Rating: 
Summary: A modern masterpiece that leaves one's heart shaken
Review: Kabuo Miyamoto, a hero from the WWII battlefields, is accused of murder in a place where generation of Japanese and whites have lived in tensile harmony until Pearl Harbor when everything fell apart...As the trials begin, a story of courage, of love, and of hatred unfolds as cedars become enshrouded in the pure drape of San Pedro snow. A haunting tale questioning truth and its meaning to the men and women who were made victims by a terrible contagion called war, Guterson touches the human heart chambers through a poignant vibe of love and hate, of vengeance and forgiveness, and of sins and redemption. Despite the hasty ending and a seeminly Hollywood "White boy saves Asian girl" formula, Snow Falling on Cedars refocuses on war from a whole new perception and brings us to gape at the unfathomable mirage of hatred that is deeply rooted in every soul.
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Summary: The greatest contemporary novel i have ever read
Review: "Snow Falling On Cedars" is simply brilliant. Any fan of good fiction should read this one. You might also want to check out "Cold Mountain"
Rating:
Summary: one of my favorites
Review: I was compelled to add my two cents after reading another review by a fellow Asian-American female who was offended by this book. I LOVE THIS BOOK! I bought it when it first came out a few years ago, and have read it about 4 times since. I find nothing offensive about the characters, in fact I can totally relate to Hatsue.
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Summary: A must read
Review: This was a good book. The story was interesting and the imagery and writing was strong. Gutterson's portrayal of the suffering and prejudice that the Japanese experienced was incredibly done. Definitely a book that that opens your eyes
Rating:
Summary: Great, up to a point
Review: I really loved this book until I got about 3/4 of the way through it. In fact, first day I had the book, I couldn't put it down. I loved the imagery, the character descriptions, the presentation of the historical facts around the Japanese internment during WWII. However, at a certain point in the book, the "mystery" about the murder became predictable. Some of the characters motivations for certain actions I found difficult to understand. And the ending....well I was expecting something *more*, and the book basically just fizzles out at the end. Overall, a good read, but not one of my favorites.
Rating: 
Summary: I guess I need to see the movie
Review: Seemed like a fine painting out of focus. Beautiful character development and imagery with no spine. It just wound down to nothing. This is an over rated book, but I am excited to see if the author can get it all working together later.
Rating: 
Summary: Lush imagery, slight plot
Review: David Guterson's "Snow Falling on Cedars" is a novel about memory and its ability to stifle the individual. As such, the novel brims with lush images of the American northwest. This is the book's great virtue, but its plot concerning the death of a fisherman is almost inconsequential. I could care less about who killed Carl Heine. Yet, the novel engages because it is a story beautifully told. Ultimately, Guterson's book proves to be an enjoyable read.
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Summary: Almost palpable tone and mood, but story plods on and on
Review: Although Guterson's much praised novel sets up a tone and a mood like few contemporary novels do, the story often takes tangential diversions and therefore seems all the more underwhelming in the end. Furthermore, the "whodunit" aspect loses its steam and the true revelations about the murder of Carl Heine leave much to be desired. "Snow Falling on Cedars" is a beautful example of evoking a distinct mood in narrative fiction, yet the often lugubrious and sonorous pace of the novel becomes the novel's primary hindrance.
Rating: 
Summary: a struggle to continue and in the end i lost
Review: There hasn't been a book I can remember in 40 years that was more boring. In the past I have been able to struggle through a poor choice and manage to get to the end wihtout skipping through the book. The author just rambled and rambled on in a useless attempt to bring these characters and their stories to life. It was a struggle and I finally lost. I just skipped to the back and read the last few pages. It was a shock, although I don't know why, to find out that that was all the author was trying to get at as far as solving the murder mystery goes. Unfortunately, the constant dragging on about the lives of the characters on the way just couldn't bring about any bonds or reader relationshsips with them.The people in this novel were bland and indifferent to everything around them. The usuall ignorant prejudice was written about without passion or any meanignful outcome. The writing was so poor and rambling it was even impossible for someone truly empathetic about the fate of the Japanese-Americans at that time in history to feel empathy or anything else for that matter. This is probably the only book I will never pass on to anyone else to read unless I want to put them to sleep.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful story
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book, as it was a bit different from my normal reading list....I reccommend it to all and I cannot wait to see the movie that is in the making.
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