Summary Of Snow Falling On Cedars By David Guterson

The historical-fiction mystery novel, Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson, was published for the first time on September 9th, 19554. The book begins with the setting of 1954, with a Japanese man, Kabuo Miyamoto, on trial for the murder of a white man, Carl Heine. Much of this story is told through the memories of various characters. I think Snow Falling on Cedars was an excellent book.
On the surface, Snow Falling on Cedars is a novel about the murder trial of Kabuo Miyamoto, charged with murdering Carl Heine, a fellow fisherman; but, the trial is really just providing the framework to form an analysis the effects that the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans had during World War II on the people of the small island in the Pacific northwest, San Piedro Island. Snow Falling on Cedars opens in present-day 1954, at the start of Kabuo's trial, but the narrative moves back and forth in time, showing the characters lives and memories of World War II. The trial only takes about three days, but the novel extends to the pre-war, World War II, and post-war eras. The

For example, Kabuo Miyamoto, the defendant, had fought with the US army, and was deeply affected by his experiences from the war, and this changed his perspective of the world. But on the other hand, Carls Heines mother, Etta, is very prejudice and she discriminates against the japanese, even referring to them as, “dirty Japs”. The author was also able to provide the viewpoint of American friends of the japanese, such as, Etta’s husband, who was friends with Kabuo's father, but when the family was sent to internment camp, he offered to watch over the land, but after his death his wife Etta sold the land. By including all of these viewpoints in his writing David Guterson was able to give the reader a better idea of what was going on at the