In this prolific Peruvian/Chilian’s novel, the world events over three generations of mainly Californian residents, but ranging from around the world, evolves with many complex characters, not the least of which is the Japanese gardener/lover of the title and one of the main characters. These include the internment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps during WWII, the escape from Nazi death camps and a prostitution enslavement ring by another character, and the emotional trauma of many characters. Included is extensive discussion of voluntary suicide by residents of a three-tiered California home for the aged as they contemplate their secret pasts and bleak futures. For all of the characters, faced with horrendous childhoods, marital fidelity in a adulthood seems to be an archaic custom not to be taken seriously in the pursuit of love and happiness. But there is no graphic sex nor vulgar language. There is not much discussion about the influence of religious dogma on the attitudes towards sexual fulfillment.
There are perceptive observations about how priorities and goals change as one ages, and the writing is superbly poetic. There are many deaths and the various reactions to it are varied and realistic.
My only complaint about this book is that there so many characters that it was difficult for this simpleton to keep them straight. The frequent time shifts don’t help in this regard. A list of main characters at the front would have been helpful as a reference, but would have run for more than three pages.
I have not read any of this novelist’s other works, but may do so in the future, if my own time does not run out first.
4/5
Thanks, Mary M
The Passionate Reader 