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A review by sometimesleelynnreads
Return to Hiroshima by Bob Van Laerhoven
3.0
Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Crime Wave Press and Blackthorn Book Tours for this free copy.
Books like this, where the setting or the content of the plot, something to do with the book basically, has some sort of meaning to me, are hard to read sometimes. I don’t even know if that sentence above made sense to me or whoever is reading this, but basically having this book take place in Hiroshima and having the main characters and some of the other characters feeling the effects of what happened back in WWII just stirred up emotions in me that I don’t always feel. For one, learning about this part of history and having family members on both sides of the war makes it difficult to be on one side or the other. I don’t think it’s even really about sides at this point, but that history hurts.
I honestly don’t think it was very clear what else happened in Japan, or even China and Korea during WWII that wasn’t widely known or told. I think we are still in the dark about a lot of the horrors that they had to face on a daily basis. So it was hard for me to read a book where one of the main plot lines dealt with experiments that were done during WWII. Even if they were real or not, if these were hidden to the point that how the world would look at both the Imperial family and society as a whole would completely change, that just sounds terrifying to me.
Now for the actual book, now that I got that part out of the way.
Something about this book was truly haunting, and I am actually really impressed and grateful that Van Laerhoven did justice to the Japanese people and culture in this novel. Coming from someone who has absolutely no Japanese blood in him, or even explicit ties, it could have been a hit or miss. This was definitely a hit, and I think he did a great job at making sure that this book didn’t become problematic with the representation.
I’m not used to crime thrillers, or ultra-noir books like this one is, so I really had to take my time with it. I had to make sure that I was understanding the subtext and the nuances that were going on in here that isn’t explicitly stated for me like I’m used to. Sure, I can deal with symbolism and foreshadowing and stuff like that, but I’m never one to be completely thrown off by the plot or a twist that comes up later on, or a direction that a book ends up taking. This was one of those where I dedicated a lot more of my time and attention to make sure that I was appreciating the book the way it was intended.
There’s always the slight chance that exploring such a dark period in history – especially since this wasn’t that far in the past – could lead to being insensitive or just portrayed disrespectfully. I think Van Laerhoven took that chance, and he did the research that he needed to, in order to ensure that he wasn’t either of those things. This was not a light read by any means, despite the short chapters. The subject is gruesome, the content is difficult, and I would say that one would need to go into this book with a clear mind, and be in the right mental mindset to deal with something like this. Now, once you do that, sit back and go through this journey. I don’t think you will regret it.
Books like this, where the setting or the content of the plot, something to do with the book basically, has some sort of meaning to me, are hard to read sometimes. I don’t even know if that sentence above made sense to me or whoever is reading this, but basically having this book take place in Hiroshima and having the main characters and some of the other characters feeling the effects of what happened back in WWII just stirred up emotions in me that I don’t always feel. For one, learning about this part of history and having family members on both sides of the war makes it difficult to be on one side or the other. I don’t think it’s even really about sides at this point, but that history hurts.
I honestly don’t think it was very clear what else happened in Japan, or even China and Korea during WWII that wasn’t widely known or told. I think we are still in the dark about a lot of the horrors that they had to face on a daily basis. So it was hard for me to read a book where one of the main plot lines dealt with experiments that were done during WWII. Even if they were real or not, if these were hidden to the point that how the world would look at both the Imperial family and society as a whole would completely change, that just sounds terrifying to me.
Now for the actual book, now that I got that part out of the way.
Something about this book was truly haunting, and I am actually really impressed and grateful that Van Laerhoven did justice to the Japanese people and culture in this novel. Coming from someone who has absolutely no Japanese blood in him, or even explicit ties, it could have been a hit or miss. This was definitely a hit, and I think he did a great job at making sure that this book didn’t become problematic with the representation.
I’m not used to crime thrillers, or ultra-noir books like this one is, so I really had to take my time with it. I had to make sure that I was understanding the subtext and the nuances that were going on in here that isn’t explicitly stated for me like I’m used to. Sure, I can deal with symbolism and foreshadowing and stuff like that, but I’m never one to be completely thrown off by the plot or a twist that comes up later on, or a direction that a book ends up taking. This was one of those where I dedicated a lot more of my time and attention to make sure that I was appreciating the book the way it was intended.
There’s always the slight chance that exploring such a dark period in history – especially since this wasn’t that far in the past – could lead to being insensitive or just portrayed disrespectfully. I think Van Laerhoven took that chance, and he did the research that he needed to, in order to ensure that he wasn’t either of those things. This was not a light read by any means, despite the short chapters. The subject is gruesome, the content is difficult, and I would say that one would need to go into this book with a clear mind, and be in the right mental mindset to deal with something like this. Now, once you do that, sit back and go through this journey. I don’t think you will regret it.