Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Our November Book Club selection was HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford.  We all liked reading the book, and some of our members have lived in Seattle area, so they could relate to the story.  Several had read the book before and someone said "worth reading again."

Ginger started out by sharing a bit of history about the author.  I'm posting directly from his web site www.jamieford.com.  "If you're Chinese, how did you get the name "Ford?"  JF answered:  "My great-grandfather was a man named Min Chung, who immigrated from Kaiping, China around 1865. Later, while working in Tonopah, Nevada, he adopted the very western name of William Ford.  Oddly enough, his son, George William Ford, was an actor in Hollywood and had to switch back to make his ethnicity more demonstrative. He appeared as a bit actor and extra in numerous films as George Chung. He also taught martial arts and was a consultant on the 70s series, Kung-Fu."

We talked about the differences between Henry and his father, between Henry and Marty, his son.  We saw positive changes with Henry and his son.  Henry thought Marty was only interested in himself, was not empathetic.  We know that he was watching his father, he was paying attention.  We found this out when Marty introduces his girlfriend to Henry, and she shares all that Marty has told her.

One item we questioned in the book was, did Henry really go to China?  Some felt he did not go, some felt he had to.  He'd do what he always did, find the sweet among the bitter.

We talked about the differences with Keiko's family and Henry's family.  There were similarities too, both of them were born in the same hospital.  Henry's Dad had him wear a button that said "I am Chinese."  He was worried so much about the sentiment during the war against the Japanese, and having someone think that Henry was Japanese.  Keiko's family was very open to Henry, even at the camp they were sent to.  Interesting characters Henry met along the way in his life, Sheldon & Mrs. Beatty.  Sheldon was very protective of Henry and Mrs. Beatty took risks for Henry, and crossed lines to help Henry and Keiko.  We liked the jazz, "good background for love story" someone said.  We felt, in this story, that being 13 years old, Henry was very brave and did not act like a child.

We discussed struggles that immigrants have, about holidays and foods.  We talked about WWII.  We talked about books that reminded us of this era, "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay and "Snow Falling on Cedars" by Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel by David Guterson.

On a personal note, I was reading this while waiting for a friend who was having a medical procedure done.  I was reading while in the clinic sitting area, and had a laugh out loud moment in one part of the book.  The gal next to me, with a kindle in her hand, said she had read the book also and loved it!   I loved imagining what it must have been like to be Henry as a young boy & Henry as an older man, who lost his wife, whom he dearly loved but yet, remembered his youth and the love he had at that time, with Keiko.  I liked that Sheldon was still a part of his life, and loved that music played an important part in the book.  Someday it would be interesting to see the Panama Hotel and the area where I imagine Keiko & Henry spent so much time together.  Did Ethel know about Henry and Keiko and their love?  Some of us at the book club weren't sure.  I think that she did.  Although she may not have known all what had happened, she saw the pain in Henry's heart, and chose to be there for him, to love him.  This was a love story in the book, along with Keiko's and Henry's love story.  It swells our emotions that engage us through the book, wanting to finish to see if Keiko and Henry meet one more time.  It was one of those books you hope is turned into a movie. I don't think it has been yet.  I did find that this was made into plays and performed in the Seattle area.  It was one of my favorite books.