Story opens as Henry Lee is still mourning the death of his wife when he learns that the belongings of Japanese Americans hidden in the basement of Seattle's Panama Hotel for decades have been discovered. Henry is drawn to the basement, and what he's searching for there opens a door he thought he had closed forever.
Henry Lee is a 12-year-old Chinese boy who falls in love with Keiko Okabe, a 12-year-old Japanese girl, while they are scholarship students at a prestigious private school in World War II Seattle. Henry hides the relationship from his parents, who would disown him if they knew he had a Japanese friend. His father insists that Henry wear an "I am Chinese" button everywhere he goes because Japanese residents of Seattle have begun to be shipped off by the thousands to relocation centers. This is an old-fashioned historical novel that alternates between the early 1940s and 1984, after Henry's wife Ethel has died of cancer. A particularly appealing aspect of the story is young Henry's fascination with jazz and his friendship with Sheldon, an older black saxophonist just making a name for himself in the many jazz venues near Henry's home.
As we see Henry felt disconnected from his demanding and overbearing father who insisted that Henry stopped speaking Chinese at home even though he and his wife know little or no English. As we see Henry in current time he and his son seem to have the same disconnection. What brings them together is a woman, this time the fiance of his son. She is not Chinese but embraces the culture and goes out of her way to impress Henry. It enables Henry to open his heart and go ofter his past.
This was a beautiful story and I enjoyed seeing how Henry's past helped develop the future. I don't know a lot about the Japanese camps and found that fascinating. This book has been on my reading list for a long time and I'm glad that I finally got to it.