Elegant would be the best word to describe Snow Falling On Cedars. In 1941 Kabuo Miyamoto, Carl Heine, Hatsue Miyamoto and Ishamel Chambers, the Caucasian and Japanese children of a small Washington State island town, grow up together, their lives intertwined, until the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the internment of the town's Japanese-American citizens rends them all apart. Years after the War the wounds from these events are re-opened when Kabuo Miyamoto is accused of murdering Carl Heine over a dispute regarding land taken from Kabuo's family during their internment. As each character recalls from their own point of view the events from before and after the war the mystery of Carl Heine's death deepens.Told in the form of a courtroom drama Snow Falling On Cedars, like the work of William Faulkner, is a graceful and compelling story of the human condition. Snow Falling On Cedars's atmosphere is amazing, so vivid that it touches all the senses in a way that makes you feel as though you are almost a physical part of the story. The characterization is equally impressive as even the most minor character is fully realized while the humanity of the main characters are portrayed through all the pain, beauty and confusion that life entails. The mystery itself was the weakest part of the novel, the truth seemed apparent to me before the book was half over, but fortunately the mystery is the least important part of this novel. This is a modern classic and one I strongly recommend.
Average Grade: A+
