Middle Son
DEBORAH IIDA
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Book Description |
Spencer Fujii, the middle son in a family of first generation Japanese-American sugarcane plantation workers, finds his entire life shaped by traditional Japanese customs of responsibility, the sacrifice and death of his older brother, Taizo, and his own role in that sacrifice. A first novel. |
Amazon.com Review |
This restrained, elegiac first novel is at once a feat of imagination--a man's childhood recalled, written by a female novelist--and a fictionalized history of the Japanese-American community in Hawaii. The narrator, Spencer Fujii, grew up among the sugar cane cutters of Hawaii and lost his brother when the latter drowned at age 12. That tragedy forms the core for Spencer's reminiscences and his coming to terms with inevitable loss and sorrow--for his aged mother is dying as well. The dialogue is written in finely tuned patois and the novel explores the customs and personalities of a world that most of us will never experience directly. |
Major Prize* Nominations |
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Unique Books Nominated for a Major Prize* |
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Pulitzer Prize Wins |
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Pulitzer Prize Nominations |
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National Book Critics Circle Award Wins |
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National Book Critics Circle Award Nominations |
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National Book Award Wins |
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National Book Award Nominations |
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Man Booker Prize Wins |
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Man Booker Prize Nominations |
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PEN/Faulkner Award Wins |
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PEN/Faulkner Award Nominations |
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*Major Prize = Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award, National Book Award, Man Booker Prize, and PEN/Faulkner Award
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