Snow Falling On Cedars: Summary and book reviews of Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson, plus links to an excerpt from Snow Falling On Cedars and a biography of David Guterson.

Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award 1995 and the American Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, is a place so isolated that no one who lives there can afford to make enemies. But in 1954 a local fisherman is found suspiciously drowned, and a Japanese American named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with his murder. In the course of the ensuing trial, it becomes clear that what is at stake is more than a man's guilt. For on San Pedro, memory grows as thickly as cedar trees and the fields of ripe strawberries--memories of a charmed love affair between a white boy and the Japanese girl who grew up to become Kabuo's wife; memories of land desired, paid for, and lost. Above all, San Piedro is haunted by the memory of what happened to its Japanese residents during World War II, when an entire community was sent into exile while its neighbors watched. Gripping, tragic, and densely atmospheric, Snow Falling on Cedars is a masterpiece of suspense-- one that leaves us shaken and changed.

Media Reviews

Time - Pico Iyer Luminous...a beautifully assured and full-bodied novel [that] becomes a tender examination of fairness and forgiveness...Guterson has fashioned something haunting and true.   Los Angeles Times Haunting.... A whodunit complete with courtroom maneuvering and surprising turns of evidence and at the same time a mystery, something altogether richer and deeper.   Booklist Guterson's first novel is compellingly suspenseful on each of its several levels.   Kirkus Reviews As a thick snowstorm whirls outside the courtroom, the story is unburied. The same incidents are recounted a number of times, with each telling revealing new facts. In the end, justice and morality are proven to be intimately woven with beauty--the kind of awe and wonder that children feel for the world. But Guterson communicates these truths through detail, not philosophical argument: Readers will come away with a surprising store of knowledge regarding gill-netting boats and other specifics of life in the Pacific Northwest. Packed with lovely moments and as compact as haiku--at the same time, a page-turner full of twists.   The New York Times Book Review Compelling...heartstopping. Finely wrought, flawlessly written.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by Dave S
Snow Falling on Cedars
I read this many years ago, but still count it among my favorites. It is one of those rare books where the setting is painted so vividly, you are taken there to listen and experience the story firsthand. And once you are there, the story flows...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Scrutiny
Enjoyable
While flowing through a series of flashbacks and present day proceedings, an inexperienced reader may feel lost. But these same flashbacks delve deeply into the mindsets of the characters and opens the reader up to a much closer connection to each...   Read More

Rated of 5 by some reviewer
Overall, good
Admittedly, the beginning nearly turned me off. But once I got through the opening, I did not want to put it down. The book keeps you guessing, and the pages keep turning.

Rated of 5 by Noble
SUCKS.
I cant even get past the first three chapters. It puts me to sleep.

Rated of 5 by corshelle
the best book ever
This was one of the best books I have ever read. It pulls you in then spits you out. You can't put it down.

Rated of 5 by ?????
0
I could not get past the first few pages. At first it moves to slow, then it picks up, but it stays pretty slow.

...38 More Reader Reviews

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