Fifty Words for Rain by Ahsa Lemmie

Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie – 464 pages

Book Blurb:

Kyoto, Japan, 1948. “If a woman knows nothing else, she should know how to be silent. . . . Do not question. Do not fight. Do not resist.” Such is eight-year-old Noriko “Nori” Kamiza’s first lesson. She will not question why her mother abandoned her with only these final words. She will not fight her confinement to the attic of her grandparents’ imperial estate. And she will not resist the scalding chemical baths she receives daily to lighten her shameful skin. The illegitimate child of a Japanese aristocrat and her African American GI lover, Nori is an outsider from birth. Though her grandparents take her in, they do so only to conceal her, fearful of a stain on the royal pedigree that they are desperate to uphold in a changing Japan. Obedient to a fault, Nori accepts her solitary life for what it is, despite her natural intellect and nagging curiosity about what lies outside the attic’s walls. But when chance brings her legitimate older half-brother, Akira, to the estate that is his inheritance and destiny, Nori finds in him the first person who will allow her to question, and the siblings form an unlikely but powerful bond—a bond their formidable grandparents cannot allow and that will irrevocably change the lives they were always meant to lead. Because now that Nori has glimpsed a world in which perhaps there is a place for her after all, she is ready to fight to be a part of it—a battle that just might cost her everything.

My Review: 4 stars

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Fifty Words for Rain was one of my most anticipated books to read this fall. It had everything I love about historical fiction and more. The title was enticing – poetic, and certain to be symbolic.

This book had a faint tone of Cinderella and Flowers in the Attic but of course, quite different at the same time. I loved the unique setting of Kyoto. In most books only the gardens of Kyoto are mentioned, or referred to as a place to visit. In this book, the differences between it and Tokyo were well depicted.

Nori’s life, since birth, was a bad deck of cards. I commiserated with her and rooted for her. Her loneliness was acute and what she endured at the hands of many, was horrific. Akira’s story took a turn that I wasn’t expecting…he was a welcome character and added much depth to the storyline.

As much as liked this book and really couldn’t put it down, the last twenty-five percent fell short. It felt rushed and almost as if another author stepped in to finish. I’m trying to put my finger on it, yet as of now, that’s the best way to explain it. I’m wondering if any others had the same feeling. The author wrote with lush language and skilled pacing, so I wish it would have carried through to the end. Still, there is no doubt that I’ll be in line for her next book.

Quotes I liked:

To love a child is the greatest terror there is. It’s a lifetime of worrying yourself sick over every move they make. It is a torture and an immense joy all at once.”

“It is good for a woman to learn silence,” her mother always said. “If a woman knows nothing else, she should know how to be silent.”

“I have quite mastered the art of being useless wallpaper.”