Daikon: A Novel

by Samuel Hawley Narrated by Brian Nishii

Overview

“Thrilling...Builds to a pulse-pounding climax. The result is the most imaginative take on Hiroshima since Edwin Corley's The Jesus Factor.” -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A riveting tale about war, intrigue, love, and perseverance.” -John Grisham ¿ “I could not look away. This novel is storytelling at its finest.” -Karl Marlantes ¿ “Spellbinding...A breathtaking chain reaction that unleashes the true power of the novel.” -Adam Johnson ¿ “Extraordinary...Daikon will sweep you away.” -Jess Walter ¿ “Exhilarating...I loved this book, and you will love it too.” -Arthur Golden

A sweeping and suspenseful novel of love and war, set in Japan during the final days of World War II, with a shocking historical premise: three atomic bombs were actually delivered to the Pacific-not two-and when one of them falls into the hands of the Japanese, the fate of a couple that has been separated from one another becomes entangled with the fate of this terrifying new device.

War has taken everything from physicist Keizo Kan. His young daughter was killed in the Great Tokyo Air Raid, and now his Japanese American wife, Noriko, has been imprisoned by the brutal Thought Police. An American bomber, downed over Japan on the first day of August 1945, offers the scientist a surprising chance at salvation. The Imperial Army dispatches him to examine an unusual device recovered from the plane's wreckage-a bomb containing uranium-and tells him that if he can unlock its mysteries, his wife will be released.

Working in secrecy under crushing pressure, Kan begins to disassemble the bomb and study its components. One of his assistants falls ill after mishandling the uranium, but his alarming deterioration, and Kan's own symptoms, are ignored by the commanding officer demanding results. Desperate to stave off Japan's surrender to the Allies, the army will stop at nothing to harness the weapon's unimaginable power. They order Kan to prepare the bomb for manual detonation over a target-a suicide mission that will strike a devastating blow against the Americans. Kan is soon confronted with a series of agonizing decisions that will test his courage, his loyalty, and his very humanity.

An extraordinary debut novel that is the result of twenty-seven years of work by its author, Daikon is a gripping and powerfully moving saga that calls to mind such classics as Cold Mountain. It is set amid the chaos and despair of the world's third largest city lying in ruins, its population starving and its leadership under escalating assault from without and within. Here is a haunting epic of love, survival, and impossible choices that introduces a singular new voice on the literary landscape.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Since 1945, there have been rumors that the U.S. military hauled at least three atomic bombs to Japan, one for Hiroshima and one for Nagasaki. What happened to the third? The truth will never be known, but Samuel Hawley has crafted a breathtaking story of what might have been. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Daikon is a riveting tale about war, intrigue, love, and perseverance.”
—John Grisham

“It’s the last gasp of WWII in a world with three atomic bombs—and Japan has one of them. A young physicist and his imprisoned wife get caught in the crosshairs in this stunning novel that takes a fresh, unexpected look at a well-trod period in history.”
—People magazine

“An engrossing and thought-provoking novel . . . The plot feels entirely plausible, and none of the characters fit any obvious stereotypes. . . . The author’s research is impressive as he describes how the bomb is designed to work, the tensions within the Japanese power structure, and details of Japanese culture.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Thrilling . . . Builds to a pulse-pounding climax. The result is the most imaginative take on Hiroshima since Edwin Corley’s The Jesus Factor.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Daikon is a gripping and fascinating work of historical fiction that’s so convincing I felt like I’d stumbled onto an extraordinary World War II documentary with indelible characters and haunting footage from a vantage I’d never imagined. Daikon will sweep you away.”
—Jess Walter, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins

“Propelled by the tensions between hard-liners and those open to surrender . . . [Daikon is] a realistic and tightly plotted narrative told through Japanese eyes.”
—Booklist (starred review)

“In the opening pages of Daikon, I knew I was in the hands of a skilled writer. By Daikon’s end, I felt honored to share the same craft. Literature allows us to get out of our own skins and live other lives. Through Daikon’s characters, I inhabited the Japanese culture of 1945, immeasurably different from my own: obedience to authority ingrained through centuries; worship of a living god/man; accepting injustice without complaint; welcoming the terrifying duty and honor to sacrifice one’s life for the group. I witnessed the final days of World War II through the eyes of a loving Japanese man and woman separated by war and state terrorism. I endured the firebombing of Tokyo, and I felt extreme hunger and abject fear as much as is humanly possible without the actual experience. And finally, I was nearly shattered by one man’s willingness to sacrifice almost everything to save that which he most treasured. Throughout it all, I could not look away. This novel is storytelling at its finest.”
—Karl Marlantes, New York Times bestselling author of Matterhorn

“A suspenseful tale of love and intrigue set in Japan during the closing days of World War II.”
—Esquire

“A tale of fierce love and an unlikely friendship forged and tested in the crucible of war.”
—Lynn Vincent, WORLD

“In Samuel Hawley’s spellbinding debut novel, history and possibility collide. The result is a gripping, propulsive journey into the nuclear heart of what might have been. The year is 1945, and Japan’s defeat is at hand. But what if they had the atomic bomb? And what if we, by mistake, had given it to them? Daikon ponders whether what’s best in humanity is found only in its darkest moments. And whether love can transcend death and war. The result is a breathtaking chain reaction that unleashes the true power of the novel.”
—Adam Johnson, New York Times bestselling and Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Orphan Master’s Son

“Daikon is an exhilarating tale set amid the extraordinary devastation and despair of Japan’s last days in World War II. Carefully researched, thoroughly convincing, and utterly compelling. I loved this book, and you will love it too.”
—Arthur Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Memoirs of a Geisha

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2025-05-30
As Japan teeters on the abyss of doom, a strange American bomb falls into its hands.

In 1945, B-29s turn Japanese cities into fiery hellscapes, but Japan fights on in a hopeless cause. A U.S. bomber nicknamedWicked Intent crashes and kills its crew. Japanese civilians who discover the wreckage don’t know what to make of the puzzling object that had been inside and is buried in the dirt nearby, looking “like a big black daikon radish.” They conclude it’s the biggest bomb anyone has ever seen. Inside the device are rings of metal no one recognizes, but a simple chemistry lab test shows it to be uranium. Army Lt. Col. Shingen Sagara understands the significance. He knows about Japan’s own unsuccessful efforts to enrich uranium. To figure out how to make the stray bomb workable to unleash horror on enemy forces or even on America itself, he recruits the U.S.-educated physicist Keizo Kan, who has been working in his garden. The scientist despises war, and he desperately wants to find his beloved American-born wife, Noriko, who has been arrested and detained for unknown reasons. Having lived in the San Francisco Bay area, they share a deep fondness for U.S. movies: “Taylor loves Garbo,” he tells her before the war. “Garbo loves Taylor,” she responds with a kiss. From a distance Sagara witnesses the fireball over Hiroshima, and he knows what it is. He will do everything in his power to have the discovered bomb loaded onto a plane to smite America. Nagasaki soon follows, as history confirms. But the fictional third atomic bomb might still deliver a devastating blow. Meanwhile, there is talk of a coup to overthrow the “defeatists” who want to surrender. The plot feels entirely plausible, and none of the characters fit any obvious stereotypes. Sagara, the antagonist, is addicted to Philopon, a methamphetamine that drives his relentless work. (This was a real product considered so dangerous that Japan banned it after the war.) Were it up to him, every Japanese citizen would “eat stones”—fight to the death. The author’s research is impressive as he describes how the bomb is designed to work, the tensions within the Japanese power structure, and details of Japanese culture.

An engrossing and thought-provoking novel.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940193559610
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	07/08/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

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