The Woman in the White Kimono: A Novel

If this is Ms. Johns, first work of fiction, I can hardly wait to read her second. Once I started, I could hardly put the book down. A compelling story, with characters well-developed and believable, in a heart breaking unbelievable story. Well done,Ms. Johns, well done!

On the positive side, this is an excellent first novel by author Ana Johns. It is the kind of novel that you want to stay up and keep reading to find out what happens next. The story definitely holds your interest. As I am a frequent traveler to Japan, with a strong interest in Japanese literature, culture and history, I thought she did well in generally describing Japanese culture. On the negative side, I thought some of the episodes were unrealistic, but after all, this is a novel, so that can be expected, just like in Hollywood. My major criticism is that it became political, describing tragic events that took place over 70 years ago, which were cruel but certainly not mainstream. I felt that the book paints the Japanese with an undeserved broad brush for the acts of a very few evildoers many years ago. We Americans certainly aren't perfect, as recent events have highlighted. That said, if you want very serious reading that is generally well-written , I do recommend this book.

I just finished this novel, and it will stay with me for a very long time. There are so many periods of history we never think about or encounter. There are so many stories to be told. I could not stop listening to this book, and I wished I had been reading it instead of listening to it. There are so many lyrical passages in the very sad story of the two main characters. There are parts of the story I need to research, and that is always (for me) the sign of a wonderful book pointing me in a direction. My only criticism is that we learn so little about Tory, the daughter. I wanted to know more about her. I hope if you read this book, you will find it as powerful as I did. We all read through our own lenses, of course, so not everyone will love this book as much as I did. I think the author did a fabulous job of including eastern spiritual values. I will be recommending this book to friends!

Sad yet sweet story, absolutely loved it! As a mom, I look up to Naoko’s okaasan “to pick the correct one is fate. To pick the wrong one is also fate. So you must choose your love, and be prepared to love your choice” I call that wisdom.

This may be the most incredibly moving story I’ve ever read…and Im a lifelong reader! This captures the essence of forbidden love, clashing cultures, sacrifices and the enduring truth that life is precious as are the memories time nor distance can erase. This is a story that once read, will never be forgotten. Once read, will change and capture your heart. I highly recommend this book and anything this author writes.

I enjoyed learning more about Japan's history and the fate of the thousands of mixed-race babies born there after WW2. Unfortunately, Japan has a long history of societal purity that devastated many Japanese women and their GI partners which is what the story illustrates so well. The book is very well written. Each chapter often alternates between first-person narrators, without much (at least for me) identification of whose perspective we're now following. Maybe it's just my poor memory, but it made the story difficult for me to follow at times. As novels do, it all came together in the end and I will say it was satisfying. I look forward to finding similar books that will add depth to my interest in Japanese culture, language, and lives. Maybe from this same writer, whose work I would love to read more of.

Great read from start to finish (especially if you read the author's comments in the back first). So so sad that so many mixed-race babies in Japan were killed rather than being accepted by the Japanese and equally horrendous that the US didn't allow our military personnel to bring their Japanese spouses (and babies) home with them. So well written and presents both countries point-of-view.

The first part of the book describes a daughter's caretaking of her "Pops" who has cancer. The segment is quite graphic and detailed, and goes on and on, showing only a slight relevance to the eventual story. To me the whole section is gratuitous, could have been omitted, unless someone enjoys reading details about an old man's dying of cancer. The necessary information, revealing a mysterious letter and a few photos, could have been given in a couple of paragraphs, or pages if to be lengthy. When the actual story starts to develop, it pulled me in. I don't know about the accuracy of Japanese or of the cultural background., but the development of the relationships of the Japanese woman, her American military lover, the culture, and the man's daughter kept me engrossed, so ultimately the book was worth reading.

What an amazing story……quite unbelievable that incidents interwoven actually happened..! Most highly recommended….it has to be the best read this year undoubtedly!!

eine version von Madame Butterfly so zu sagen schlechte Kenntnisse über Japan und Sprache, pathetische schreibweise, hätte viel besser erzählt werden können! Kitsch !

In post war Japan during the American Occupation, a seventeen year old girl from a wealthy Japanese family meets an American sailor and falls in love. But her traditional family and in particular her authoritative father have other plans for her to marry a young man of their choosing. The American is unacceptable, and children of mix race are also not welcome in Japan. I do not wish to ruin any part of the masterful plot of this beautifully written book. I was riveted to this story from start to finish. I could not put the book down for very long as I needed to know what would happen to each of the characters. I was not disappointed and my guess is that you won't be either. Madame Butterfly, crossed my mind more than once but the plot is totally different.

This story needs to be heard for all the truths that are written as fiction. Ana Johns takes the time, makes the effort, to let her readers know that there are many truths told in stories of fiction by telling us where and how she came about the facts and inspirations for her novel. This author excels at characterisation and builds a story in beautiful building blocks. She switches narrative from one time-scale and character to another in alternating chapters. This works well in this book and flows without becoming disjointed. The earlier period (1957-58) is set in Japan and the present day period is primarily based in the USA and culminates when two cultures and times are brought together. I am left sad, very saddend, by all those innocent little lives lost because of bureaucracy, culture and discrimination. This story, although a work of fiction, had to be told to honour all those who suffered such discrimination, hardship and loss of life before it had even begun. The story is a bitter-sweet love story with a believable beginning, middle and conclusion. The story feels real. I have given this book five stars because it ticked every box for me, moved me emotionally, taught me facts through fiction and made me hungry to find out more about the real events of that time and culture. It is well written and worth picking up off the bookshelf. Take a couple of days out of life to read because once you pick it up you may not be able to put it down until the end. I couldn't put it down once I started it.

The book actually made me transcend through time, understanding the intangibility of its essence. It flowed just like the river that absorbs the climatic changes but continue its journey.