Klicka på en bild för att gå till Google Book Search.
Laddar... Den japanske älskaren (2015)av Isabel Allende
Laddar...
Gå med i LibraryThing för att få reda på om du skulle tycka om den här boken. Det finns inga diskussioner på LibraryThing om den här boken. I grew up in San Francisco and so the story put me back in the mood for that rich and colorful place of my young adulthood. The theme, for me, was the grace and courage one needs in aging, and the intensity of our love doesn't fade away with the years. As a young woman of 70 years, I felt she was talking to me. ( ) 3.5 I'm not entirely sure how this came to be on my TBR list. Was it recommended to me? Mentioned in another book? On a Best Of list? I have no clue. It's not book I would normally have picked up but it remained on my TBR list. Then it tied in a poll I did in my stories and finally won by a coin toss... So I guess it was meant to be. Alma Belasco is an affluent and independent resident at a nursing home in San Francisco. There she meets Irina Bazili, a young care worker at the home who is running from her past. The two become close and with the help of Seth, Alma's grandson, we begin to learn about Alma's life. From being shipped to her Aunt and Uncle in the US at the beginning of WWII to meeting Ichimei Fukuda, the gardener's son, and the boy who would become her secret lifelong love. The Japanese Lover follows not only Alma but also Ichimei to the Japanese internment camp that he and his family were forced into after Pearl Harbor. It follows Irina from her tiny village in Moldova to a house in Dallas. It manages to alternate between present day (2015) and the past very smoothly and tells the story of Alma and Irina. It is a simple and beautiful story and was very easy to read. While not exactly up my (usually dark and creepy) alley, I can wholeheartedly appreciate it for what it is... A melodrama. The novel is a delicate, intimate story of love (in many forms) and is written in third person which is a style that can often feel quite impersonal. While Allende manages to sidestep that hazard, the book is overflowing with exposition but short of any action which would have had my pulse racing. Anyway, while not my usual taste, I was able to get lost in the story enough that I finished in a couple of days. The characters were genuine, unique, and complete in their own rights. The story was compelling and there were some beautiful passages. I'd be more than willing to read something else by Allende so that might tell you something. Bellissimo, un altro libro della Allende che mi ha conquistato, pagina dopo pagina. La storia di Alma Belasco e delle persone che entrano man mano a far parte della sua vita; gli zii Isaac e Lilian che la accolgono come una figlia, l’amato cugino Nathaniel, Ichumei Fukuda il grande amore e la passione di tutta la sua vita, il figlio Larry, il nipote Seth, Samuel il fratello, il grande amico Lenny, l’amica Kirsten e Irina l’assistente di Lark House. Tanti personaggi diversi ed un unico denominatore comune, l’amore, coniugato in tutti i suoi colori e le sue sfumature per dare luci e ombre a un’esistenza non comune, dove amore, attaccamento, passione, amicizia, tenerezza, rispetto e comprensione ne saranno i fili conduttori. Una storia che scioglierà tutti i suoi nodi solo alla fine, in quanto quello che si vede, o si vuol vedere, non è sempre l'effettiva realtà perché la vita intreccia, sì, le esistenze, ma soltanto alla fine ne mostra tutto il suo disegno. Historical fiction, starting in contemporary times and flashing back in history, covering the lifespan of protagonist Alma Mendel from her birth in 1932 to her parents sending her to America from Poland in the wake of WWII to forming bonds with Nathaniel, her cousin, and Ichimei, the son of her Uncle’s Japanese gardener. Alma, now in her eighties, is living at Lark House, a seniors’ center in the San Francisco Bay Area. She gradually reveals the secrets of her eventful life to one of her caregivers, Irina, and her grandson, Seth. Irina’s life story forms a substantial subplot. Seth is attracted to Irina but puzzled by the way she keeps people at a distance. Allende weaves these stories together in a non-linear fashion, and we eventually learn both Alma’s and Irina’s backstories. I found this book quietly absorbing. I was impressed by the author’s ability to express the gist of a character in only a few well-crafted sentences. She includes brief sketches of a variety of eccentric characters residing at Lark House, which add color to the narrative. She also provides a vivid sense of time and place, which was particularly evident in the descriptions of the Japanese internment camp in the Utah desert, where Ichimei and his family were confined during WWII. This book is filled with different types of love, and how history and society influence who and how we love. It is a slowly-developing patchwork of scenes that show the shape of love over many decades. It explores the impact of social privilege and racial prejudice. Themes include love, relationships, separation, memory, aging, mortality, and loss. One of my main takeaways from this novel was the feeling that there is very little space in our culture for older people, though we are living much longer than in the past. Alma is shown as a still-vibrant woman, despite her age. She is somewhat aloof and harbors many secrets, which are gradually revealed. I wish we had learned more about Ichimei as an adult, but I think the author intentionally keeps him in the background. Recommended to those that enjoy poignant stories about the many forms of love or coming to terms with the past. Alma is a rich and privileged woman but she is trapped by the expectations of her social class. Irina is a young woman, originally from Moldova, who is also trapped by her past. These two women's stories are the linchpin of this novel. Both struggle between their heads and their hearts but it is Alma that is always practical and lets her head rule. Her Japanese Lover is Ishimei, the son of the family gardener. Their love is always snatched and secret and is little about sharing a life. Alma's grandson, Seth, is in love with Irina and this is different, although once again his family struggle to accept Irina. A nice read with some strong characters and a good story.
Årets roman, «Den japanske elskeren», plasserer seg rundt midten av Allendes egen skala. Den mangler «Åndenes hus»’ magiske løft, men er spennende nok til å holde på leserens interesse helt ut Anmeldelse: Overveldende ny roman fra Isabel Allende Har nese for de pussige så vel som trøblete sidene av livet. Familiemedlemmene og vennene i «Den japanske elskeren» er mange. Isabel Allende løfter dem alle nennsomt ut og inn fra fortiden og inn i samtiden på Lark House. Det er i lange strekk nydelig gjort, en god roman å lese, dette Unfortunately, love’s intoxication, like the scent of the gardenias Ichimei sends Alma over many years, fails to lift this new novel above its thin plot and weakly motivated characters. Ingår i förlagsserienPriserPrestigefyllda urval
In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco's parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family's Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family -- like thousands of other Japanese Americans -- are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world. Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco's charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years. Inga biblioteksbeskrivningar kunde hittas. |
Pågående diskussionerIngen/ingaPopulära omslag
Google Books — Laddar... GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)863.64Literature Spanish and Portuguese Spanish fiction 20th Century 1945-2000Klassifikation enligt LCBetygMedelbetyg:
Är det här du? |