Reviews

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

thingtwo's review against another edition

4.0

I love that it took Guterson 10 years to write this book.

Set on the coast of Washington in the 1950s, this is the fictional story opens with the discovery of a body, and all fingers naturally point to the Japanese-American man who last saw him. A well-crafted story, which gently prodded me to review what I knew about internment camps, I found more pluses than negatives with this story.

Look forward to reading more from Guterson, since he's writing full-time, now.

ainsleymckee's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

echo3's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.0

graceominer's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

stjernesvarme's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

yolie_from_guam's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

n_g_reader's review against another edition

4.0

I loved how this book explored such an important and often unspoken part of American history - the Japanese-American internment camps and how their neighbors let it happen. This was such a fascinating read from beginning until the end, combining true crime with racial prejudice and history. Great for lovers of World War 2 adjacent historical fiction.

juliet037's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

might have given double as many stars if this book was half as long but tbh i don't think i really connected with the noir vibes. also weirdly horny????

nirvanagrrl's review against another edition

4.0

I liked the story much better than, say, To Kill a Mockingbird. I found Ishmael to be a baby and his character simply annoyed me. The ending was good in terms of the trial, but the recap of the death along with Ishamael's narrative were a bit much for me.

mauismama's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Slowest book I’ve read in a long time. didn’t think it would be this slow due to the genre but it was. The book was ok. I don’t really like the style of writing - too much emphasis on describing the setting to the nth degree. I love setting the scene and feeling like I’m in the place but I don’t need to know that the person who passed one of the main characters just visited the grocery store and drives a black sedan (and is never mentioned again). I truly think all of this description slows the pacing of the book.  The plot overall is interesting but nothing worthy of the time spent to get to it.