The Japanese Lover

By: Isabel Allende

Narrated by: Joanna Gleason

From New York Times and internationally best-selling author Isabel Allende, an exquisitely crafted love story and multigenerational epic that sweeps from San Francisco in the present day to Poland and the United States during the Second World War.

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 70 years.

Sweeping through time and spanning generations and continents, The Japanese Lover explores questions of identity, abandonment, redemption, and the unknowable impact of fate on our lives. Written with the same attention to historical detail and keen understanding of her characters that Isabel Allende has been known for since her landmark first novel The House of the Spirits, The Japanese Lover is a profoundly moving tribute to the constancy of the human heart in a world of unceasing change.

©2015 Isabel Allende (P)2015 Simon & Schuster

The Japanese lover

The first book I've read by Isabel Allende; will not be my last. Beautifully written, lovely, moving.

Twists and turns

This varies from the usual South American sittings of Isabel Allende stories. It is very worldly and deal with many of the issues that people deal with today. The end is a surprising twist. I enjoyed this read.

Loved it

What a beautiful story of friendship, love, happiness and tragedy set against the backdrop of important events in the world. Couldn’t stop listening.

Beautiful

Beautiful love story. Crazy how life can turn out so differently than we imagine. This book reminded me to live one moment at a time.

The Japanese Lover

I have finished this for the 3rd time crying through it as I did the 1st time. Touched me very deeply and was so profound on so many points. Being of Japanese heritage with a Mother who came over as a young woman, it brought many memories. Beautifully written, wonderfully read. It is a treasure to me.