Sayonara: A Novel
Written by James A. Michener
Narrated by Larry McKeever
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
From a great master of historical fiction comes a brilliant tale of love amid war. James A. Michener combines powerful storytelling with deep sensitivity in this novel of a U.S. Army man who, against all odds, falls for a fascinating Japanese woman. Stationed in the exotic Far East, Major Lloyd Gruver considers himself lucky. The son of a general, dating the daughter of another powerful military family, he can look forward to a bright future. And he just can't understand guys like Private Joe Kelly, who throw away their lives in the States by marrying local girls. But then Lloyd meets Hana-ogi. After that, nothing matters anymore . . . nothing but her.
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Reviews for Sayonara
89 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I'm conflicted when it comes to rating this book, which is a confronting tale of sexism and racism and it pissed me off at regular intervals. But because it was written in 1954, I've no doubt it's an accurate reflection of post-war Western attitudes. I'd never before considered the plight of all of those American soldiers (I think about 100 thousand of them?) who fell in love with Japanese women sometime between the ending of world war II and being sent home. The soldiers were allowed to marry Japanese women, but they were forbidden to take their brides back home to America. This story is set in that period.
I did like the writing style, which was to-the-point, not at all embellished and not at all the saccharine love story this cover art suggests. (My browned, second-hand copy depicts a naked Japanese woman sitting in seiza position.) I like neither of those covers -- this was a story in which the young *men* are seen 'naked' (in a metaphorical sense) yet publishers waste no opportunity to distribute covers with naked young women on them, or Mill and Boon type stuff. I have reimagined this cover with the far more foreboding atmosphere it deserves.
The problem with the first person point of view, in which the narrator's attitudes go unchallenged in a hands-off, documentary kind of way, is that this sort of story might well be reinforcing an outdated and harmful set of ideas about Asian women if read by the wrong people. But then, that could be true of any book. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed it much. A short book by Michener standards. It's a story about a romantic interracial (Japan and America) romance in Japan during the Korean War. I felt the story was heartwarming, sad and illuminating. The best part of the book for me was the discussions regarding the different points of view (culture) of the then Japanese and American societies. It also has a bit to say about the emotion of love and it's place many people's life. I found my reading time very worthwhile .