Nov 19, 2009 03:10 AM
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SILENT HONOR is a story of a Japanese girl Hiroko who goes to United States in 1942 to pursue education in a girls college.Her father was a professor in Japan and sent her in guardianship of his cousin Takeo who was a professor in US.
Initially hesitant, Hiroko proceeds to US on a ship from Japan to pursue his father's dream to have modern education.She came in Kimonos from Japan and still grappling with the reality that her US guardian and his family became americans and only retained the Japanese look, proceeds to her college St. Andrews.
While pursuing education, she comes across two different realisations from Americans, one that she faces racial bias and attack and other that her guardian Tak's assistant Peter who was an american falls head over heels in love with her.
Thinking of getting married to Peter , but waiting for her father's approval, the war starts between Japan and US.Hiroko along with her uncle Tak, aunt Reiko, cousins Ken, Sally and Tami proceeds to a war relocation camp where they are suspected as 'aliens' or 'enemy agents".
Those camps who were filled with disease and congestion makes things miserable for them as they lived a good life before that.During that time, Hiroko gets married to Peter secretly and gets pregnant.Peter is sent to war and Hiroko and her relatives after going to different destinations by interrogation agencies eventually land up in another camp and start living together where it comes to light that she is pregnant and delivers the baby Toyo.Her cousin goes to war and dies there.
Her own brother Yuji dies in war.Her own uncle Tak also dies of shock one day.and one day when war ends with Hiroshima bombings in 1944, they are released from camp.She somehow becomes a maid at her friend's place and collects money to go back to Japan to see her parents.After reaching Japan, she gets to know her parents are dead after bombings.Now when she decides to go back to US with nobody left as Peter was also missing in war, she miraculously finds Peter searching for her.
The book reflects cultural differences between countries, unions between countries, tragedy of war where nobody gets nothing and still a ray of hope when everything was gone.Danielle Steel has written a very moving book, never slowed down and very heart rending.It can be converted into a movie.
I liked the book.
Thanks for reading my review.
