BOOK REVIEW - THE JAPANESE LOVER
I
Sheila Benson
have recently read the Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende
secret lovers over many years, although there were gaps in between when their lives didn’t cross. They This is the story of an elderly never married each other as Alma Jewish lady, Alma, who chooses to live couldn’t face the problem of in a modest care home even though intermarriage to a poor man, with a she is extremely wealthy. The narrative different culture and instead chose the covers her life in general terms, which easy life of luxury, married, mostly I found sometimes lacking in detail. platonically, to her first cousin, her Some of the other characters are great friend, with whom she had a rather two dimensional and for me son, although we eventually found out needed to be more substantial. Her her husband was gay. Whilst she lifelong love is a Japanese gardener, successfully grew her artistic business, Ichimei ,whom she meets when he is grandparents mostly brought up her working with his father on her uncle’s son. about which we hear little, but in vast Californian estate, which is where later life, her grandson is devoted to her parents sent her from Warsaw in her. 1939 in view of the Nazi threat. The Japanese gardeners are serene nonWithout, in most cases, many details, emotional American-Japanese and the the book covers along the way by dint aunt and uncle very rich Jews living in partly of her memories the Holocaust, palatial style with many servants and the terrible conditions of the able to join any club or university. This concentration camps, where the certainly is stereotyping and takes no Japanese Americans were forced to account of Jewish quotas, prevalent live, the Aids crisis, child cruelty and at that time. perverted wicked parents, drunken traumatised Europeans, illegal The two, Alma & Ichimei, become abortions , separated siblings etc.
JEWISH TRIVIA A Jewish family named Karnofsky, who immigrated from Lithuania to the United States took pity on a 7 year boy and brought him to their home. There he stayed and spent the night in this Jewish family home, where for the first time in his life he was treated with kindness and tenderness. When he went to bed Mrs Karnofskt sang him Russian lullabies, which he sang with her.Later he learned to sing and play several Russian and Jewish songs. Mr Karnofsky gave him money to buy his first musical instrument, as was the custom in Jewish families. Later when he became a profession musician and composer, he used these Jewish melodies in compositions such Aa St. James’s Hospital ands Go down Moses. The little boy grew up and wrote a book a book about this Jewish family. He became Louis Armstrong 5
