Name: Alisa K's review of The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende
Item: The Japanese Lover
Rating: 3
Author: Alisa K

Isabel Allende

In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco's parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family's Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family -- like thousands of other Japanese Americans -- are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world. Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco's charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years.

A Novel

The Japanese Lover

El amante japonés

Sara Godoy Higueras

Alisa K

"From New York Times and internationally bestselling author Isabel Allende, an exquisitely crafted love story and multigenerational epic that sweeps from San Francisco in the present-day to Poland and the United States during the Second World War. In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco's parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family's Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family--like thousands of other Japanese Americans--are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world. Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco's charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years. Sweeping through time and spanning generations and continents, The Japanese Lover explores questions of identity, abandonment, redemption, and the unknowable impact of fate on our lives. Written with the same attention to historical detail and keen understanding of her characters that Isabel Allende has been known for since her landmark first novel The House of the Spirits, The Japanese Lover is a profoundly moving tribute to the constancy of the human heart in a world of unceasing change"--

"From internationally bestselling author Isabel Allende comes an exquisitely crafted love story and multigenerational epic that sweeps from present-day San Francisco to Poland and the United States during WWII. In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis and the world goes to war, young Alma Belasco's parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There she meets Ichimei Fukuda, the son of the family's Japanese gardener, and between them a tender love blossoms. Following Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart when Ichimei and his family - like thousands of Japanese Americans - are declared enemies by the US government and relocated to internment camps. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love they are forever forced to hide from the world. Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the older woman and her grandson, Seth, at Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, and learn about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years."--

a novel

The Japanese lover

Ditipriya Acharya

I pretty much hate Seth, his storyline and his character. Am I really supposed to believe that he’s THE guy for Irina after he blatantly dismissed her trauma? Ugh. Also, I am completely over the ‘confessing your love for someone over and over till they accept’ trope. And why did I need to know that one of the characters has haemorrhoids when it added nothing to the plot, or the character arc for that matter? 

This was definitely not a good first book by this author.

Esta es la primera vez que leo algo de Isabel Allende. Había oído muchísimo sobre la calidad de su escritura, pero nunca me imaginé el don que ella tiene de hacerte sentir que conoces a los personajes como si fueran familia y amigos cercanos. 

A pesar de que me tomó unos días leer este libro, puedo decir que llevaba mucho tiempo sin llorar de la manera en que lloré al terminarlo. Me encantó este libro.

Andrea

Esta es la primera vez que leo algo de Isabel Allende. Había oído muchísimo sobre la calidad de su escritura, pero nunca me imaginé el don que ella tiene de hacerte sentir que conoces a los personajes como si fueran familia y amigos cercanos. 

A pesar de que me tomó unos días leer este libro, puedo decir que llevaba mucho tiempo sin llorar de la manera en que lloré al terminarlo. Me encantó este libro.

Estoy profundamente enamorada de este libro, además, fue amor a primera vista. Leí la sinopsis en la feria del libro de Valencia y quedé enamorada, lo empecé y no pude parar de leer hasta hoy. Diría que se ha convertido en mi libro favorito, por todo lo que me ha hecho sentir y todo lo que he aprendido con y de él. El cariño y la delicadeza que acompaña cada una de sus páginas, la forma en la que trata temas como la amistad, el amor, la vida y la muerte de forma rutinaria pero con la magia que estas tienen, es sinceramente increíble.

Con pocos libros me han entrado ganas de volverlos a leer una vez terminados y con 'el amante japonés' ha sido así, necesito volver a sentir el amor incondicional entre sus personajes y las relaciones tan puras que se muestran aquí, ojalá poder conservar y conocer a gente tan especial cuando llegue la hora de mi muerte, nada me haría más feliz. Gracias Isabel Allende por escribir esta gran historia, se queda conmigo hasta el final de mis días 💘.

María Belén

4.5 estrellas

¡Por fin pude terminar de leer un libro de Isabel Allende! En diferentes oportunidades empecé a leer otros libros de ella pero nunca me engancharon lo suficiente y los dejé. En cambio, El amante japonés me atrapó desde el principio y lo leí en menos de un día. Es un historia preciosa sobre el amor (de todo tipo y en los diferentes momentos de la vida), la vejez, las emociones humanas, la familia y la vida en general. Me gustaron mucho los personajes, los sentí muy reales. Y algo que me pareció muy bueno también y que me gustó mucho fue que se hablara de los campos de concentración en Estados Unidos, una parte de la historia mundial suele ignorarse. 
Es un libro que se lee rápido, con una prosa sencilla y llevadera pero que en ningún momento pierde la profundidad y la emoción.

I loved this book!

Like, I will be keeping this book instead of donating like I typically do with books that I have finished.

Something about the love story, the inevitability of the disappointment, and the constant recurring meetings made it intriguing and had me invested in the characters. This is a books for someone who wants a love story that spans a long time.

There's an interesting side story with the current generation, though I felt that might have been underdeveloped.

Cora Sicard

I enjoyed this book which was less epic than some of Allende's other books. Almost a 'light' book but full of historical fiction... clean ... simple..

Judy Hudgins

Just not getting into the book. Have too many others waiting to be read.

Katie Cheng

On the whole, I found this book an enjoyable read, but some things fell a bit flat for me. I appreciate the social and political themes Allende explores in the book, but I think these themes are what drive the novel, not the characters themselves. At times I found the characters to be contradictory, their dialogue to be stilted, and for certain characters, their depictions, their motives, and their relationships to be idealized and stereotyped. I did, on the other hand, find the structure of the narrative to be interesting, and appreciated that the storytelling was non-linear and still cohesive. I also liked that even toward the end of the book there were still some surprises in store for the reader.

