If you missed Guterson's brilliant first novel published fifteen years ago, search it out now, it is as compelling as ever. A Pacific island in mid-winter: a fisherman is found drowned in his nets, a Japanese-American is on trial accused of his murder. This is war-time, Pearl Harbour has changed the inhabitants' lives; prejudices and suspicions affect everyone's judgments. A nail-biting court-room drama set in a snow filled landscape which keeps its suspense until the end.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 57 Summer 2010 ) |
