Snow Falling on Cedars, David Guterson

 

The Book

    For several days, an El Nino snow storm falls as Kabuo Miyamoto sits on trial for the murder of his childhood friend Carl Heine. In 1954 San Piedro Island, the beauty of the Puget Sound belies the scars left behind by World War II. Though unseen, the regions unsettled history where the white man pretended to get along well with the Japanese immigrants is fraying at it's core. For Kabuo, sitting at the defendants table, stoically every day is a matter of his culture. The Buddhist belief instilled in him that the more chaotic his life, the more calm he must show the outside world, in this way he calms the forces against and can become a part of the fabric of the world. His wife, Hatsue attends the trail to support her husband. She, too, seems stoic in the face of the accusation, and never once does she falter in her belief that the father of her children is an innocent man. 

    To Ishmael Chambers, the turmoil inside of him can hardly be contained, as he witnesses the trial in the job as the publisher of the local newspaper. His father founded it, and now, Ishmael, despite having brutally lost an arm on his only mission in the war, does his duty to uphold the legacy of his father. 

    The story weaves together the story of these four young people, all of whom had gone to school together on the tiny island. Carl and Kabuo had know each other almost all of their lives, the same with Ishmael and Hatsue. But when "the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor" the reality of war touched this community of fisherman and strawberry farmers. At the heart of it, will the island be true to the American promise, that all men are created equal, that they can receive a fair trail, of will the prejudices of the times finally swallow all that was good when these people were young? 

My Thoughts

  This book won many literary awards and has been quite controversial. I understand. Like many challenged books, it takes a hard and honest look at something the culture would rather ignore. The literary tone and style belies a tight thriller and a literary romance story. This mash up of genres and styles is augmented by the rich wordsmithing of David Guterson. The book can explore the sweetness of first love, the close knit nature of island life, and the toxic relationships that type of living can produce because of his skill. Had Guterson been less skillful, this book would have fallen far short of the mark, and therefore raised no challenging questions in the reader. This book is a great example of the artist's work, honing skill, craft and talent until the blade is sharp, and the cut deep. But like a sharp blade, you don't feel the cut at first, it takes a moment for the brain to catch up, and it leaves it's imprint on you long after the encounter ends. It seems effortless, because the years of study go unseen, and the creative art is to make it look easy whilst all the while bearing the pain of the beauty with a pageant perfect smile. 

It took me over a week to read this book. Partly because the richness of the language made we want to slow down and enjoy it, and partly because my life has been super busy and it's been extremely cold here. I'd rather spend my time knitting than reading, it feels more productive, on the super cold days. 

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

    This book came to me from the Winnetka Public Library. This particular paperback copy of the book entered into their library in August of 2005. That is so long ago that the library had shifted from the little card holders in the back of the book, to "stamp sheets" in the back. By far, this is the most interesting thing I've discovered since I began to chronicle the library books that I've read. If I weren't doing this segment, I would not look twice, much less think about these changes. The back cover says this book was $14.95, that is the number I will use. But a quick use of math on my receipt would have it at just $14.00 even. Since I cannot know if it is a typo or some sort of depreciation Winnetka or the other library uses, I will use the cover number. 

This Book                                         $14.95

Items Reviewed This Year               $67.94

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