Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Jamie Ford

I’d be surprised if anyone who grew up in California (like I did) isn’t at least somewhat familiar with the (crazy bigoted racist horribly stupid) Japanese American internment camps the U.S. government established during WWII. I assume it’s part of history classes across the country (at least I hope it is), but here in California, with our multi-ethnic pride and proximity to Japan,  not to mention that most of this happened here, I have a feeling we spend more time on the subject than most.

I remember the feelings of confusion, shame, anger, and revulsion I felt when the reality of what happened clicked for me. As I sat in class listening to my teacher explain this piece of our national history, I felt sick. A lot of those feelings came rushing back as I read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. Years later,  I still don’t understand how our country - one that prides itself on being a “melting pot”, that was founded by immigrants, that claimed to have open arms for all - rounded up thousands of innocent people, took their homes and property and forced them to live like animals. All because of where they came from.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet centers on Chinese-American Henry Lee and how his personal history becomes intertwined with the Japanese American internment. Ford tells two stories really; the story of Henry’s childhood in Seattle watching his neighborhood ripped apart by the fear and racism that hit after Perl Harbor, and the story of adult Henry in the late 1980’s dealing with the death of his wife and a sudden reemergence of his past.

Ford gives us a new perspective on this time in our collective past. Henry stands on the outside watching history unfold around him. With the “I am Chinese” pin his father forces him to wear, Henry feels both safe and guilty as he watches his neighbors forced from their homes. Through Henry, we understand what it was like to stand by and watch injustice happen. You want to speak up, but know you’ll only put yourself at risk – and honestly, who among us has the courage to do that? Torn between wanting to protect his family and wanting to right the wrongs he witnesses, we watch Henry come to grips with his role in history. Luckily, Henry is able to capture the pieces of his lost past in the end.  

Reading Ford’s story today, it’s pretty impossible to not think about how easily something like this could happen again. Ten years after 9/11 a lot of Americans are still fearful of anyone who even remotely looks like they are from the middle-east. Fear can make people do a lot of stupid things. I just hope that stories like Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet make their way into the right hands. That reading stories like this one help us learn from our mistakes and prevent injustice from happening again.