Title: The Diplomat's Daughter
Author: Karin Tanabe
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| http://amzn.to/2x7jqLf |
About the book:
Author Karin Tanabe’s
Japanese father was three years old when the firebombing of Tokyo
and Yokohama Europe ,
Karin’s understanding of the war started with her father being attacked by
American bombs.
These memories, as well
as those of a family friend whose own wife and family were interned in a war
relocation center, and additional friends who were born in captivity, piqued
Karin’s curiosity, and spurred her to write a love story born out of one of the
most unlikely places: a mixed-race internment camp. THE DIPLOMAT’S DAUGHTER is
a captivating and informed tale of three young people divided by the horrors of
World War II and their journey back to one another.
Excerpt:
A week later, Helene started to feel the baby kick.
Christian was walking back from his second day at the German school when he saw
his mother approaching. She had a smile on her face that belied her dismal
surroundings. Christian had planned to tell her how his German abilities did
not extend to writing essays in the language, but when he saw her happiness, he
decided to delay the bad news. Within just a few days of his arrival, he’d
learned why he couldn’t attend the American school. The elected spokesman for
their side of the camp was intensely pro-German and anyone who sent their children to the American-style Federal
School
“Put your hand here,” Helene said when she’d reached
Christian. She placed his right hand on the top of her stomach. She was wearing
the dress that was given to women when they arrived, and Christian thought it
made her look plain and homespun, definitely more Mrs. Tomato Soup than Mrs.
Country Club.
They waited a few minutes, but nothing happened. Christian
started to fidget, and his mother laughed at him. “Do you have somewhere to be?
Wait to feel the baby.”
So they waited. Mothers walked by them and smiled, teenagers
coming out of school slowed down and whispered, and finally, when Christian was
about to pull his hand away, embarrassed, the baby kicked.
“I felt it!” he said, pressing his hand harder against his
mother’s belly.
“I told you it would be worth the wait,” said Helene, her
voice full of delight.
Christian thought of the tiny body inside his mother
bursting with life. He imagined the growing organs, the heartbeat, the
developing brain and he felt sorry for it. He wished it could be born far from
loaded guns and barbed wire. At least it would have love, he thought, looking
at his mother’s joyful face.
Helene kissed her son’s hand and walked off, letting him
catch up to the other boys who were making their way from the school to the
German mess hall, where they worked prepping the next day’s milk delivery.
Internees in the camp woke up to a bottle of fresh milk on their stoop every
day, one of the measures that the camp’s warden took to show that he was going
well beyond the laws of the Geneva Convention.
The camp, it was whispered among the internees, was one
President Roosevelt took great pride in, and the guards didn’t want any
suicides or fence jumpers to ruin his vision. “They want happy prisoners,” his
father had told him. “So just remember, it could be much worse.”
For Christian, sharing seven hundred square feet with
another family and sleeping on floors with scorpions did not make for a happy
prisoner. The view of miles of barbed-wire fencing him in did not help, either.
The orphanage had changed him—he felt it in his newfound patience. Even
gentleness. The way he felt toward Inge, had guarded her on the train, he was
sure the old Christian would not have been as kind. But it didn’t mean he was
elated about his circumstances.
Then there was the camp’s segregation. In two days,
Christian had learned how bad it was. Though he had seen the large group of
Japanese internees when he came in, invisible lines kept them apart inside. The
Germans and Japanese, despite being allies in the war, occupied separate
sections of the camp, ate in separate facilities, worked different jobs, and
played different sports. The only places where they mixed were the hospital—as
illness never discriminated—and the swimming pool. The few Italians were
sprinkled among the Germans, but they kept to themselves, too.
About the Author:
Karin Tanabe is the author of The Gilded Years, The Price of Inheritance, and The List. A former Politico reporter, her writing has also appeared in the Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, and The Washington Post. She has made frequent appearances as a celebrity and politics expert on Entertainment Tonight, CNN, and The CBS Early Show. A graduate of Vassar College , Karin lives in Washington , DC
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6 Comments
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteThe Diplomat's Daughter sounds like a wonderful book and I've enjoyed following the tour for it. Thanks for sharing all of the great posts along the way.
ReplyDeleteI love your cover and I would love to read your book.
ReplyDeleteI was really enjoying following this tour, thank you!
ReplyDeleteWhat book would you like to see a sequel to? Thanks for the giveaway. I hope that I win. Bernie W BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteI love to hear from you. So feel free to comment, but keep in mind the basics of blog etiquette — no spam, no profanity, no slander, etc.
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