Summary of The Japanese Lover: A Novel by Isabel Allende | Summary & Analysis

Warning: This is an independent addition to The Japanese Lover, meant to enhance your experience of the original book. If you have not yet bought the original copy, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial summary from aBookaDay. INTRODUCTION On its surface, the main plot of The Japanese Lover is a sweeping tale of clandestine romance set in the midst of social and political upheaval. However, if you peer deeper into the intricacies of the plot, you will notice that at its heart, this is a book about how lives are shaped by both uncontrollable circumstances and by our own actions. The host of characters that the reader will become intimately acquainted with in this book – sweet Irina with her heartbreaking past, Alma the force of nature, steady Ichimei and so on – represent human diversity at its finest and most complex, and show us how life is a constant negotiation between our fears, our values and our passions. Let this book wash over you as you read – see the images of the different lives before your eyes – and imagine what you yourself might do when faced with the same dilemmas our characters are forced to confront. Only by doing so can you truly appreciate the power and beauty of The Japanese Lover. SETTING The bulk of the story takes place at the Lark House senior residence community in San Francisco, California, where Irina Bazili works to uncover the mystery that is Alma Belasco. The Lark House accommodates mainly progressive-minded seniors of all different ability levels, and provides them with a myriad of ways to pass the time – painting, yoga, political protests, marijuana and so on. However the book has many settings and it tends to juxtapose opulence with despair – a scene at the enormous Belasco estate Sea Cliff is quickly followed by a scene of life in Japanese internment camp in the desolate Utah desert. These contrasts serve to highlight the starkly different lives and worlds that the different characters in the book occupy. Available on PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. © 2015 All Rights Reserved