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syro2014's review
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really liked the environment that the Author painted, I think the book really shined in that area along with the back stories of all the characters. The book started kind of rough for me because of the maritime vocabulary but after some dictionary reads things got a bit better. The ending left me a unsatisfied , to be honest. I’m not sure why, I think it may have wrapped up a little too quick. I felt like there should’ve been more development involved. Pretty dissatisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, Gore, Sexual content, War, and Gun violence
jamiejanae_6's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Body horror, Death, Deportation, Violence, Grief, Gore, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual content and Stalking
elabella's review
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I think this book had potential, but, for me, it fell flat. Too much description, much of it unnecessary and repetitive. Long passages that I started to skim. Also, the plot was too slow for me.
The idea of the book was a good one. I thought the topic of a Japanese man being tried for a white man’s death could have been interesting and thought-provoking, raising the issues of racism, WWII, and the Japanese internment. But it felt like the book skimmed that issue, never quite getting to the heart of it. And the message was covered up with all the descriptions of snow. It's an important topic but too bad it gets lost in the descriptions.
The idea of the book was a good one. I thought the topic of a Japanese man being tried for a white man’s death could have been interesting and thought-provoking, raising the issues of racism, WWII, and the Japanese internment. But it felt like the book skimmed that issue, never quite getting to the heart of it. And the message was covered up with all the descriptions of snow. It's an important topic but too bad it gets lost in the descriptions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
The coroner's examination of the body was very graphic.sewfarsewgood's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
4.0
I started this book thinking it was a murder mystery, a bit lighter after finishing a book about the Hungarian Holocaust. My mistake. This novel follows a murder trial on a small island in 1950s America. I deals with the fall out after ww2 racism, divides, war flashbacks and PTSD. I really liked the character development and the way the story was told with shorter chapters that focus on different characters or time periods as they are in the witness box. I must admit I found the ending a little disappointing but it was understandable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Racism
milliemillz's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Racism
_bxllxe_'s review
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Simple, and gorgeous. Reminded me of Everything I Never Told You in the unfolding of the story. I don’t think that a white man writing Japanese-Americans’ experiences with racism and U.S. internment camps would go over so well today, but I do think Guterson did it respectfully for the time. I’m so glad I picked up this masterful classic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Confinement, Sexual content, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
lilifane's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, War, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Medical content, and Stalking
iridium's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, War, Violence, Medical content, Xenophobia, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
leahb88's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book leads you through San Piedro Island, slowly revealing each involved character’s story, the dynamics between them, and the general attitude of the Island. Through each new perspective you learn a little bit more about what happened the night that Carl Heine Jr was killed and the impact of his death (but the many perspectives is integrated so well, it’s not confusing at all!). By the end I was on the edge of my seat to see how the trial would turn out. I highly recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and War
Moderate: Death and Sexual content
haileybones's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Set in the 1950s on an island off the coast of Washington state, Snow Falling On Cedar is a court procedural novel. Told mostly through flashbacks through World War II and the arrest, imprisonment, and theft endured by Japanese-Americans at that time, there are several heavy themes throughout. The author focuses most on racism and the ways people are impacted by trauma. While the set-up is strong, the book ultimately felt too long and its resolutions rushed, unearned, and inauthentic.
David Guterson captures the setting and the people of San Piedro (a fictional island) in a romantic way that enveloped me in nostalgia because I spent a lot of time in Island County growing up. Those memories lent suspense to my experience of the earliest chapters, which I enjoyed. But even I became bored of the long, frequent descriptions of setting. This tendency to over-explain extended to the characters as well. I was walked through their lives in painstaking detail: family history, appearance, childhood, romance, combat experiences, and, unnecessarily in most cases, their sexual histories and preferences.
The issue of racism bears the marks of incomplete understanding. There are "good" moments, resonant characterizations of individual hate and prejudice manifesting into systemic injustices, but the Japanese and Japanese-American characters do not always feel as fully realized as their white counterparts. At times, they fall into into stoic, wooden stereotypes that feel emotionally dissonant to their personality. Some white characters are condemned by the text for their racism while others are allowed to justify their selfish, duplicitous hate without much consequence. In the end, I feltHatsue's instant forgiveness of Ishmael for his inappropriate incel pining and the concealment of crucial evidence of Kabuo's innocence was a step too far and tanked my final rating.
David Guterson captures the setting and the people of San Piedro (a fictional island) in a romantic way that enveloped me in nostalgia because I spent a lot of time in Island County growing up. Those memories lent suspense to my experience of the earliest chapters, which I enjoyed. But even I became bored of the long, frequent descriptions of setting. This tendency to over-explain extended to the characters as well. I was walked through their lives in painstaking detail: family history, appearance, childhood, romance, combat experiences, and, unnecessarily in most cases, their sexual histories and preferences.
The issue of racism bears the marks of incomplete understanding. There are "good" moments, resonant characterizations of individual hate and prejudice manifesting into systemic injustices, but the Japanese and Japanese-American characters do not always feel as fully realized as their white counterparts. At times, they fall into into stoic, wooden stereotypes that feel emotionally dissonant to their personality. Some white characters are condemned by the text for their racism while others are allowed to justify their selfish, duplicitous hate without much consequence. In the end, I felt
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Racism, Sexual content, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Hate crime, Murder, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Minor: Stalking and Infertility