In Snow Falling on Cedars, (1995) author David Guterson portrays a bleak part of U.S. history for Japanese-Americans through intensely astute characters.
The murder trial infused into this saga loses its luster as bigotry, love, hatred and a devotion to family make Snow Falling on Cedars an exceptional read.
Set in the blistering dead of winter, the author constructs the tale around land ownership, losing land and being the victim of circumstances. These ideas are juxtaposed against honor, respect and doing right for powerless folks.
The story follows Hatsue Imada, who was sent to an interment camp shortly after Pearl Harbor. At the camp, Hatsue’s mother discovers her relationship with her adored childhood companion, Ishmael Chambers. While Hatsue survived the camp, the war took Ishmael to a dreadful beach landing, where he became wounded beyond comprehension. Nevertheless, at war’s passing, life goes on, save for Ishmael’s everyday torment — a “vague sense of waiting for Hatsue — a fantasy — to return to him.”
The plight of enduring patience resonates with prison inmates, who are also distant from their loved ones. Even though we can’t compare the circumstances of our incarcerations to the experiences of war heroes, the emotional turmoil that comes with separation is something that we also undergo.
As the narrative progresses, we follow Hatsue’s life as she enters marriage and starts raising a family. After a period of family life, Kabuo, Hatsue’s husband who is Japanese, is arrested and put on trial for killing Carl Heine, a fellow angler who is German.
Through this turn of events, Guterson incorporates social commentary about the root of racism as a distinctive part of the storyline. During the closing arguments of the trial, Kabuo’s defense attorney, Nels Gudmundsson, explores this issue by lamenting on how people “hate one another,” and are “the victims of irrational fears.”
Snow Falling on Cedars also uses universal norms about marriage and the love of ones’ spouse as literary devices to show flawless empathy. When Kabuo awakens from a nightmare about the war, Hatsue was there to comfort him by taking “a piece of (Kabuo’s) sorrow” and storing “it for him in her own heart,” until his fears subside.
During one of Hatsue’s visits at Kabuo’s trial, the narrative also crafts a sentimental moment. As Kabuo is watching the snow falling outside, he asks Hatsue: “Do you remember that snow at Manzanar?” In the passage, the narrative points out that this “was not the sort of thing he would normally have said to her, these romantic words,” and that “perhaps jail had taught him to release what otherwise he might conceal.”
This scene portrays a moment in which Kabuo foregoes his stoic exterior and displays a rare moment of sentimentality — weaving a sense of interiority into the story that allows readers to empathize with the characters.
The story also appeals to readers by using straightforward language. For example, Guterson describes how there was “no window anywhere in his basement cell, no portal through which the autumn light could come to him,” luring readers into Kabuo’s state of mind while he is waiting in jail. The use of direct details such as the snowfall that Kabuo “witnessed out of the corners of his eyes” and “struck him as infinitely beautiful,” grabbed me, drew me into the story and made Snow Falling on Cedars an enjoyable read.
Juan’s Book Review
