Three Generations in the Life of a Japanese American Family
As the winter of 1941 blanketed Hood River valley with its first snow, Masuo found himself even busier than usual. His business ventures, now recovering from the worst of the Depression, kept him working late most nights. His community service, expanding as his own stature continued to grow among the hakujin (whites), demanded more time than ever. He was still the only Japanese member of the Apple Growers Association Board of Directors, representing scores of his countrymen who would otherwise have been voiceless in the organization that determined their livelihood. He was a model Rotarian. Now, with the war escalating in Europe and draft boards all across America readying themselves for the inevitable, Masuo was asked to perform yet another vital service as a link between Hood River’s selective service board and nisei boys who might be called for military duty
Winner, Oregon Book Award
A compelling multi-generational saga that chronicles the promise and the peril of “becoming American” as it follows one Japanese American’s family century-long struggle to adjust, endure and ultimately triumph.
The Reviews are In…
“Stubborn Twig shapes the authenticity of history into a work of art. Three generations and ninety years are splendidly encapsulated by a versatile and masterly writer.”
—Edward Hoagland
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An illuminating book which shouts for rationality, and richly rewards the reader.
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…remarkable… excels in its historical sweep and in Kessler’s flair for dramatic storytelling…Thorough, imaginatively told, and sensitive…an eye-opener.
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Lauren Kessler transports us to another era, accurately and vividly…
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…a praiseworthy chronicle of the process and meaning of becoming an American, of promise and prejudice in a new land.
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Throughout this remarkable saga, Kessler…is unflinchingly unsentimental,. allowing the stories’ ironies to speak volumes.
