A review by annettefunnycello
The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

2.0

Gone is the magic realism from Allende's extraordinary early works, including Of love and Shadows, and The house of the spirits. What we have in 'the japanese lover' is a (very welcome) left-wing takedown through solid prose of biases that simmer and often explode within mainstream america. Illumination of the horrors of Japanese incarceration during the war, agism, war-mongering and other worthy issues are delivered via stories about the appealing characters that inhabit this novel. Overall, the book is ok though I'm revealing my studious bias and interest in "literature" whatever that is -- 'the japanese lover' is more like a magazine short story in novel form. A thinking person's harlequin romance, dare I say it. Tedious though, in novel form, and therefore 2 stars. ... all that said, I wonder what is lost in translation (or gained in translation) from Allende's early novels to this one? or perhaps this was written quickly to make some points crystal clear (ever so crystal clear, which is my source of ennui).