Snow Falling on Cedars

Rating:
Summary: not horrible, not great
Review: Pretty interesting concept of a story, even if it is re-hashed a bit from "To kill a mockingbird" or "romeo and juliet." What i found most unappealing at first was the very abrupt ending, but after reflecting, i liked wondering just what became of the characters. I'm certain that racial tension and mistrust remained, and that there were still difficult feelings for many of the characters -- especially Susan Marie Heine, whose husband remained dead regardless of the trial's outcome. But couldn't help wondering what happened to the Miyamotos, or to Ishmael, or the land that was in question. The book made me care about those things.

Guterson is a very descriptive author and paints well, whether it's the shape and appearance of the land,the physical attributes of his characters, or the details of a character's activities. The war scenes are especially vivid and colorful. Sometimes this attention to details is very welcome, and sometimes it just makes the story drag.

Compared to the movie, the book was much better and less B-O-R-I-N-G. Really, the movie is a big dud...but the text was okay. Finished it in around eight days despite its size.

Rating:
Summary: A High School Student's Review
Review: I read Snow Falling on Cedars for an English class at my high school. We examined the novel's characters, use of symbolism, meaning, and structure for our class, and I think we gained a good understanding of the book. The story is set on a small island off the coast of Washington during the 1950's. It centers on the trial of Kabuo Miyamoto, a Japanese man who is being tried for the first degree murder of a fellow fisherman named Carl Heine. The book is not a courtroom drama, however. The wife of the accused, Hatsue Miyamoto, and the local reporter, Ishmael Chambers, at one time were high school sweethearts who were torn apart by the Japanese internment during World War II. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn about their relationship and how it ended. Ironically, Ishmael discovers evidence that will set Kabuo free, but he is still bitter about his past with Hatsue, and he struggles with his conscience. This is not a simple story, and it becomes confusing at times because of the flashbacks, which sometimes are inside other flashbacks. It is more historical fiction than anything else, and it brings to light a period in America's history that is not usually remembered fondly. Personally, I was kind of bored with the book at times, and the courtroom scenes were a little bit too long for me. The ending seemed to be trying to be a moral lesson, but it barely pulled it off. Altogether, I'd say that while I didn't dislike the book, I probably wouldn't have made it through the first five chapters if I had been reading it outside of school.

Rating:
Summary: "The trick was to live here without hating yourself..."
Review: Many years passed between my viewing the film version of Snow Falling on Cedars and finally reading the book one morning when I was at a friend's house, awake many hours before she was. I was impressed by the stunning, detailed descriptions of landscapes, people (physically and mentally), and I appreciated the detailed way the story unfolded. Comparing the book to the film (which is always a bad idea), I can say that I enjoyed both. The book offers eloquent descriptions of characters, so you understand them with greater depth. Particularly important are the elegant portrayals of Kabuo, Hatsue, and Ishmael, and the narrative relies on flashback sequences to convey the characters' relationships to each other and to reveal the history of why each character is how he or she is. In the film, for example, Ishmael's bitterness is not fully developed, and Kabuo's character is not fleshed out well either. It was, for example, impossible for the movie to convey Kabuo's feelings as expressed in the book, e.g. "He had meant to project to the jurors his innocence, he's wanted them to see that his spirit was haunted," and, "It had seemed to Kabuo that his detachment from this world was somehow self-explanatory." Although the manner in which both Kabuo and Ishmael had been affected by the war was touched on in the film, the book delved deeply into these matters. The book helps bring the scenery and the people to life far more than the movie "incarnation" possibly could. That much is to be expected.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent novel
Review: "Snow falling on Ceidars" was my first novel by David Guterson. As always when I read a book by (for me) an unknown author I am a little extra excited. Gutersons' "Snow falling on Ceidars" did not disappoint me.

The story opens in a courtroom. Kabuo Miyamoto, a Japanese-American, has been arrested and is on trial for the murder of a local San Piedro fisherman. The core story follows the trial of Miyamoto, but the book brings in so much more. We get an interracial love story, a war story, and an unsolved mystery. All this is gradually and slowly unwrapped as the story about the people of San Piedro Island is told. Guterson has purposely chosen flashback as a way to tell the story to the different characters. An experiment that works quite well!

History has always fascinated me, and the topic on how the Japanese Americans was treated during World War II was especially interesting. I found the background information very helpful in understanding why the characters interacted with each other the way they did.

In summary this is a well-written novel, with realistic, flawed, sympathetic characters easy to identify with. At times very hard to put down.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Whodunnit with a Twist of Forbidden Love
Review: Like most books I read, this one was recommended by a friend. I had no idea what it was about and knew nothing about David Guterson. In addition, had just finished reading the incredible "Memoirs of a Geisha"and knew that the next book I read would have a hard time keeping my attention. That being the case, I wasn't all that excited when I started with Cedars. The first 50 or so pages are on the dry side, but set the stage for the trial. To be honest, I almost gave up on the book, but persevered and was glad that things really picked up shortly after that.

