Books For The Road - Two by Jamie Ford

Jamie Ford has captured me. His first book, Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet was good and I wondered if another book would match the sensitivity and depth of that. Songs Of Willow Frost did just that.

Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet is a story that takes place in Seattle mostly during World War II. It is a glimpse into a bit of dark history for our country--the interment of Japanese Americans. Belongings found by the new owner of the Panama Hotel in Seattle's old Japantown send Henry Lee down a path of memories of his childhood and his first love. As the description on Amazon reads, "Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart."

Songs Of Willow Frost is the story of a young orphaned Chinese boy who discovers his mother has not died but left him with an orphanage where he is not apt to find an adoptive family because of his race. The two meet and we glimpse the life of his mother as well as she seeks love and forgiveness from her son. Told against the backdrop of the Great Depression and located in Seattle, Ford also captures the desperate times and the historical descriptions of the locale. Again, another touching story.

Now I am off to see what else he might have written or what may be coming that I can look forward to. There are more opportunities in my future for a good book for the road.