On the day the
atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Amaterasu took her grandson, Hideo
to school. She was supposed to meet her daughter Yuko at the
cathedral later. They were estranged because of what Yuko chose to do.
Before Amaterasu set
off to meet her daughter, the bomb exploded. The residents of
Nagasaki called it “pikadon” a bright flash that changed their
lives forever. Yuko was at the center of the blast. There was no hope
of finding her, but Amaterasu and her husband, Kenzo, searched for
Hideo. They never found him.
Now Amaterasu is a
widow living in the United states when a badly scarred man arrives at
her door claiming to be her lost grandson. Amaterasu finds it hard to
accept that this man is her grandson, but his arrival triggers a
flood of old memories.
The is a beautifully
written book. The descriptions of Nagasaki both before and after the
bombing make you feel that you can see the city. The characters are
compelling. Although I couldn't feel warm about Amaterasu, I thought
her character was well done.
The plot moves back
and forth between the present and life before the bombing. In the
early days we get to know Yuko and her relationship with Amaterasu.
The mother-daughter relationship drives the story. Often I find a
story that moves between time periods is better in one era than the
other. In this case, I thought the author did a good job tying the
past to the present and gradually revealing the problems that created
friction between Amaterasu and her daughter.
I highly recommend
this book if you enjoy family stories set in tragic circumstances.
I reviewed this book
for Penguin.
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