STYLE: Guterson has a fairly elegant writing style and does a good job weaving the flashbacks into and out of the main storyline. It's fair to say that about 1/2 of the book is flashback and it Guterson seamlessly leads the reader in and out of the past with little effort.

FLOW: As I mentioned earlier, the book begins with the trial and gives us a taste of things to come. As I progressed further into the book, I gained some real insights into Ishmael Chambers' emotional and moral dilemmas. Guterson also makes Hatsue a real tough nut to crack, all the way til the end, which makes the book that much more suspenseful. Dialog is a bit heavy at times, and is a bit confusing in the first couple of chapters as new characters are introduced during the trial. Personally, I found the deluge bordering on overwhelming and liked how they were less invovled in the the recent movie.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: Boy, there is character development galore here. We see the main characters grow up from kids to adults and from youthful innocence to mature decision-makers. The trying circumstances of the plot would put extraordinary strains on regular people, and it takes a tremendous step in terms of maturity to overcome their tabooness of forbidden love(!) I breathed a sigh of "wow, he actually did it" when Ishmael finally learns to accept reality. Hatsue -- I think she still has unresolved issues, but that's a topic for another discussion.

OVERALL: It took a while to get going, but I did enjoy Cedars. Not as much as "Memoirs of a Geisha," but it's still a solid effort in its own right. If you're thinking about watching the movie, be prepared to lower your expectations as it doesn't do justice to Guterson's prose.

Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ
Review: David Guterson's Snow Falling On Cedars has established itself gracefully as my second favorite book of the semester -- second, naturally, to Frazier's Cold Mountain. The novel is a first class amalgamation of history, mystery (often in the form of courtroom drama), romance, and action which is glued together by high-caliber prose. At first appearing to be a simple murder mystery, Snow Falling On Cedars gradually reveals a plot intricately and magically woven by a master. In post-war San Piedro island, a quaint fishing community located on Puget Sound, a white fisherman is murdered mysteriously and a Japanese American is put on trial for his death. Guterson combines the elements of small-town communal closeness (or, less euphemistically, small-town gossip), post-war shell-shock and taboo, intergenerational split, and heated romantic entanglement to create a story which will keep readers engaged for hours on end. The character development and realism of David Guterson is also excellent. Worthy of mention is his depiction of the cultural identity crisis which Japanese first-generation teenagers were forced to confront at the time. The cultural barrier is intensified by Japanese-American hostility during World War II and the shameful relocation and segregation of America's Japanese citizens which resulted. If you enjoy novels, read Snow Falling On Cedars -- any questions?

Rating:
Summary: Relevant even today
Review: With all that is going on in the world, somehow SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS is extremely relevant. Thankfully we learned something about the Japanese interrment during WWII and how not to treat people. But in some ways we still find ourselves wrestling with the same old demons. But what is truly amazing about this story is Guterson's handling of the matieral--material that might turn too emotional or dangerous in many other author's hands.

While I'm normally one to stick to a tried and true bestseller like "Da Vini Code" or "Bark of the Dogwood," I decided to give this book a chance. That, plus the fact that I didn't see the movie, made me want something slightly off the beaten path. What I found was an excellently written novel full of insight and warmth. The settings are just remarkable and Guterson has quite an eye for detail and the ability to translate them.

Rating:
Summary: Impressive
Review: A beautifully written and crafted book. Through the story of a Japanese man on trial for the murder of a fisherman, Guterson brings to life the people of a remote island community, their histories, relations, loves and hatreds. In the process, he forces the reader to think about what defines humanity. The first time I started reading this I didn't get past the first several pages. Several years later, I tried again and was very glad I pressed on. By the time I was a third of the way through, I was hooked and impressed.

Rating:
Summary: too slow paced
Review: Tried this one because I like John Grisham, Robert Goddard, etc. This books starts off real well, but is too slow paced overall. I stopped reading it after about 100 pages in a passage with an endless description of the romance between 2 teenagers... Thought this book was better...

Rating:
Summary: A MODERN DAY CLASSIC IN ITS OWN WAY
Review: Having waited almost ten years to read this book, I found myself wondering why I had waited so long. SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS is a beautifully written tale of love, hate, deceit, hope, despair and mystery. David Guterson fleshes out his characters so brilliantly, one can't help but feel like they are visiting with people they see every day. It's hard to single out one character as more compelling than others, but there are several extremely original ones: Carl Heine, the victim, a strong, yet silent man, who wants to give his family a home to be proud of, who fishes only because there's little else to do; Ishmael Chambers, the newspaperman/war veteran, whose silent love of the defendant's wife brings him to a crossroads where life and death meet; Hatsue, the wife, whose recognition of her true feelings for Ishmael may have been brought about by circumstances alone. The book also shows a side of our American history that in retrospect is so shameful, in the way we treated Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. While one can readily understand our nation's fear at this time, herding them off to work camps with such despicable conditions was no way to treat these people. A tale of prejudice, indeed, yet within there are people whose love for each other carries them through.
SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS is a quiet, slow-moving, yet mesmerizing tale, and it's resolution, while acceptable, still leaves one feeling the sense of loss and hope that accompanied the tale.
Beautiful!