The Woman in the White Kimono

by Ana Johns Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller, Lauren Ezzo

Overview

Oceans and decades apart, two women are inextricably bound by the secrets between them.

Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura's prearranged marriage to the son of her father's business associate would secure her family's status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man-an American sailor, a gaijin-and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it's learned Naoko carries the sailor's child, she's cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.

America, present day. Tori Kovac, caring for her dying father, finds a letter containing a shocking revelation-one that calls into question everything she understood about him, her family and herself. Setting out to learn the truth behind the letter, Tori's journey leads her halfway around the world to a remote seaside village in Japan, where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption.

In breathtaking prose and inspired by true stories from a devastating and little-known era in Japanese and American history, The Woman in the White Kimono illuminates a searing portrait of one woman torn between her culture and her heart, and another woman on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

05/20/2019

Johns’s rich and memorable debut alternates from the present to the past as a daughter uncovers shocking secrets about her father. In 1957, Tori Kovac’s father was in the U.S. Navy and stationed in Japan where he met and fell in love with beautiful Naoko. Her family was opposed to their marriage, having already picked a husband for Naoko. In the present day, Tori, a journalist, cares for her widower father after his cancer diagnosis, taking him to doctor’s appointments at a cancer center in Ohio. Shortly before he dies, Tori’s father gives her a letter that he believes will help her understand the secrets of his life when he was a young man in the Navy. The letter is addressed to a Japanese woman who is the mother of his daughter. After reading the letter, Tori becomes determined to find out if she has a half-sister in Japan. Tori travels to Japan to uncover secrets from her father’s past, and she questions why her father would have left the woman and child behind. Johns does a good job depicting the 1950s Japan setting, but the highlight is the strong characterization of Tori. This novel about unearthing the past packs an emotional punch. (May)

From the Publisher

Johns weaves together past and present in wonderful ways … [T]his outing is richly-researched, moving and cinematic in feel.” —Toronto Star

“The Woman in the White Kimono is an elegant testament to the tenacity of hope, even when the bindings of cultural and familial expectations are drawn so tight. I look forward to reading more from this talented author.” —Kelli Estes, bestselling author of The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“A well-researched piece of historical fiction, loosely inspired by the military experience of the author's father, that shines a light on a dark chapter of Japanese history that will be unfamiliar to many readers.” —Booklist

“The Woman in the White Kimono is a powerful and heartbreaking literary novel; a lush and masterful exploration of the indomitability of the human spirit set against the backdrop of post-World War II Japan. Johns’s exquisite and emotionally satisfying tale spans a cultural divide to marry a mother’s courageous determination to protect her daughter at any cost with a daughter’s quest for truth. I loved this book!” —Karen Dionne, bestselling author of The Marsh King’s Daughter

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170126927
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/28/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged

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