Snow Falling on Cedars : A Novel

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Summary: Ishmael's name
Review: I am intrigued by the choice of the name Ishmael for the central character. Going back beyond Melville, the book of Genesis tells the story of Ishmael as an heir who lost out to a younger brother, was thrown out of his home to live or die on his own, rescued at the last moment through divine intervention and went on to become a mighty warrior and father of twelve sons. Any thoughts on connections between the Genesis story and "Snow Falling on Cedars"?

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Summary: One of the best!
Review: I had heard a lot about this book prior to reading it. Everyone had told me "you'll love it!". I am happy to say that I was not let down in the least. The story gets started a little slow, but makes up for it later on. Boy did I hate Carl's mother. This is a book that I will be adding to my permanent collection. Read it!

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Summary: Promising writing squandered on weak plot
Review: Kudos to Mr. Guterson for seducing everyone I know with this thin plot. The writing is certainly adequate -- both locations and characters are well fleshed out -- but the plot fizzles down the stretch. Guterson cannot decide if he is writing a serious mystery or social commentary, thereby fulfilling neither of those goals. I was left with the feeling that either path might have created a stellar novel but in splitting the difference he created a merely average one.

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Summary: ok
Review: a good read but not as good as the reviews. does a good job of putting the Japenese internment in perspective. Good job of depicting the legal system in small towns.

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Summary: Gripping, Moving and Evocative...A Good Read
Review: War is often fought in the minds of the people. Especially, those which involve conflicts of cultures, attitudes and beliefs. The real effects of Second WW are felt more in the spawning of racial stereotypes than any political or ideological ripples.It is against this subtle backdrop that this work ushers in a cathartic ambience by running through a gamut of exterme emotions. The language is pretty ordinary and the writing style, easy. What raises this novel from the ordinary is the ability of the author to explore the darker recesses of the mind, without pontifications or feelings of guilt.

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Summary: Just O.K.
Review: The writing was pretty good, but the plot wasn't superb or anything. I'm giving this an 8 instead of a 6 because he made Puget Sound seem like the most heavenly place on earth.

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Summary: A good story, literally
Review: This was a good story. Not great literature. If the old man and the sea was about that and just that, it would not be great literature. Probably wouldn't even be a great story. But theom and the s is about so much more. There is depth to the story and what it means metaphorically. In Snow, there is the story. Period. No depth. None the less, a good story.

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Summary: Beautifully composed and spellbinding
Review: What a pleasant surprise, particularly the second half of the book.

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Summary: My College Class Gave Good Reviews!
Review: Snow Falling on Cedars captured our college class and lent itself to great discussions! Whether you enjoy reading an intriguing love story, a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, or suspense...you'll enjoy reading the rich characterization and thoughtfully drawn settings. A GOOD READ!

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Summary: historical utopia
Review: Though Guterson grounds the book in the historical past--World War Two and the jailing of Japanes-American citizens on the west coast--the real purpose of the book is to present a working democracy to us, one based on the U.S. legal system and Jeffersonian individualism. Reason and the law prevail in this small community because someone, Nels Gundmusson, the attorney for the defense, insists doggedly on the facts of the case. In back of this lies a serious reinvestment in patriarchal order and the family (Ishmael is told twice that the solution to his problems lies in having children). It is the old MEN of the narrative who contain the wisdom of this culture and who pass it along, from old Carl Heine, to Ishmael's father, Arthur, the truth-loving journalist, to Kabuo's father who hands him on the samurai sword of his ancestor, to wise 79-year-old Nels who finally summarizes the book in his summary argument for the defense. This is a book very much of one corner of the 90's, the one that wants out of the complicated and truly diverse culture of our industry- and media-driven world and prefers instead the small towns of our paranoid hopes. It makes perfect sense that Guterson should also be the author of a book on home-schooling. One can't fault what he wants, but I wish he did not feel that he had to go so far away from the world he lives in to get it.