Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

3 reviews

jamiejanae_6's review

Go to review page

mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lilifane's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a very surprising read. The book had been on my shelf for several years and I had no idea what it was actually about. Apparently it's partly a court drama, and I realized I really like those. 

The story is set on the fictional island of San Piedro in Puget Sound and centers around a murder trial. The Japanese fisher Kabuo Miyamoto is accused of first degree murder of Carl Heine, a fellow gill fisher, who has been found dead in his fishing nets on an early September morning in 1954. During the trial which takes place in December, we get to know details of the night in question as well as several characters connected to the tragedy, their past and relationships to each other. 

What starts (and ends) as a courtroom drama, offers a lot of insight into the characters' past experiences, thoughts and feelings, so you really get to know them intimately and understand their actions throughout the book, even though they not always make the best decisions. 

It is a sad and heartbreaking story with important themes like fairness, equality, justice and racism. It also portrays the treatment of Japanese American citizens in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. There are scenes in Japanese internal camps and during WWII battles that are actually hard to read. Especially since David Guterson's writes in a very detailed and sober way. 

I really loved this book, it made me feel all kinds of emotions. I was angry, I was sad and frustrated, I cried several times. I also think the plotting was done really well, I did not know how it would end until the very last pages. Really enjoyed the trial and investigation parts and the way details were revealed piece by piece with some unexpected twists and turns. The majority of the book were the characters' flashbacks, though, and they dragged a little in the middle of the book when I wanted to know how the trial was proceeding. It was worth it in the end, though. 

The atmosphere was amazing. The setting and the weather really added to the story for me. And I liked the writing style for the most part. There were just some weird choices the author made several times throughout the book. I was very confused by how often characters thought about sex, penises and breasts in very inappropriate moments. And again, these were describes in a very sober way, it was weird and actually unnecessary most of the time. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ellab93's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...