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Summary: Snow Falling on Cedars
Review: From the first opening scene this book is filled with cool blue light, paced as softly as the snow itself, crisp with tension.
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Summary: Nature as a Motif in Snow Falling on Cedars
Review: David Guterson uses nature as a motif in his novel to represent purity and a place where character is revealed. In Snow Falling on Cedars, while being consumed by nature, either in the snow or in the cedar forest, Ishmael Chambers searches the depths of his heart to find in himself truth and strength. As a boy, Ishmael falls in love with his Japanese friend, Hatsue Imada. They have to meet secretly in a hollowed out cedar tree in the forests of San Piedro Island to be together because of the hostility towards Japanese-Americans during the 1950s. Only in the cedar tree can Ishmael and Hatsue escape the boundaries of their society and be true to themselves and to their passions. To them, "the war still seemed far away. The war did not disturb them there...their absorption in one another, the heat of their bodies, their mingling smells and the movements of their limbs--these things shielded them from certain truths"(176). In nature, Guterson allows the purity of their love to thrive without hindrance by their races. Ishmael didn't have to put up any guard around Hatsue, there in the forest was the only place he could be true to himself. Later, Hatsue and her family are moved to internment camps, and she ends her relationship with Ishmael. It is there that she meets Kabuo Miyamoto, who later becomes her husband. Twelve years after the last time Ishmael has seen her, Hatsue's husband is on trial for the murder of a local fisherman Carl Heine. Throughout the trial, Guterson describes an intense snowstorm that surrounds the island. In the courtroom, however, the cleansing snow cannot reach the prejudiced hearts of the jurors and the prosecutor. Ishmael spends every day in the courtroom, writing for his newspaper, and is relieved to escape from the lies in the room. The trial isn't going very well for Kabuo, when Ishmael runs across some evidence to prove his innocence. Ishmael cannot decide what to do with his findings, but eventually shows them to the judge after a night of introspection in the snow-covered forest. "Underneath the canopy of branches he smelled the old fragrance of the place of his youth and the clean scent of the newly fallen snow" (443). There, Ishmael finds the strength he needs to put away the love he still has for Hatsue and to give the evidence to the judge. In the hollowed out cedar tree, Ishmael's soul is cleansed and he can see the right thing to do. Guterson shows through Ishmael that in nature the world's voices fade away and it is the heart's cry that prevails.
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Summary: Great story of love and war
Review: This book was a little slow starting out and then when it got going it was hard to put down. It kept you reading to find out what would happen. It was a story about a death of a fisherman that after investigation became a murder trial. The main story was the trial but it had numerous stories on the side that was about the life and loves and other things of certain people. These smaller stories kept you interested and reading and reading. It was set in the time of WWII so there was a lot of racism over Japanese. So the "murderer", who was Japanese, faced a lot of racism. This book was probably accurate on the treatment of them and they were treated bad. This book was very good and I would recommend reading it.
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Summary: Forced Reading Turns Out Not so Bad
Review: David Guterson utilizes stories of racial prejudice, cultural fear, and failed romances to show that love and morality aren't always powerful enough to overcome what's wrong with the world.Vivid descriptions of the inhumane conditions found within the Japanese containment camps are some of the first things that come to mind when discussing how Guterson showed the racial prejudice that was evident during this time period. On one occasion as Hatsue and her mother attempted to use the restroom in the middle of the night, to their suprise they found that they were going to have to wait in a huge line. There shouldn't be huge lines for the bathroom at one in the morning! The bottom line that Guterson successfully portrays to the reader lies in the fact that some of the Americans were obviously mistreating the Japanese people because of the cultural fear that was brought about due to the war. Neighbors who have known each other for the longest time, simply turn their backs on each other because of the actions of a solider a thousand miles away. These were the effects of war that Guterson presents to his readers. The relationship between Hatuse and Ishmael directly portrays a second example of Guterson showing that love isn't always powerful enough to overcome in this world. Ever since they were young childre, Hatuse and Ishmael had done everything toghether. They dug clams out of the sand and hid from the rain in cedar trees. Guterson proves their somewhat intimate relationship by including all these details in the story. As Hatuse finds out that she must leave to go off to camp, she basically tells Ishmael that the two of them are not right toghether. Later on in the story, Guterson inlcludes a verbal exchange between Hatuse and her mother that effectively shows that some of Hatsue's "feelings" have not been developed on her own. Guterson allows the reader to see that even though Hatuse posesses strong feelings for Ishmael, the subtle demands from her parents, and in a sense, her entire country, prevail as Hatuse ends the relationship with Ishmael in favor of another Japanese man. This occurence exemplifies the growing mountain of evidence that Guterson wants to make a point. War changes character, and sometimes nothing can be done about.
