Snow Falling on Cedars, David Guterson (Harcourt Brace, 1995) ****

This is Guterson's first novel, yet it won the prestigious 1995 Pen/Faulkner award. It's a wonderful story of how people's ties to the land and their national origins affect their loves, hates and prejudices--profoundly affecting their own lives and the lives of those they touch. In an interview, Guterson summarizes his writing of the novel with, "My work comes from inner disturbances, from seeing injustices and accidents and how they affect peoples' lives in a tragic way.".

Much of the story involves the mid-1950's trial of Kabuo Miyamato, a Japanese-American fisherma. He's accused of murdering a local fisherman because of a dispute involving family property that was confiscated years ago at the outbreak of World War II when Kabuo was interned at Manzanar, along with thousands of other Japanese- Americans. There's an intriguing mystery as to the true nature of the crime, and how Kabuo's warrior skills and resentment might have driven him to murder. The story moves back to just before the war, to a high-school love affair between Hatsue, now Kabuo's wife, and another islander, Ishmael Chambers. Their budding relationship was shattered by the outbreak of the war and her family's forced evacuation to the internment camp.

Guterson describes her family's life in the internment camp and the profound effect this has on their futures, especially Hatsue's. Here she meets Kabuo, and they are hurriedly married just before he joins the Army in order to prove his loyalty to America. The story then returns to the trial, where it now develops that Ishmael Chambers, still bitter and despondent over his failed romance with Hatsue, may hold the key to determining her husband's innocence or guilt. There's lots of conflict and suspense, but it is empathy for Ishmael, Hatsue and Kabuo that will keep you turning the pages of this very touching and exceptional novel.