Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

My book club read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet last month. We all liked it. Set in Seattle, it is the story of a Chinese-American man, Henry, who became friends with a Japanese-American girl during World War II. Forty years later, an old hotel is being renovated and belongings from Japanese families that had been sent to internment camps are uncovered. I

The book is related to Japanese internment camps during WWII. One of the gals in our group has grandparents that met at Heart Mountain, where they were interred. She was really looking forward to reading the book because of her personal connection.

I really loved Hotel on the Corner and Bitter Sweet. I've read several books set during WWII, but never one that dealt with the Japanese internment.

There was lots to this story: love, race, family, war. I really enjoyed reading about Henry's relationships with his father and with his son. It was interesting to see how the relationships developed. I also loved a couple of the minor characters: Sheldon, Henry's jazz playing friend and the lunch lady at Henry's elementary school.

I cried at the ending. It was a beautiful story and is well worth reading.