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Summary: Guterson's motif and local color creates a story of passion
Review: Guterson uses motif and local color to create a decent story, but flaws nevertheless occupy the novel. I found the character descriptions to be just too much. After maybe the first twenty one-to-two page (or even longer) character desciptions, I was ready to just put down the book and take a rest. Guterson sets up a delightful plot, but fails to employ easy to follow connections between the different sets of characters. One group of characters does one thing, such as the lovers Hatsue and Ishmael, while Hatsue cannot truly love Ishmael because it violates her family code of marrying inside the Japanese race. Another flaw I saw in the book was the length. Guterson takes four hundred and sixty pages to say what I could sum up in twenty. He tries to create a complicated plot by adding a million simple issues into one big complex issue. Just when one thinks that Guterson is about to start summing up the novel, he adds another problem. He takes the first four hundred pages just to get the basic information to the reader and leaving the last sixty or so for action. It turns out that one small action simplifies the entire problem. Now if only that had happened several chapters ago... Guterson seems to almost be stalling in some parts of the novel, bringing in new information when the old problem needs to be approached, not another character and his two page long detailed description. I do admit that I liked the basic plot outline as well as the language Guterson uses, although this does not amount to much. The motif of cedars carried throughout does tie a unity into the book, which helps strengthen the connection between the million smaller issues of the book. The cedars line the landscape frequently, more often than not when the truth is being approached. The local color also provided me with knowledge on an excellent setting. The landscape was beautiful. I could see it in my mind even though I have never been to Washington State. His descriptions of the characters may be long, but they are very informative and descriptive, giving life to the bustling strawberry farmers. He also had many connections to other American novels, making it a true American literature. Kabuo speaks of the difference between legality and morality, as in The Grapes of Wrath, in which the bank was portrayed as morally wrong. Each of Guterson?s language choices come together to create an overall good, albeit long, story.
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Summary: Critical Review
Review: In David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars vivid sensory details and literary techniques come together to depict social issues such as prejudice and sexism. Guterson's style revolves around his love of the chosen setting: Puget Sound. An abundance of sensory details actually almost detracts from the novel's purpose. With lengthy and wordy descriptions, a clear understanding of the story's setting is established, but it was almost a chore to read. Even so, masterful use of symbolism and rhetorical strategies build up to the author's point, true love sometimes means sacrifice. The plot centers around Hatsue, the beautiful female leading character, her honorable Japanese husband, Kabuo, and the war veteran, Ishmael. In a tantilizing love triangle, courage and integrity of each of the characters is put to the test while also addressing the social issue of prejudice. The ocean embodied the turmoil and drama taking place in the small community: "like the salt water around them...remaining what it was implacably-- was out of their hands." This statement typifies the feeling of helplessness which pervades throughout the novel. The two major foils were Kabuo and Ishmael. Kabuo, of honorable Japanese decent manifests the true idea of integrity and honor as he refuses to dishonor himself or his family throughout his trial. Ishmael, weaker in character, follows his urges and heart not thinking of others' feelings. In the end, the beautifully developed (if not overly developed) plot and characters presents an accurate description of social problems and the overcoming of these problems through love.
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Summary: the entire concept...
Review: all I can say, is that this entire concept has had an amazing progression: from a really good book at the start, to an incredibly beautiful film, and then finally to a soul searching soundtrack. all three blend into a piece of works that can truly claim both great beauty and redeeming power.
