Customer Reviews

Plum Wine: A Novel (Library of American Fiction)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The horrors of war continue to be repeated from generation to generation. This exceptionally well told story allows us to feel the numbing sadness that blankets the lives of survivors of the American bombing of Hiroshima. The descriptions of the bombing itself, however, almost pale beside the agonies that follow as survivors live out their lives haunted by what they have endured, shamed by the fact of their survival, and tortured by their efforts to somehow fulfill their obligation to honor those who have been lost. Angela Davis-Gardner combines the beauty of a love story with the pain the each character endures, not only relating to Hiroshima, but also to other losses and disappointments of life.

Barbara comes to Japan on a personal journey in search of the essence of her mother, during the height of the Vietnam War. The juxtaposition of World War II and the American involvement in Vietnam provides a brilliant setting for Davis-Gardner's examination of truth, honor, morality, love, and pain. Her characters are memorable and the questions she raises,sadly, continue to be highly relevant, and worthy of our contemplation. An amazing, thought-provoking, beautiful read.

Davis-Gardner may have pulled off this year's most entertaining book with the greatest number of irons in the fire--history, culture, literature and all that, but what keeps the pages turning is a good old-fashioned mystery, a morality play of trust and betrayal, of guilt and shame and secrets, a clash of civilizations and, yeah, even I got caught up in the romance (which was steamy as a Japanese bathhouse...) I started it sort of thinking, "Here we go, another Japan book," but found I was learning all kinds of new things from different, unwritten-about perspectives. I read it in two sittings. Couldn't put it down. What a gem--I hope a major house picks up the paperback so it can get the notice it deserves.

This is a gorgeous, infectious novel that is impossible to put down. Absolutely one of the best books I've read recently.

The story follows young Barbara Jefferson, an American teaching in Japan in 1966. Michiko Nakamoto, her mentor at the university, dies and leaves Barbara a tansu chest filled with bottles of homemade plum wine, each dated with a year. Barbara finds that the chest contains a host of secrets and mysteries. She struggles to unravel the threads of Michiko's life story.

Barbara's tale is utterly compelling. First of all, the author's writing style is so lush and lovely that it gives the whole novel something of a dream-like atmosphere. Barbara comes to understand and respect Japanese culture, falls in love and discovers the horrors of Hiroshima. It's a wonderful tale that you won't soon forget. Highly recommended.

I admired the author's intent here--I'd not read a story dealing with Hiroshima (other than John Hersey in high school), and it did provide food for thought. That said, several things annoyed me about the book, and the reading was made less pleasurable because of that. Like other readers, I found the characterization weak. Seiji was totally unsympathetic and unattractive in my opinion--can't imagine what she saw in him. But then I wasn't that crazy about her either--she seemed like a weak vessel for telling the story. Ultimately I didn't really care about either Barbara or Seiji.

Another things that drove me nuts was the frequent use of Japanese phrases and no hint of what they might mean. Often in historical fiction that involves a language other than English, authors thoughtfully provide brief phrase glossaries. Then the reader can actually learn something. In this book, the phrases sounded like the author wanted to impress us with her knowledge of Japanese. Well, good for her, but I need a translation.

So, a good attempt at an interesting story, but it seemed to only scratch the surface.

This beautifully written, multi-layered novel takes place in Japan during the Vietnam War era. It sensitively portrays the horror of the Hiroshima bombing and its aftermath. While it begs questions regarding American foreign policy, it is not polemic. Excellent book!

I throughly enjoyed this book. Since I lived six years in Japan (from 1993-99) while immersing myself in the culture, I was delighted to see the accuracy of Angela's DAvis-Gardner portrayal Japanese way of thinking and relationships. The story caught me up in its suspense as I read on to discover where Barbara was going to find intimacy and how she'd manage these strange cross-cultural relationships, and what the writing on these plum wine bottles revealed. Descriptive language in this novel was beautiful and some passages brought an amused smile to my lips.

I was astonished by the range of reviews by others. Several talked about how they couldn't understand how Barbara could be attracted to Seiji. Some found both characters unsympathetic or shallow. I don't find fault with these characters but with others reading and understanding of these two protagonists.

I think critics who are harsh on these characterizations haven't lived alone in a foreign land and felt the keen loneliness inherent in that situation, especially in a land where the ideal of men and the values they lives by (work has priority over relationships, relationship with mother has priority over spouse) are so different than western values.

Both Barbara and Seiji were sympathetic characters for me because I understood and felt their dilemmas and could see the cross-cultural issues at play. I could understand how Barbara would waver between going along with Seiji's ways and trying to change him to American romantic ideals.

I thank Angela for a compelling read that enlightened me to the shame and sadness experienced by survivors of Hiroshima.

There is richness, warmth, sensitivity and intelligence in Davis-Gardners novel that conveys a very sure knowledge of its time and place.

Set in Japan during the Vietnam War, Plum Wine tells the story of an American teacher ( Barbara) and a Japanese potter (Seiji) who come together as the result of Barbara's inheritance of a tansu (chest) filled with bottles of plum wine each bottle wrapped in rice paper containing exquisite handwritten calligraphy. Each bottle and page represents a journal page covering the years from 1930 to 1965.

This is a book you keep picking up because it's well defined examination of the differences between Japanese and American culture is so beautifully written. In addition, the reader receives a lesson of sorts in Japanese vocabulary, folklore, sentiment, food and customs.

The main characters, however, are not as distinctive nor are they as engaging as the Japanese customs and exotic landscapes. Barbara appears, at times, to be suffering from bi-polar disorder going from temperamental and aggressive at one moment to weepy and needy in the next. Seiji's behavior is secretive and erratic and you never quite believe that he is truly interested in Barbara. In truth, the peripheral characters are more interesting and contribute much more to the stories theme and texture than our protagonists.

For its artistic observation of all things Japanese, its exploration of the damaging and lasting legacy of war, and its scrutiny of mother/daughter relationships this book deserves 5 stars. As for Barbara, Seiji and their love story---- a grudging two stars.

This was one of the best books I have read this year. It is beautifully written, with wonderful imagery. The story and mystery unfolds as a young naiive American is teaching at a private girls school in Japan during the Vietnam war. She is given a cabinet filled with homemade wine by a woman who had befriended her and subsequently she is drawn into a web of secrets involving people she has gotten close to regarding what happened in Hiroshima during WW2. But it is also about mothers and daughters and the unique relationship they have.

I highly recommend it.

I think the author's focus was too much on the description of Japan in the 60's and the lives of Hiroshima survivors. The descriptions were good, but she didn't pay much attention to character development; they were flat,all over the place, and I didn't really care about them. The female main character just got downright annoying toward the end. The last 1/3 of the book was too long, and it dragged out trying to be profound.

While the potential of a wonderful book is there, I think this one lacks in a quite a few areas.

Barbara is a bit needy and I think she feels a little too entitled. She seems to get possessive of Michi's belongings anytime she see's someone else with them. Seiji is just downright annoying. His temperment is so erratic that I just got tired of him.

I also wasn't impressed with the writers style. Most of the book felt too "choppy" and the story too rushed.

I think the story itself was wonderful, but just could have been better executed.