20190428_130438.jpgWelcome to my stop on the The Woman in the White Kimono blog tour sponsored by TLC Book Tours! Thanks to TLC for the invitation!

About the Book:

Oceans and decades apart, two women are inextricably bound by the secrets between them.

Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura’s prearranged marriage to the son of her father’s business associate would secure her family’s status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man—an American sailor, a gaijin—and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it’s learned Naoko carries the sailor’s child, she’s cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.

America, present day. Tori Kovac, caring for her dying father, finds a letter containing a shocking revelation—one that calls into question everything she understood about him, her family and herself. Setting out to learn the truth behind the letter, Tori’s journey leads her halfway around the world to a remote seaside village in Japan, where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption.

In breathtaking prose and inspired by true stories from a devastating and little-known era in Japanese and American history, The Woman in the White Kimono illuminates a searing portrait of one woman torn between her culture and her heart, and another woman on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.

My Thoughts:

The Woman in the White Kimono is told in two timelines. The first is Japan in the 1950s. 

Naoko Nakamura’s arranged marriage to the son of a friend of her father’s is important to reinforce the status of her family in the community; however, Naoko loves another. She’s in love with a gaijin, an American sailor. 

To marry an American would be shameful for her and her family. Naoko becomes pregnant, and she is cut out of her family and left on her own to make decisions with grave outcomes impacting her for a lifetime. 

The second timeline is the US in the present day. Tori Kovac’s father is terminally ill, and she is his caretaker. She finds a letter with a shocking secret. Tori travels all the way to Japan to find the truth. 

Ana Johns was inspired by true stories to write this novel. Her writing is glorious and poetic with a beautiful setting. I knew very little about this time in US and Japanese history. The choices Naoko faced were devastating. Her love for Hajime was so stunningly drawn. 

The Woman in the White Kimono is not suspenseful, and I don’t think it’s meant to be. It’s simply a powerful and emotional portrayal of a woman trapped between her true love and her family, culture, and security. 

Overall, complex characters with a profound and poignant story, I highly recommend The Woman in the White Kimono for historical fiction fans. 

I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own. 

About the Author:

Ana Johns studied broadcast journalism and worked over twenty-years in the creative arts field, as both a creative director and business owner before turning her hand to fiction. THE WOMAN in the WHITE KIMONO is her first historical fiction.

Have you read The Woman in the White Kimono, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR