The Woman in the White Kimono
A Novel
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4.4 • 28 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
"Cinematic, deeply moving, and beautifully written." --Carol Mason, author of After You Left
Inspired by true stories, The Woman in the White Kimono illuminates a searing portrait of one woman torn between her culture and her heart, and another woman on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.
Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura’s prearranged marriage secures her family’s status in their traditional Japanese community. However, Naoko has fallen for an American sailor, and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it’s learned Naoko carries the sailor’s child, she’s cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.
America, present day. Tori Kovac finds a letter containing a shocking revelation. Setting out to learn the truth, Tori's journey leads her to a remote seaside village in Japan, where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption. In breathtaking prose, The Woman in the White Kimono shows how two women, decades apart, are inextricably bound by the secrets between them.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Johns's rich and memorable debut alternates from the present to the past as a daughter uncovers shocking secrets about her father. In 1957, Tori Kovac's father was in the U.S. Navy and stationed in Japan where he met and fell in love with beautiful Naoko. Her family was opposed to their marriage, having already picked a husband for Naoko. In the present day, Tori, a journalist, cares for her widower father after his cancer diagnosis, taking him to doctor's appointments at a cancer center in Ohio. Shortly before he dies, Tori's father gives her a letter that he believes will help her understand the secrets of his life when he was a young man in the Navy. The letter is addressed to a Japanese woman who is the mother of his daughter. After reading the letter, Tori becomes determined to find out if she has a half-sister in Japan. Tori travels to Japan to uncover secrets from her father's past, and she questions why her father would have left the woman and child behind. Johns does a good job depicting the 1950s Japan setting, but the highlight is the strong characterization of Tori. This novel about unearthing the past packs an emotional punch.
Customer Reviews
Woman in white kimono
Pretentious book .A waste of time.leaves the reader hanging at the end with nothing resolved and very little explained after raising questions .The whole point of this repetitive novel was the search for answers.Both main women are weak and the victim of everyone they encounter.This author pretends she knows and understands Japanese culture.Not worth the time one wasted reading this stupid book.