Reviews

The Translation of Love by Lynne Kutsukake

erinnh's review against another edition

4.0

*I received this book for free from the Goodreads Giveaway program.*

This book was powerful and intriguing. This is the first time I have read a novel set in postwar Japan, and I was surprised by the amount of research the author put into creating the setting for the novel. The narrative is full of powerful moments, some of which even brought tears to my eyes, and even though the story was fictional, I feel like I learned a lot about that particular era in history that I otherwise might not have been exposed to.

The writing was clear and interesting, and I enjoyed the style of narration with third-person limited chapters following five different characters. This year I have been trying to read more contemporary books, and this was definitely a great read. It was definitely a fresh narrative that is unlike anything I have read before. I recommend it for sure!

melanieritchie's review against another edition

I finished this book two days ago and I'm still wandering restlessly around the house looking for something new to do. I didn't want the book to end and I'm at the point in my mourning that I can't imagine picking up another book that would be as engaging.

lsparrow's review

3.0

Interesting stories weaved together from post WWII Occupied Japan.
I felt that there were too many stories to really get into the depth that would have made me really love this book. It was great to hear so many different voices and perspectives in the book.

bobbiecabrera's review against another edition

4.0

This story was so beautifully written and wrapped up. As I neared the end, I was worried on how Lynne Kutsukake will tie the loose ends, but the last four or five chapters gave me a feeling of gratification; a feeling of completeness. (Although I would have loved to know more about what happened to Wada and Lieutenant Baker.)

The book is told in different points of view of key characters living in Japan at the wake of World War II. These characters are neither extraordinary nor historically famous. In fact, they could be anyone from the Japanese masses. And yet, all had their stories beautifully told by Kutsukake's amazing prose. When all tied together, they form one authentic picture of Japan's culture, and a jarring picture of one of the biggest events in Japan's history.

I guess this is one of the reasons why I'm starting to fall in love with historical novels. You know how the history will play out--you've read about it, studied it, or heard accounts of it--and yet the story is still so surprising and unpredictable. You realize that there are so many eyes you can view it history from and still feel varying emotions. Reading historical fiction like this allows you to experience the past through eyes of even the simplest man.

It's also a book of language: of how emotion transcends all lingual differences and cuts across all races. Of how powerful a commodity words are for humanity.

Understandably, it took a while for me to finish this book. It is not a suspense or a mystery novel, and so I did not blaze through it as I would on gripping thrillers. It's not a book that has a prize in the end. It's the type of book that you slowly go through, digesting the philosophical and even the simplest of phrases.

--

"..his goal was simply to be a conduit through which words in one language would pass and be transformed into words of another... But once he started working, he came to see that the words were not just letters or symbols on the page. Each word was bursting with emotion. There were the emotions felt by the writer and by the reader, but also by him, the translator caught in the middle, reading secrets between lovers or dark truths shared."

"How should a man live? Maybe there was no answer. How to live? How to be? Just day by day. Going forward. And then? Just live."

ifyouhappentoremember's review against another edition

3.0

Maybe this book worked better for people unaware that General Douglas McArthur was de facto dictator of Japan during the American occupation of Japan and how this occupation affected every level of Japanese society. Most of the positive reviews I see discuss that they appreciate this book illustrated and enlightened them on post-war Japan but I can’t help but think this book barely scratched the surface. There’s a lot of perspectives to manage and not enough time to thoroughly explore them all.

I felt that the multiple perspectives dragged a bit at times and the plot was slow moving. It takes a while for everything to come together, but I’m not sure if the payoff was worth it. I suppose the purpose is to get a glimpse into the Japanese occupation from multiple different vantage points, but it felt redundant at times.

ellenmc07's review

4.0

3.75 stars
A really interesting premise but, there were almost too many points of view and it took ages for things to get off the ground. The complexities of the characters were intriguing though and the setting breathed life into the narrative. Was expecting just a little bit more.

ncrozier's review against another edition

3.0

Not bad, but not outstanding either. The cultural component wasn't large enough to truly peak my interest.

drlisak's review against another edition

5.0

Books call to me at the right time. This beautifully written novel that takes place in post-WWII Japan serves as an intimate reminder of how choices made my larger agencies (like the government) affect the personal lives and loves of all individuals, no matter their age. We need these reminders now.

amn028's review against another edition

4.0

A beautifully written story about the hardships in occupied Japan following WWII. The characters are so realistic that I found myself getting annoyed with the two 12 year olds until I realize that this is how 12 year olds most likely act. There are several characters all intertwined into the story. It is more often heartbreaking but has enough positive moments to keep it from being a complete emotional drain.

readingwithhippos's review against another edition

4.0

This world we live in is a messed-up place. One of the reasons I read is to keep from giving in to apathy and ignorance in the face of all that messed-up-ness.

I try to be selective, though, because not all reading is created equal. Reading the news causes, for me, a dilemma: it leaves me feeling depressed and hopeless, but sticking my head in the sand to avoid those bad feelings doesn’t sit well either. Reading fiction that deals with difficult issues is the most constructive way I’ve found to engage with tough topics. Novelists rarely leave me stranded, and they almost never plunk me down in an impossible situation without at least a tiny glow of light to see my way out. I need that glow, man.

So I really appreciated Lynne Kutsukake’s novel The Translation of Love. With a setting like post-WWII Japan, you wouldn’t expect there to be a lot of bright and happy, and there isn’t. But with a surprisingly wide-ranging cast of characters, from a Japanese-American military translator to a preteen girl repatriated to Japan after confinement in a Canadian internment camp, Kutsukake demonstrates the fundamental truth that when there’s nothing else to do but go on, people go on. (I say “surprisingly” because from the publisher description, you might assume this is a small tale of a girl looking for her missing sister, but it’s much, much bigger than that in scope and ambition, and it delivers on all fronts.)

I also liked the book’s focus on post-war Japan, a subject I find infinitely more interesting than Europe during the war years, which has been mined so extensively I can’t believe publishers haven't declared an official moratorium on it. I think most readers like the thrill of discovery that comes with reading something that feels new, that offers a fresh perspective, and The Translation of Love does just that.

With regards to Doubleday and NetGalley for the advance copy. On sale April 5!

More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com