? Was it me who robbed both him and my children of a relationship they could have shared? And Daniel realized, it was.”
“No, Daniel”, I want to shout, “it’s at most partly your fault but mostly your father who tried to mould you into the unrealistic picture he imagined someone else would have been having of you.” (Yes, the convoluted wording has a very good reason.)
In the relationship between the parent and a child, it’s extremely rarely the child to blame for the major failures.
Neither is it possible for anyone burdened like Daniel to follow his wife’s - Beth - trivial advice:
“You can do it differently. Start right now. Just start by being a person who’s not carrying a burden. Now that we know where that burden came from, why don’t you put it down and leave it there?”
No, Beth, you can’t just put such a burden down and move on. If things were so easy, a lot of shrinks would be out of a job.
All in all, “Repentance”, in spite of the shortcomings I mentioned, is a well-written, interesting book that could have achieved more but can still be recommended to anyone with an interest in historical fiction and especially those interested in World War II.
I got this book for free as a win from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. Thanks!
“Repentance” tells the story of Daniel Tokunaga, a successful surgeon, who is confronted with his estranged father’s past during the Second World War. Daniel’s father is of Japanese descent and fought as part of the 442nd Infantry Regiment, the most decorated unit in U.S. military history.
During (mostly) alternating chapters narrating of 1944 (Daniel’s father and his best friend) and 1998 till 1999 we learn a lot about Daniel and his own family as well.
Even though Lam doesn’t have his own style, his writing is fairly well, at times very atmospheric and – in the respective context – mostly absolutely plausible and believable. Lam’s prose at times feels even poetic:
“The house sucked up his voice, offered no return. […] The house was a time capsule. A grave, he thought. Even a clock’s tick would have been welcome music. The dead room gave Daniel the creeps. Inside, the distant pulsation of the cicadas felt far away. Inside, time had died—life gone elsewhere. Even the past had passed on.”
Especially the war time perspective is brilliantly developed and I found ourselves immersed in the narration:
“The horror of their situation now dawned on Ray. Unable to advance, unable to retreat, six guys left against four machine guns, one of which they couldn’t see but which could see them the minute they lifted their heads or stepped out from behind a tree.”
Why then only three stars? There are two issues with this book: First of all, “Repentance” is missing the chance to tell the story of the 442nd – why did it become the most decorated unit? Why did those Nisei fight so valiantly? Lam could have elaborated on this beyond the rather simplistic direct answer he gives himself:
“The fact that they had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor didn’t matter. They were guilty by association, by the color of their skin and the slant of their eyes. It didn’t matter that they didn’t speak Japanese, or that they were American citizens. The bottom line was that their kind had perpetrated a horrid crime that came from the land of their ancestors. The shame was a burden that all Nisei silently bore, a burden every soldier in the 442nd was fighting to be free of.”
Especially in the light of Americans of Japanese descent being held in civilian internment under harsh conditions, why would people volunteer to fight and die for the country that did that to them? The book leaves us without even trying to explain that.
The story “Repentance” tells us is a powerful one and it would certainly have been possible to highlight the special challenges that the Nisei faced in the USA before, during and – in part at least – after World War II. I for one would have been interested to learn more about that.
In the author’s “Historical Notes” there is indeed additional information about the 442nd but it comes too late (it should have been interwoven in the story) and it’s too little to make any great difference.
The second issue I have is with Daniel, the protagonist, himself: When he learns about a family secret his father, Ray, has kept, Daniel is very, very quick to condemn Ray. No doubt, under the specific circumstances Daniel is sad and confused and he says so:
“He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. “I still can’t wrap my head around the stuff with my dad. It’s just so bizarre.””
That is wholly understandable and believable. Nevertheless, he completely condemns his father and is generally awfully quick to judge:
“No wonder his father hadn’t wanted the government to investigate his medal. Because he hadn’t earned it…worse, he’d lied […]”
Not quite the next second but at most hours later, he clearly identifies with his father again:
“Celeste, I would love to tell you about my dad. I’m very proud of him.”
Daniel actually “oscillates” between blaming his father for everything gone wrong in both their lives and blaming himself. Both with equal vigour and both implausibly quickly, often in the course of hours:
“As Daniel perused his dad’s archive of his life, he felt a deep sense of regret. Was it my fault for keeping us apart all those years? Was it me who robbed both him and my children of a relationship they could have shared? And Daniel realized, it was.”
“No, Daniel”, I want to shout, “it’s at most partly your fault but mostly your father who tried to mould you into the unrealistic picture he imagined someone else would have been having of you.” (Yes, the convoluted wording has a very good reason.)
In the relationship between the parent and a child, it’s extremely rarely the child to blame for the major failures.
Neither is it possible for anyone burdened like Daniel to follow his wife’s - Beth - trivial advice:
“You can do it differently. Start right now. Just start by being a person who’s not carrying a burden. Now that we know where that burden came from, why don’t you put it down and leave it there?”
No, Beth, you can’t just put such a burden down and move on. If things were so easy, a lot of shrinks would be out of a job.
All in all, “Repentance”, in spite of the shortcomings I mentioned, is a well-written, interesting book that could have achieved more but can still be recommended to anyone with an interest in historical fiction and especially those interested in World War II.
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