As one might surmise - not my favorite book, but I do think it's a well-intentioned and good-hearted one.

Shreerag Plakazhi

A fine piece of written literature but predictable.

Elad Schulman

I just really love Allende's writing and I can't seem to get enough of it.

Dani C

**Note - I received this as a Goodreads giveaway. That said, all opinions are my own and were no way influenced by Goodreads, the author, publishing company, or anybody else.**

**Also, minor minor spoilers**

Did I like The Japanese Lover? Yes. Do I think it could've been better? Definitely. Allende definitely has talent and I found the story of Alma engrossing. Had it just been about Alma and moved from past to present fluently like it did about 85% of the time the book was focused on Alma I would've probably liked this a lot better. 

However...

Adding Irina's story was too much to me. I understand the desire to juxtapose their lives: two European girls who traveled to America to live with family members but with very different outcomes. When you read the dust jacket description though, Irina is only mentioned as a means to tell the story, someone interested in Alma and draws her history out of her. I was NOT prepared for the emotional upheaval that Irina brought to the story at large or for how jarring her spurts of history came out. There were too many deep issues and not enough words dedicated to her. She could have her own story but instead it felt like it was crammed in between gasps of Alma's storytelling. This resulted in me STRONGLY disliking the bits that veered away from Alma's life and delved into Irina's. 

Secondly, and this partially has to do with the approach to Irina's character, I was not a fan of how Allende gradually approached certain big topics but then rushed others. It felt like she was trying to add in every political and social hot topic possible into one book instead of enjoying the flow of history. As if the racism and social class wasn't enough - and there is PLENTY of that dealt with in this novel - she added pornography, assisted suicide, infidelity, and a large slew of other, more spoiler topics to the novel that weren't always necessary. Again, some of them had to do with the insistence of telling Irina's story but some of them were regarding Alma and felt like she was trying to pound ten nails at once with the same hammer. Too crowded which led to a little sloppiness. 

When I started The Japanese Lover I expected to really like the book. By the end though I only like it enough to say I'd reread it maybe once in a blue moon, a solid 3 star novel that had so much potential for more.

Jessica 

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  As a note, a printed galley of this novel was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.


Isabel Allende returns with The Japanese Lover and has already been greeted with anticipation from her most loyal of fans and new readers alike. It’s a relatively solid release about history, love and survival and Allende has a knack for speaking to the soul of many in the past. Many readers will agree that it is very much so in the vein of some of her past works. I, like many others, was eager to get my hands on this release.

Although it has her signature sweetness, honesty and talent; the novel itself didn’t do much for me in terms of captivating my attention for a good chunk of it. I feel indifferent now as I look back. And even though it picks up near the end, it just wasn’t for me at the end of the day. It was good but not great. It is not her most memorable work.

I’m sure many will disagree with me there.

Historical fiction is a tricky thing and while her writing is as vivid as ever, something about it just didn’t flow I sat it down multiple times and found myself needing more from its tale. See, here's the weird part: it isn't the history aspect of it all that makes a weak point, it's just something about the story. 

Continued @ BOOKEDJ.

Rachel

The Japanese Lover has way to much going on and yet it remains predictable. Alma is a Jewish girl who moved to San Francisco from Poland to live with her aunt and uncle, the family has Japanese gardeners and she becomes close with their son, Ichi. Ichi and his family are sent to Japanese internment camps, separating Alma and Ichi for years until they meet again, separate and meet again. The story goes between Alma living at a retirement home, letters from Itchi, and the past. Alma has a "secretary" Irina, who has her own subplot, that felt very unnecessary and thrown in to the story. A lot of the plot and dialogue comes off unrealistic, making the book drag out for me. I was interested in what happened, but most of it was figured out early on in the book. It's a good fluffy romance book, but it lacks any kind of emotional writing. 2.5/5.

Fumi Calafateanu

From New York Times bestselling author Isabel Allende, “a magical and sweeping” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) love story and multigenerational epic that stretches from San Francisco in the present-day to Poland and the United States during World War II. In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco’s parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family’s Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family—like thousands of other Japanese Americans—are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world. Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco’s charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years. Sweeping through time and spanning generations and continents, The Japanese Lover is written with the same keen understanding of her characters that Isabel Allende has been known for since her landmark first novel The House of the Spirits. The Japanese Lover is a moving tribute to the constancy of the human heart in a world of unceasing change.

Natalia Micaela 

Gigi V

Anddy G

Kylie Frazer

Diego

Vladimir

Nada Ghanim

Aline Peeters

La nueva novela de Isabel Allende. La historia de amor entre la joven Alma Velasco y el jardinero japonés Ichimei conduce al lector por un recorrido a través de diversos escenarios que van desde la Polonia de la Segunda Guerra Mundial hasta el San Francisco de nuestros días. «A los veintidós años, sospechando que tenían el tiempo contado, Ichimei y Alma se atragantaron de amor para consumirlo entero, pero mientras más intentaban agotarlo, más imprudente era el deseo, y quien diga que todo fuego se apaga solo tarde o temprano, se equivoca: hay pasiones que son incendios hasta que las ahoga el destino de un zarpazo y aun así quedan brasas calientes listas para arder apenas se les da oxígeno.»

Alisa K &
The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

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Alisa K &The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

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Alisa K &
The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende