The year is 1939 and Alma Belasco has just escaped the Nazi takeover of Poland. Now safe in her Aunt and Uncle’s luxurious San Francisco mansion, Alma meets and quickly falls in love with Ichimei, the son of her family’s gardener. But following the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the young couple is violently torn apart. Ichimei and his family, like thousands of others during the war are sent to internment camps.
Though they are reunited later in life, Ichimei and Alma’s relationship is one that must remain hidden from the rest of the world. The story continues decades later and their love is reexamined when a series of gifts and letters appear.
Written with passion and attention to historical detail, The Japanese Lover is a profoundly touching read. Check it out from the Popular Collection today.