Name: The Japanese Lover
Rating: 3.730769230769231 (39 reviews)
ISBN: 9781444834222

ISABEL. CAISTOR ALLENDE (NICK.)

1939: As the world goes to war, Alma Belasco's Polish parents send her to live in safety with relatives in San Francisco. There she meets Ichimei Fukuda, the son of the family's Japanese gardener, and between them a tender love blossoms. But following Pearl Harbor, Ichimei and his family are declared enemies by the US government and relocated to internment camps. Although Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, theirs is a love they are forever forced to hide... Decades later, care worker Irina Bazili meets Alma 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.

The Japanese Lover

El amante japonés

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.

Isabel Allende

"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

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.

Judy Hudgins

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

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 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | 
  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.

The Japanese Lover

Reviews

Highlights