Falling Wisteria (Yellow Crocus)
On 7 December 1941 in Berkeley, California, young Kay Lynn Brooke assists her Japanese-American neighbor, Kimiko Fujioka, in giving birth to a baby. The neighboring families, particularly their children, are fast friends and have even installed a gate in their backyard fence for easier access. However, with America entering WWII, both families’ lives are disrupted. The Fujiokas and other Japanese residents are interned in a camp, and Kay Lynn’s husband and brother enlist. Kay Lynn’s sister takes a job in shipbuilding but is also involved in other unsafe activities, to the displeasure of her parents. Most in the community miss the Fujiokas, who’d departed leaving some of their possessions with the Brookes, including their dog, who wanders the neighborhood searching for them. Kimiko, Kay Lynn, and their kids keep in touch through letters. Meanwhile, Kay Lynn raises the children and runs her household singlehandedly, dealing with that period’s injustices and the insecurities the war brings.
Laila Ibrahim’s website states that she is “a passionate author [who] set out to write stories of love’s ability to transcend human-made systems of oppression.” This novel, the fifth of a multi-generational saga, addresses themes of racial prejudice involving evil political acts by the perpetrators. At the book’s start, a family tree enables this book to stand alone. The bonds and faithfulness that can develop between people of different races are well presented and serve to highlight the powers of the human spirit. Ibrahim uses dialogue to show the characters’ opinions and effectively highlight the issues for readers’ easier comprehension. The impact of internment on the detainees is well narrated, and their friends’ feelings of sadness, loss, and guilt are aptly shown. The falling and reblooming of wisteria flowers are blended nicely into the story. Highly recommended.
