From the cover:
"In 1939, as the world goes to war, young Alma Belasco's parents send her to live in safety in her aunt's opulent San Francisco mansion. There she meets Ichimei Fukuda, the son of the family's Japanese gardener, and between them a tender love blooms - but theirs is a love they are forever forced to hide.
Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina, a care worker, meets the older woman and her grandson, Seth , at Lark House nursing home. As they forge friendship, Irina and Seth become intrigued by the mysterious gifts and letters Alma reveives, and learn about Ichimei and the secret passion that has endured for almost seventy years."

The book was picked from the Alphabet VBB and is now on its way to BaiLong.

Thanks! The book arrived today, I was not expecting it so quickly!

An interesting read. Quite melancholic.
I cannot help thinking, closing this book, that if my parents had met just a bit earlier, or if there were less courageous than they were, I might have never been. Even thought the time and countries were different, it made me think about their relation and what they had been through.

This book is finally travelling again, safe travel little book!

Selected from the Alphabet VBB, this has arrived here in Switzerland from China with a lovely postcard. Quick delivery! Thanks so much for sending.

Selected from the Alphabet VBB, it occurs to me that I have not read many books by this author, although I appreciated those I did.
I found this book well-written, creating a strong sense of everything described. As I have the impression that there are still many Americans unaware of the concentration camps on US soil and the shocking treatment of Asian Americans during WWII, it is always good to read books where this is a theme. I do feel there was a slight dispersal here though, in that a great many important topics were broached - racism, the internment camps as mentioned, child abuse, trafficking, pornography, death, to name but some - almost too many. The characters were strong but there was a detachment or distancing that led to a remoteness which prevented any sense of real closeness for the reader.
An interesting read, thanks so much for sending.

And now made available via the Alphabet VBB once again.

Selected from the Alphabet VBB, this now heads to California. Enjoy!

The Japanese Lover has made her way to the United States. Thank you to all of you who’ve shared along the way. Isabelle Allende is one of my favorites.