A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding

A Novel

By: Jackie Copleton

Narrated by: Nancy Wu

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding is a heart-wrenching debut novel of family, forgiveness, and the exquisite pain of love.

When Amaterasu Takahashi opens the door of her Philadelphia home to a badly scarred man claiming to be her grandson, she doesn't believe him. Her grandson and her daughter, Yuko, perished nearly 40 years ago during the bombing of Nagasaki. But the man carries with him a collection of sealed private letters that open a box of family secrets Ama had sworn to leave behind when she fled Japan. She is forced to confront her memories of the years before the war: of the daughter she tried too hard to protect and the love affair that would drive them apart, and even further back, to the long, sake-pouring nights at a hostess bar where Ama first learned that a soft heart was a dangerous thing. Will Ama allow herself to believe in a miracle?

©2015 Jackie Copleton (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Exceptional

Phenomenal storytelling about a phenomenal time and place in wartime history: the atomic bomb devastation at Nagasaki. This historical fiction is beautifully written and utterly gripping. I learned so much about the Japanese culture throughout, especially the opening of every chapter defining a Japanese term or cultural more. For me it was ultimately about the story of the women of wartime: their various roles and depth of character and struggle and hope. This is a riveting story of mother and daughter, love and loss, and the moral ambivalence/destruction of duty and country and war. It is a profound experience of empathy and discovery as most of it is told through the reading of letters and diaries. Heartbreaking, while still delivering the human spirit of hope.

Mesmerizing story, very well read!

I loved these characters, with all their flaws, adapting to a world in which so much was taken from them.

Slow start, but then......

The first couple of chapters made me almost give up. The story didn't grab my attention, but I stayed with it and the character development was good. Excellent narration which added to the story, which was fascinating by the end.

loved it

plenty of twist and turns to keep you on your toes. a beautiful life story told in an interesting way.

Worth a read

The story was long. The reader was good but at times hard to distinguish between characters. The plot was good but it jumped around and again at times was hard to follow. Overall I liked the book and will read again,maybe I will catch all the stuff I lost in the muddle.