Summary Of Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a story about a man named Henry Lee and his memories of growing up during WWII, which is why the story switches from his life that he is living now, which is now an older man, to his childhood in the 1940s.
The book starts with Henry Lee standing in front of the Panama Hotel in Seattle, watching the news cover the latest story which said “The possessions of dozens of Japanese American families were found in the hotel basement, they have been there since WWII.” Henry remembers his childhood and growing up during the war, along with how hard it was to be Chinese American because so many people were against Asians and considered him Japanese when they first looked at him. The book is told in flashbacks of Henry’s childhood. Parts of the book were confusing to read and it would have been easier if it had been told chronologically instead in flashbacks.

One day, a new kid comes to his school, a girl named Keiko Okabe. She 's Japanese American and right away they became best friends. Henry even takes her to the Black Elks Club to listen to his friend Sheldon play the sax, and afterward they buy the record of the live show. As the war carry ons, though, it becomes clear that the government is cracking down on Japanese American citizens, and eventually it is to be that all Japanese American people will be evacuated to internment camps. That means Keiko and her folks will be sent to those camps. The book shows that Henry has bountiful of feelings for her but is too scared to tell her that he loves her. Also does not want her to leave to the other