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Summary: Guterson's novel a beautiful insightful look at prejudice
Review: Guterson's novel, Snow Falling On Cedars, is a beautiful if sometimes harsh look at the prejudice and injustice in both American and personal history. It is a story of one man accused of murder, the crime pinned upon him simply, in his belief and in the beliefs of his relatives, that he is Japanese-American during the post World War II period. It is also the story of a young love between a white boy and a Japanese girl that refuses to lie where it has been buried for so many years. Guterson's novel tells the story of four very different people, two Caucasian, two Japanese, and their struggles to cope with a world they did not create but must live in and be resigned to. Although it contains racist dialogue and a small amount of violence, the book is eye-opening and heartwrenching at times, giving the reader a somewhat different, wiser look at the way America was and the way that it perhaps will be for a long time to come.
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Summary: Snow Falling on Cedars
Review: In the novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson, many aspects of human nature and society are intertwined. The novel begins in 1954, nine years after WWII on San Piedro Island, which is located in the Puget Sound. Kabuo Miyamoto, a WWII Japanese- American veteran and fisherman is on trial for the murder of Carl Heine, also a WWII veteran and well-known and well-liked town fisherman. The issue of prejudice on the small island is prevalent throughout the novel. The hostility between the white and Japanese-Americans, who co-inhabit the island, contributes to the tension that pervades the trial. The whole town has condemned Kabuo before the trial even begins. Ishmael Chambers, the local newspaperman, also a WWII veteran, is the only man who seems to have some doubt that Kabuo's guilty. As the story progresses, we learn that Ishmael had a very deep relationship during high school with Kabuo's wife, Hatsue. A sub-plot in the story is of Ishmael having to face his unrequited love for Hatsue. He had not healed from the rejection he encountered even after 9 years. Once the trial begins, he sees Hatsue everyday and his feelings become more insistent. Ishmael is one of the easiest characters to identify with in this story; everyone at some point or another has incurred unrequited love. The novel consists of many flashbacks that revert back to special occurrences between Hatsue and Ishmael, happenings at Manzanar, and daily life scenes between characters. These flashbacks allow the reader to gain a more in depth understanding of the town, the town's people, the source of prejudice and the slim chances of Kabuo's release. Guterson's use of fabulous description add to the mood and the novels ability to convey the meaning and point of this wonderful story. The only negative aspect of this novel is the numerous graphic sex scenes. As posted previously by "a reader from Ohio" these portions do not add anything substantial to the novel. I recommend this novel to all types of readers anxious to gain a better understanding of human nature and any students in AP English who are unsure what book to read on the recommended reading list.
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Summary: I love Ishmael
Review: While not mind blowing or awe-inspiring, Snow Falling on Cedars is an enjoyable, emotionally stirring and thought provoking novel. It is an unusual mix of history, love and a legal case. Story lines involving trials tend to baffle me with their legal terms and confusing facts, but in this book I am able to follow quite easily. At the same time I am drawn into it and kept guessing until the last chapter on the defendant's guilt or innocence. The often-overused theme of racism was freshly portrayed here in a town of predominantly Japanese-Americans. The accuracy on the treatment of Japanese- Americans was real: it was not extreme and by all whites but yet it is visible in the community. The relocation of the Japanese-Americans to internment camps during the war against Japan was historically based and tactfully told while still pertaining heavily to the main plot. Some of the flowery language and lengthy descriptions of characters and places seem superfluous. However, they brought much more to a novel that could have been all historical fact and a simple who-dun-it story. The characters are believable and I felt got to know them from all angles during several stages of their lives. The author never seems to pass judgement on the characters leaving it up to the reader whom to like and dislike. Stephen Greszler commented that the abundant sex scenes where "out of place", but I thought that they added to the personality of the characters. Those scenes were essential to who the people are, and made a very clear impression about the nature of the person. Unlike " A reader from Ohio", I did leave caring about the characters from the book, particularly Ishmael. The romance aspect of the book greatly moved me. Ishmael and Hatsue are such a powerful couple that the breakup broke me up just as much as it did Ishmael. I felt his anxious heart every time he saw Hatsue in the courtroom and I had the same love/hate emotions for her as he showed. Overall, I think this book was wonderful. Although the size daunted me at first, I'm glad I chose to read it. I don't even remember there ever being a part that I wished would hurry up, and that tells a lot about a book. It is well written, held my attention, and left a lasting memory. I'd recommend it to a wide variety of people since it covers so many genres. But, I guess I'd just recommend it to anyone who has the time to enjoy a good book!
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