Snow Fall at Cedars is a 1994 award-winning novel written by American author David Guterson. Guterson, who was a teacher at the time, wrote the book in the morning for ten years. Due to the success of the novel, he quit his job and started writing full time.
Video Snow Falling on Cedars
Plot
Located on the fictitious San Piedro Island in the Puget Sound area of ​​the northern coastal state of Washington in 1954, this plot revolves around a murder case in which Kabuo Miyamoto, a Japanese American, was accused of killing Carl Heine, a respected fisherman in a close community. Most of the stories are told in flashbacks that explain the interactions of various characters over the past few decades. Carl's body was pulled from the sea, trapped in his own net, on September 16, 1954. His water-damaged watch stopped at 1:47. The court, which was held in December 1954 during a snowstorm that gripped the entire island, occurred in the midst of deep anti-Japanese sentiment after World War II. Covering the case was the editor of the city's one-city newspaper, San Piedro Review, Ismael Chambers, a veteran US Marine Corps of World War II who lost his hand against Japan at the Battle of Tarawa. Disconnected by hatred towards the Japanese, Chambers fought with his love for Kabuto's wife, Hatsue, and his conscience, wondering if Kabuo was completely innocent. Through a long flashback, the reader knows that Ishmael had fallen in love with Hatsue when the two attended a high school together just before the war. They are secretly dating now and losing their virginity to each other.
The spearhead of prosecution is the town's sheriff, Art Moran, and the prosecutor, Alvin Hooks. Leading the defense is the old, experienced, Nels Gudmondsson. Several witnesses, including Etta Heine, Carl's mother, accused Kabuo of killing Carl for racial and personal reasons. Kabuo Miyamoto (war veteran decorated from Regimental Combat Team 442), prejudiced by his ancestors, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Also involved in the trial were Horace Whaley, the city coroner, and Ole Jurgensen, an elderly man who sold his strawberry field to Carl. Strawberry fields are contested in court. The land was originally owned by Carl Heine Sr. Miyamotos lives in a house on Heines land and picks strawberries for Mr. Heine. Kabuo and Carl Heine Jr. is a close friend as a child. Kabuo's father finally approached Heine Sr. about the purchase of 7 hectares (2.8 ha) of agriculture. Although Etta opposes the sale, Carl Sr. agree. Payments must be made over a period of ten years. However, before the last payment was made, a war erupted between the US and Japan following Pearl Harbor, and all Japanese islanders were forced to move to internment camps. Hatsue and his family, Imada, were interned in the Manzanar camp in California. Under pressure from his mother, Hatsue parted ways with Ismail through his honorable letter and married Kabuo while in Manzanar. Ismael's last thought before fainting on a naval hospital ship when his arm was amputated at the Battle of Tarawa was anger against Hatsue.
In 1944, Carl Sr died of a heart attack and Etta Heine sold the land to Jurgensen. When Kabuo returned after the war, he was very bitter about Etta for denying the sale of the land. When Jurgensen suffered a stroke and decided to sell the farm, he was approached by Carl Heine Jr., a few hours before Kabuo arrived to try to buy back the land. During the trial, the disputed land was presented as a family feud and the motivation behind Carl's murder.
Ismael's search of maritime records at Point White's lighthouse station revealed that on the night Carl Heine died, the freight ship, SS West Corona , had passed the channel where Carl had been fishing at 1:42 I had just five minutes before his watch stopped. Ishmael realized that Carl might have been thrown overboard by the power of the aircraft. Despite the bitterness she felt as the lover Hatsue rejected, Ishmael advanced with new information. Further evidence was gathered to support the conclusion that Carl had climbed up the mast of a ship to cut down the lantern, knocked off the pole by getting up a freighter, bumping into his head, then falling into the sea. The allegations against Kabuo Miyamoto are dismissed. Hatsue thanked Ishmael, whom he had avoided since marrying Kabuo, and Ismail could finally let his love for Hatsue leave.
Maps Snow Falling on Cedars
Reception
A Canadian Catholic school temporarily releases the book from bookshelves because of the sexual content of the book. This book has been challenged, prohibited, or restricted in some school systems in the United States.
Literary Note
The novel was published on 12 September 1994, becoming a best-selling book and winning the 1995 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Snow Falling on Cedars was adapted in 1999 to a film nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. In 2007 it was adapted for stage by Kevin McKeon. It received its world premiere at Seattle's Book-it Repertory Theater in the same year, and subsequent production at the Oregon Center Center in Oregon in 2010.
References
External links
- David Guterson's Podcast discusses Snow Falling on Cedars at the BBC World Book Club
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments