The compelling Richard and Judy Summer Book Club winner

.

The year 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The narrative is about Amaterasu, who along with her husband leave Japan after the war. Amaterasu is living in a retirement home in the United Sates, her daughter Yuko and grandson Hideo died when the Americans attacked Nagasaki with an atom bomb. Amaterasu is truly alone as her husband has passed away and there is nobody else who is close to her, in her new homeland. When one day someone, who is badly burned, shows up on her doorstep and tells her he is Hideo – the grandson she presumed died during the horrific events of August 9, 1945.

The last conventional U.S Air Force raid on Nagasaki occurred the August 1, 1945, and was deemed effective to a degree. The damage from these few bombs was relatively small, it, however, created considerable concern in Nagasaki and a number of people, predominantly school children, were evacuated to rural areas for safety, thus reducing the populace in the city at the time of the atomic attack on Thursday, August 9, 1945. On that day, a plutonium bomb code named "Fat Man" was used by the U.S Air Force. In fact, Kokura province was the primary target, or intended target for the "Fat Man" bomb. However, due to poor visibility the secondary target of Nagasaki was chosen (Major Charles Sweeney, commander of the B29 bomber, had orders to drop the bomb visually and not by radar, hence he diverted to the secondary target, of Nagasaki) – and thus the cities’ fate was sealed.

After 53 seconds from its release, the bomb named "Fat Man” exploded at 11:02 a.m. at an approximate altitude of 1,800 feet - some 39,000–80,000 people were killed. About half of these died instantly, while the other half suffered prolonged deaths.

Jackie Copleton, the author, paints a sensitively told narrative about an absorbing woman with a heart-breaking past, who also suffers from guilt. This is a narrative, which is encapsulated within a complicated history, much of which remains secret until the end of the book. At times, it is quite intriguing and the reader is left wanting to know more. Jackie Copleton tells us a poignant tale, which is done with great sensitivity, thus making it even more striking.

.

I absolutely loved this book. It has been long-listed for the Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction, and I have to say it not only deserves to be listed, but also to win. I admit the last few pages made me cry. Tends to be my reaction to things or works of art of great beauty. Music, art and yes, even great and beautiful fiction.
Some authors write well and others are just natural storytellers, the combination of the two can make for a spectacular read. Copleton does both really well. In fact if I didn't know any better I would swear Amaterasu was not a fictional person at all, and wrote this story herself, that's how realistic it is.
The title doesn't really do the story any justice, however I do believe it emulates the subtlety of the tale. Within the subtle weaving of emotional turmoil is the fragile spider-web of family dynamics. Those elements are off-set and enhanced by the intricate details of the bombing of Nagasaki.
I also really enjoyed the passages at the beginning of each chapter. The information about Japanese traditions, phrases and etiquette gave an extra level of understanding to the story.
The main focus is on the relationship between Amaterasu and her daughter Yuko. The way Amaterasu interferes to change and determine Yuko's path in life, how she deals with her guilt, and how her past casts a long shadow over her entire life.
Simultaneously Amaterasu has to deal with the possibility that her grandchild may not have been killed at all. When the alleged grandson turns up at her door after many decades, everything she has resigned herself to for so many years is torn apart by doubt. Her resistance to the possible truth is fascinating. as if the burden of guilt is bigger than the joy at being wrong all those years.
Irrespective of the actual ending or the truth, I think Hideo's true identity becomes irrelevant at some point. He is merely another victim of an unnecessary tragedy and atrocity. Does it really matter whether he is Hideo or not?
As for Amaterasu, I understand the meddling and the manipulation. She is a mother and only wants what is best for her child. Unlike Yuko she has the full picture and all the information, perhaps if she had been honest Yuko may have made different choices in regards to Sato.
This story is captivating and emotionally moving. It is literary fiction at its finest. Copleton manages to capture the horror and the aftermath of Nagasaki in a way that makes the reader feel as if they are right there. The family dynamics and relationships fit snugly around the pikadon. Family and man-made atrocity go hand in hand to create a truly wonderful read.
*I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.*

Jackie Copleton was borin in Scotland in 1972, and graduated from Cambridge with a degree in English. She spent three years teaching English in Nagasaki and Sapporo, before returing to the UK to study Journalism. She later completed a Masters in Creative Writing at Glasgow University. "A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding" is her debut novel.

Amaterasu Takahashi is an elderly widow, now living alone in Pennsylvania. The book opens with a surprise visit, one that causes her a great deal of shock. Her visitor is a man in his forties or fifties, Japanese like herself, badly burned and scarred – a condition she is saldy all too familiar with, coming from Nagasaki. The man introduces himself as Hideo Watanabe, her grandson. This is something Amaterasu cannot accept – she knows that her daughter and her grandson were both killed when the bomb was dropped over Nagasaki in 1945. Amaterasu and her husband, Kenzo, had searched relentlessly for the pair; they saw no chance of survival.

Amaterasu naturally has grave doubts and initially sends him away. However, he genuinely seems to believe he is who he says he is – and leaves a collection of letters that he hopes will support his claim. Even reading them, she can't discount the possibility of some sort of cruel trick. (Many of the letters are written are written by Hideo's adoptive father – a former friend of Kenzo's, who Amaterasu have very good reason to despise). However, she can't ignore the visit, the letters, the emotions that come back to the surface.

A beautifully written book. Amaterasu looks back over her life, picks at memories and reads through diaries and letteers trying to work out if this man could really be her grandson. The section that describes what happened when the bomb went off, and the aftermath, is heartbreaking. Very much recommended.

Amaterasu Takahashi is an elderly Japanese widow. She lost her only child in the bombing of Nagasaki.

She also, supposedly, lost a grandson in the disaster, but a man shows up to her house and informs her, he is her long-lost grandson, scarred and unrecognizable as a "hibakusha" or survivor of the bombing.

The "grandson" comes with letters that are intended to convince her that he is who he says he is. She is pretty much convinced, he's lying. But she reads the letters, and there begins a forced march into the past, to review mistakes, loves, lessons and loss. It's sometimes hard to read because it's so painful. But, there is a mystery here, and the reader is of course, guessing the entire time. The ambiguity is the thread that keeps you turning the pages, and the narrative is fascinating, because we always love to hear stories, even upsetting ones.

I found this a fascinating novel and one that was hard to put down.

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton

When Amaterasu Takahashi opens the door of her Philadelphia home to a badly scarred man claiming to be her grandson, she doesn’t believe him. Her grandson and her daughter, Yuko, perished nearly forty years ago during the bombing of Nagasaki. But the man carries with him a collection of sealed private letters that open a Pandora’s Box of family secrets Ama had sworn to leave behind when she fled Japan. She is forced to confront her memories of the years before the war: of the daughter she tried too hard to protect and the love affair that would drive them apart, and even further back, to the long, sake-pouring nights at a hostess bar where Ama first learned that a soft heart was a dangerous thing. Will Ama allow herself to believe in a miracle?

My Review:
A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding is super tragic, gut wrenching, beautifully horrific, and devastatingly inspiring rolled into one book. Copleton has the talent to create such intense detail exploring the world pre-bomb and the journey it takes to not recover but survive such a soul devastating experience.
I can't count the times I cried reading this book. Copleton delves into the hidden shame and process a persons mind goes through after losing faith in humanity, themselves and the culture America represented at the time and how their own affects the kind of person they turned out to be after suffering such a horrible event. Copleton explores living without trust, the completeness a human needs to heal, and the concept of living verses being alive. The denying yourself the ability to move forward and exploring the family dynamic of relationships of those around you when you have lost everyone and everything and how in the end they can get you through the emptiness.
A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding is hands down the best book I have read in years. Copleton really opens up Ama's soul and lays it out for readers to experience. She does it honestly and unapologetic and that realism that starkness is part of this books massive appeal.
How often in the world we forget just how much peoples lives have been so direly changed during the face and period of war and combat. This hole a person- Ama carries with her until she learns forgiveness for herself and others and for finally finding a sense of peace she had lost long ago.
I can't say enough about this book to give it justice because there are so many levels the author explores that I can't sum it all up in a few short words. A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding is simply masterful.

My Rating:
5 Stars

Reviewed By: Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews
http://kkmalott.booklikes.com/

Note: I received a print copy in exchange for an honest review from Berkley/NAL/Penguin

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton is quite a different take on the far reaching effects of the bombing of Nagasaki in August of 1945. And of war, in general.

The story, centered around an elderly woman named Amaterasu, who lost her daughter and her grandson in the bombing and who immigrated to the U.S. with her husband, after the fact, to escape the horror and devastation of home and the loss of family. She is a widow in her 80s when a man shows up stating that he is her grandson and that he survived. He brings with him a variety of documentation in the form of letters from his adopted father (a doctor) and the scars he has lived with since that fateful day.

At this point, the story is told through the unfolding information in the letters and in her daughter's personal journals, revealing much more interesting information about Amaterasu than her daughter. In fact, it is the mother whose life unfolding before us that is the most intriguing. Going through the process of opening up the past is an exercise in facing and coming to terms with situations that may have been shelved but not fully released with the passage of time.

But there is a deeper, more important message underneath this in how she and others moved on, despite the consequences of war. There's a lot to learn about the Japanese people who were affected by the events for the rest of their lives.

Without revealing much more, there is a point in one's life when there is a reckoning in oneself where a person must be willing to look at the past, grieve fully, and let go in order to live.

Highly recommend. Poignant and thought provoking with more than a few surprises.

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding is about the devastation of war and the impact it had on one particular family, after an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.

I loved the style this book was written in and the way the story gradually came together. In places this was rather an emotional read, but overall a compelling story that felt very real.

The definitions at the beginning of each chapter were fascinating and gave me an insight in to Japanese culture, and how it differs so much from that of my own culture. Some of the views of women and their place in society made me grateful for the time and place I grew up, as I am lucky to have had so much more freedom and respect.

I think this would appeal to fans of both contemporary and historical fiction, and especially those who enjoy family sagas and stories that focus closely on a few specific well developed characters.

I would like to thank the publishers for a copy of this book, via THE Book Club (TBC) on Facebook, in exchange for an honest review.

This story does not have a Hollywood ending that is neatly tied up and joyous. That made it more real. Overall it is a sad, thoughtful novel that focuses on human motivations and social mores in the context of a known historical event. There are lies, sins, and atonements surrounding interconnected love stories between lovers and parents and children. The story was intricately woven and carried you forward, wanting to understand the gaps until they were slowly filled in (most of them). At times, it was upsetting and graphic in its depiction of the horrors of the A-bomb's aftermath and the medical war crimes. I listened to the Mp3 version of the book and almost stopped listening early on, not sure if I could handle it and be able to sleep at night. Am glad that I continued to the end. The narrator was excellent, perhaps the best I have heard. My only criticism is that I am not sure that it really conveys Japanese sentiments and attitudes. Based on my time in Japan and knowing a number of Japanese friends, it felt more Western to me. Only Japanese readers could resolve this question. I am curious how they would review this book.

An absorbing, compelling and poignant story about family, love, guilt and forgiveness set before, during and after the horrific bombing of Nagasaki in WWII.

This is a well written and beautifully told tale. Although it is moderately slow paced at first, building up gradually, it kept my attention. It gave a great insight into a culture I know little about. I particularly liked the Japanese words or phrases and their English definitions at the beginning of each chapter, which in some way pertained to the story.

It is mostly about a family who have their secrets and how they survive, not only during the war but also within the turmoil of their own lives. However, it is also quite a harrowing and disturbing read. There are descriptions of the aftermath of the bomb and it touches on the horrors which some prisoners of war went through.

It is not always easy to read, but I found it very interesting, moving and engaging, a bit of a history lesson even!

This stunning historical fiction novel set in the early twentieth century spanning the effect of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki and ending in the eighties tells the story of Ameratsu, a woman who lost her daughter and grandson during pikadon.

Ameratsu's own difficult upbringing and history she never acknowledged is brought to mind as she retraces the life and years before pikadon of her daughter and what happened in Nagasaki after pikadon.

Incredibly gripping and compulsive reading the secrets of two women in a family are explored and put into the context of their culture and the current political climate of their times. Haunting to read because this fictional story is set among the real adversaries of the day, this will be a very hard story to forget.

This gorgeous debut novel is much more than the sum of its parts, though its parts are exceptional. No phrase, no plot point, no emotion rings false as Jackie Copleton weaves the tale of Amaterasu, an elderly Japanese woman now living in America, and her journey of despair and discovery when a middle aged man shows up on her doorstep claiming to be her grandson. The story hinges on the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, a day the city's residents call "pikadon," variously translated literally as "bright light" plus "boom," "flashboom," and, very simply, "atom bomb." Amaterasu and her husband, Kenzo, were certain they lost both their daughter, Yuko, and their grandson, Hideo, in the bombing because each was in a location near the center of the blast. Though neither body was found, the devastation resulting from the bombing was so complete that finding a corpse to confirm a death was often impossible.

Amaterasu at first refuses to believe that the man who claims to have found her 38 years and a continent away could be her grandson, despite the scars on his face and hands that prove he was desperately injured in the blast. But Hideo brings with him a packet of letters from his adoptive father, Jomei Sato, all written to Yuko, his lover, each year on the anniversary of pikadon. Amaterasu relives the tangled history of Yuko and Jomei's affair as she reads not only the letters but Yuko's diary.

Amaterasu is neither a completely sympathetic nor completely reliable narrator, but the brutal force of her memories and her honesty about her guilty feelings win the reader over to her side. Details of the Nagasaki bombing are told unsparingly, as are the naked emotions she and Kenzo felt. Amaterasu was so torn apart by the loss of her daughter, her grandson, and indeed, her city, led her to plead Kenzo to take her to a place so far away that the familiarity of lost lives and a lost way of life cannot haunt her. Of course, she brought herself and her ghosts with her wherever she went.

The story weaves back and forth in time, but Copleton never loses the thread of her plot, and keeps the reader wondering what will be revealed next. It's not easy to pin a specific type on this novel -- it could be viewed as a love story, a mystery, a war story, a tale of redemption. It is also, without question, a gripping page turner that leaves the reader both saddened and uplifted.

The book starts out with a mystery: a deformed middle-aged man shows up to an elderly Japanese woman's home in Pennsylvania one day, claiming to be her long lost grandson who supposedly perished in Nagasaki. The story then jumps back and forth between pre-WWII Japan as well as the years during the war, and mid-1980s US and Japan. I enjoyed both story lines, but the one set in early 20th century Japan was full of plot twists and included a forbidden love affair between a respected doctor and his best friend's daughter.

I've never been to Nagasaki, but felt like I was there because the author did such a great job of bringing the reader into the story.

“A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding” is a magnificent novel. It manages to be both universal, reflecting a deep understanding of humanity, and especially Japanese, conveying Japanese culture with almost every sentence. (A word of qualification: I have never been to Japan and have no particular connection with Japanese culture, so it is possible that I am mistakenly judging the presentation here as a faithful reflection of Japanese culture. I don’t think so, however.)

Octogenarian Amaterasu is a survivor of World War II and the nuclear bombing of Japan. She has spent most of her life since trying to deal with all of the emotions of that time and subsequent life and trying to understand things. Part of her means of dealing with things is turning to alcohol. This existence, although not much more than an existence, seems to work. One day, however, a man appears at her door. He claims to be her grandson, whom she thought dead. But he claims to have proof and provides her with this evidence. As Amaterasu begins to sift through letters and journal entries, she is compelled to face many of the questions about the past, questions that she had tried to put behind her.

As I said, this is a wonderful look at humanity in general. Amaterasu’s past may be particularly Japanese, and her way of dealing with many of the events of her life is no doubt shaped by her background. But the book is really about much more than Japanese culture. It is thoughtful, insightful, and genuinely moving. I highly recommend it.

When I read historical novels about Japan, I am always amazed at the peace, gentleness and intentional nature of peoples actions. There is so much history and though behind decisions, actions, and thought processes. It is sometimes to slow and methodical but there is a peace behind it all. This story is no exception. It is a present day but reflective story going back and forth while unwinding the history behind the characters and the horrific events of the bombing of Nagasaki. I did find it to be a little slow at times but if you stick with it, it is worthy of completing.

The author has taken an interesting tactic to start each chapter with a definition of a Japanese term and it’s origin. Each word prepares you in a way for the contents of the chapter. This is particularly apt, as culturally, this book is a revelation, if you are not Japanese (as I am not).

Having been to Japan and knowing the history, one aspect of the story stuns me. That is a Japanese family moving to the country that so devastated their country and took their only child. This type of action (pikadon) the bomb in Nagasaki is unimaginable to me today, so as I’m reading this I’m thinking of my colleagues in Japan and the fact their father’s and mine were on opposite ends of that war. My Dad’s war stories and theirs had a different ending.

The narrator of the story Amaterasu, the mother of the lost daughter has dealt with her resentment of the US in her own way by rejecting the language once she moved here. She was well aware also of the racism present at that time, so her life here was not an assimilated one. For many years she has hoped against hope, that her daughter Yuko survived. However unlikely this is; as she was presumed to be at the epicenter of the blast in a Nagasaki cathedral by her mother’s bidding. Years later, after her husband has passed and she lives every day alone, spurning the efforts of friends of her husband, a scarred young man appears on her doorstep and says he is Hideo, her grandson, who she also presumed dead. She herself walked him to school, that day and searched for him afterward to no avail, so she is sure it is not him.

This story has many twists and turns. Theirs was not a happy family as events occurred before the blast that made things very complicated. But you start the story, only knowing the loss of her daughter and the recent death of her husband as well as her isolation.

I hesitate to reveal too much here as the story does it well. I jumps back and forth from the past to the present. Amaterasu, has her daughter’s diary unopened for 40 years as well as a package of letters provided by this “so called” lost grandson, in there she finds two halves of a story, she was only on the periphery of many years ago.

I liked the way the story unfolded. Some things were anticipated, some not. Life never gives you a straight or clean line. I do like the way it ended.

This was a truly beautiful and moving story, which effortlessly transported my imagination to Japan, and the beauty of this country and its culture. Despite being a difficult subject, the horrors of the bombing of Nagasaki, and its impact on the characters in this book, were sensitively described, and the story overall completely drew me in. A well deserved 5*. Thanks to Helen Boyce and Tracy Fenton at THE Book Club for this review copy.

Amaterasu Takahashi is a widowed Japanese woman in her 80s, who has lived in the United States since not long after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945. She and her husband left Japan to get away from the memories of that bombing, where their only daughter and only grandson perished. Mrs. Takahashi has no real friends, and often turns to alcohol to numb her feelings. Now, 40 years later, a middle-aged man, whose face is badly scarred from the bombing, arrives at her house and announces he is her grandson Hideo. He brings letters that were written by the doctor who adopted him, a man well known to the Takahashi family, which hopefully will convince Mrs. Takahashi of his true identity.

Thus, begins the story of the Takahashi family--what happened before, during and after that fateful day in August of 1945, when life would never, ever again be the same. The letters are read, as well as the daughter's journals, which had never been opened before that time. The story mostly concentrates on the lives of the mother and daughter, and the mother's background is a secret until towards the end of the book. That is unless you read the description of the book! Seriously, while the novel is written in a way that leaves the reader constantly guessing about Mrs. Takahashi's background, the book's description tells the readers right off her well kept secret! How perplexing is that? I was most happy I did not fully read the book's description before reading the book.

Where the mother's past came out in the novel, though, was a major problem with me. Namely, I thought it came out much too late, and actually damaged a story that, up to that point, was so skillfully told. It pushed the reader's state of mind way too far back in time; for no good reason at all, as far as I could tell; and left the reader not being able to truly appreciate an excellent ending; because it wound up a story that was winding down. If not for that matter, I would have gladly given this book 5 stars, because it was a wonderful, thought-provoking story about family love and loyalty, and how war can devastate families for generations. Moreover, it was a wonderful story about how people can choose between being happy or unhappy, can choose between going forward in life or staying stuck in the darkness and destruction of the past.

*Blowin' In The Wind

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding tells the story of Amaterasu Takahashi, and how her life was changed by the atomic bomb in Nagasaki. The story opens with a heavily scarred man arriving on Amaterasu’s doorstep and claiming to be the grandson she believed died in the bomb. From there the story jumps backwards and forwards in time around the day of the bomb blast. There is a very difficult to read section when the narrator, in search of her family, walks right through ground zero of the blast and describes the wreckage of bodies she sees. Still, the reader follows Amaterasu with hope that her loved ones survived.

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding is first and foremost a tale of motherhood. Though the story is told around the meetings the narrator has with the man who claims to be her grandson, the story shows how her life was always propelling her towards becoming the mother of her beloved daughter, and that she would do anything to protect and insure her happiness. Author Jackie Copleton writes with a lyrical beauty that is unique and haunting. Her portrayals of human nature and the ways different people cope with such a trauma are raw and insightful. An example of this can be seen in a line from early on in the book “…death’s greatest cruelty is to claim the wrong people. Sometimes the weakest live.” After the bomb, after the loss of her daughter, it is as if Amaterasu’s life, though continuing on, is a void, and is barely discussed in snippets. It is as if her life ceases to have material import without her daughter and the possibility of her grandson being alive is seen as a form of preservation of her daughter. Beautifully heartbreaking, this story is an amazing fiction debut for Copleton with fluid prose and symbolic meanings carefully tucked throughout for the reader’s delight. A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding is not a quick or light read, but one to contemplate and savor.

Disclaimer: I received a free ARC of this book from Penguin Books through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A horribly disfigured Japanese man knocks on the door of Amaterasu Takahashi one cold Pennsylvania morning and introduces himself as her grandson, Hideo. She knows this cannot be true. On August 9, 1945, the pikadon had obliterated Nagasaki, which included Hideo’s school and the church where his mother, Yuko, was praying. She believes that neither Hideo nor Yuko survived the blast because she and her husband searched hospitals, stores and schools for weeks afterward. However, the man hands her a letter from his adopted mother setting an impossible task: Amaterasu must imprint the sweet seven-year-old Hideo she had waved goodbye to over 40 years ago onto this gentle but cruelly scarred man.

In her debut novel, A DICTIONARY OF MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING, Jackie Copleton explores the anguish of three generations who are torn apart at the end of World War II.

Amaterasu needs to open her own life for inspection before she can even consider Hideo to be the last remaining member of her family. Hideo is staying nearby for a few days at a conference, and he promises to return for more conversation. He gives her a package of letters from the man who loved Yuko, all dated August 9th in one-year intervals commemorating her death. Amaterasu reads each one, deeply moved by the revelations. Now, decades after the pikadon, she relives her life and the choices she has made.

When the deformed man returns the next day, he apologizes for the shock he must have given her and explains that he has suffered a form of amnesia that has blocked out what happened on the day of the blast as well as the years before. He had been taken to an orphanage where he healed and had surgery for his burns, but knows nothing of his past. He believes Amaterasu to be his grandmother because his adopted mother and father had tried their best to identify him by age and by first name/location. Amaterasu will show us there are many more layers of family and relationships than we first see.

He looks at the pictures of Japan on the living room wall, the only homage to her home country among the American furnishings. She wants him to leave, but “curiosity and loneliness are terrible accomplices,” so she invites him to stay for a drink. She explains the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers and how she and her husband were to be the aliens when they first came to the United States, trying to assimilate into a new world. Even though they had no connection to the US, and learning the language and customs of a new country would be very hard, they could not bear to live in Nagasaki.

The few days of Hideo’s conference go by, and Amaterasu contemplates the choices she has before her. To accept this man as her grandson means she must remember him and their life together. She quizzes him about the last thing he saw in their garden as they walked to school that morning: he remembers a bright green snake, coiled on a rock. Who wouldn’t remember that?

Copleton opens each short chapter with a definition of a Japanese word, among them Geisha, Ue-shita (relationships between superordinate and subordinate) and Itako (divinely inspired women). Each definition is brought into rich focus by the events of the chapter and adds to the heritage of the Japanese throughout WWII and thereafter.

The regrets and mistakes of Amaterasu’s life are revealed through conversations, letters and well-done flashbacks, real and convincing. We learn in the end that self-acceptance is a difficult, harsh task. Copleton allows us to believe it can be done.

Reviewed by Jane Krebs

I was engrossed in this story from the beginning.
I really enjoyed how different characters stories were told through diary entries and letters. They gave a real insight into different characters minds and showed that what things look like on the surface may not be how the actually are.
I loved the shifting story and how it's focus changed.
Well worth a read.
Thank you to TBC on Facebook and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

The prose is absolutely beautiful and I'd say the first 3/4 or so of the book kept me enraptured, however the addition of the daughter didn't seem to be weaved in. It was jarring. Which is funny because she is should be at the center of the story. And she is. But I felt that there is a disconnect. I particularly liked though the definitions of Japanese culture at the beginning of each chapter that helped illuminate the chapters. It's a a beautifully written book with a complex plot that meanders at the end.

This a gorgeously written, multi-level literary fiction. The author has the heart of a poet and she certainly touched my heart many times throughout this moving, compelling story. This story is about so many things but mostly about Amaterasu Takahashi and her love for her daughter, Yuko, and the actions she takes to protect her beloved daughter from harm. Her story brought me to tears.

The book begins when a strange man, horribly scarred by the bombing of Nagasaki, knocks on Amaterasu’s door one day, proclaiming to be her grandson, Hideo, who she believed had died as a child during the bombing so many years ago. Thus begins Amaterasu’s journey through her memories. There was no tearing me away from this book as I journeyed with her through her youth and marriage and then through the devastation of Nagasaki in August, 1945 through her meeting with the man who may or may not be her grandson 40 years later. The story is mostly told through memories, letters and diaries and jumps back and forth, but it’s very easy to follow the flow of the story.

I particularly liked that each chapter started with an English word or phrase, then the Japanese word for that word or phrase, and then an explanation of the Japanese understanding of that word or phrase. This wonderfully set the tone for each chapter and nicely conveyed Japanese culture so there was an even better understanding of the story line and the characters living it.

This is a devastating tale of war, a heartrending family drama and an exceptional love story. It’s completely unpredictable and unique and is one that I won’t forget. Highly recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher through First to Read in return for an honest review.

If family dramas and historical tragedy is your reading bread and butter, add A Dictionary Of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton to your wishlist right away. Copleton hits the literary scene with quite the debut. A Dictionary Of Mutual Understanding is a short read that really packs in a punch in its sparse pages. While not as long, romantic, or engaging as Memoirs Of A Geisha, I can certainly see why the comparison is being made. Copleton’s debut is peppered with memorable characters and emotions.

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding is narrated by a woman named Amaterasu. Amaterasu is living in America, in Pennsylvania mourning the death of her husband, Kenzo. She has taken to drink. A scarred man shows up at her door claiming to be her grandson, Hideo. Amaterasu does not believe him because she has thought for so long that Hideo died in pikadon, or the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Hideo, however, has a packet of letters to prove himself. And so, Amaterasu opens the letters and her deceased daughter Yuko’s journals and begins to reflect back on the past, back on Nagasaki and all the blame she carries inside. She revisits a long dead affair carried on by her daughter and a married man, Sato, whom Amaterasu hates. She reflects back to this meeting that was supposed to happen with her daughter Yuko, at a cathedral, where Yuko was supposed to make a big decision. On the way to meet Yuko, Amaterasu’s sweet tooth hits and she goes to get some fruit in a store. This saves her life because right at that moment, the bomb hits. The only survivor in Amaterasu’s family is her husband Kenzo. She knows Yuko has died and she believes Hideo has died. Eventually the story goes all the way back to Amaterasu’s youth, before Yuko is even a gleam in her eye. What A Dictionary Of Mutual Understanding is about is family secrets and finding forgiveness and moving forward and celebrating life.

Amaterasu is such a compelling character. I actually much preferred the parts that explore her sordid past. If you have ever heard the song Fancy by Reba McIntyre, that is the song that reflects Amaterasu’s life to a T. She is a character who carries around so much pain – from losing almost the whole of her family, to knowing that her daughter is tangled up with a man who is no good for her, to living through such a traumatic event. It is fascinating seeing the well of Amaterasu’s strength, even if she might be doing the wrong thing in her daughter’s best interest. I will say that based on the back cover description, I was expecting more about Amaterasu’s past and her working at the sake bar, but that doesn’t come into play until nearly the end and even then, there is not a whole lot of page time spent on her past. I found this disappointing because her past is definitely the most well written and compelling part of the book.

I felt like A Dictionary Of Mutual Understanding failed to live up to its full potential. I really would have liked more exploration of the main character, Amaterasu’s past. Yuko is interesting and I liked the glimpses of her journals, but I just did not feel that connection with her character like I did with Amaterasu’s. I get the ultimate tragedy involved, just it failed to hit me the way that it did other readers. I have read other blurbs where people mention crying over the book. I did not cry or even tear up while reading Copleton’s debut. This disappoints me because I was expecting to feel those sorts of emotions and it just did not happen.

I will, however, admit, that I was fairly engrossed in this book. I found the plotting to be well done. I just would have liked more with Amaterasu’s past. Otherwise, this is a relatively decent read. Perhaps it lacks the grandiose writing and plotting of Memoir Of A Geisha, the book that the blurb compares this to, but otherwise this is a pretty okay book.

A poignant and heartrending story beautifully written by Jackie. People, places and emotions (and relationships) and were carefully and deliberately describe in a graceful and elegant manner.

The writing makes one not want to put the book down. The story is about Amaterasu, her grandson, Hideo, and her daughter, Yuko. Although perished during the war at time of bombing or pikadon, Yuko was very much the focus of the story as tales began to unfold with her personal journal.

This is a beautifully written book about the lengths one woman went to in order to survive a tragedy, and the more difficult task of facing it again 40 years later. Ama spent decades building emotional walls to protect her from the reality of having lost her daughter and grandson to the bomb, as well as guarding other layers of her life. When a man appeared on her doorstep, claiming to be her grandson, she was forced to face the past head on.

Reading this book was very emotional for me, not just because of the strong storyline, but because the text was so vivid and it drew me in. I found myself rereading passages simply because they were so beautifully composed, and that's something I rarely do. The book was spattered with cultural references and Japanese terms defined. This helped the story flow because it hinted at the root of Ama's choices and her guilt. The story is deeply painful, but also very satisfying. I felt that it was a lovely book to read, and Ama's character will be hard to forget.

I loved this book. The author did a wonderful job of telling parts of the story from each character’s point of view. I especially liked the fact I wasn’t really sure what the real story was, but it didn’t matter in the end. Terrific.

I was 22 years old when Nagasaki, Japan, was bombed. This novel detailing just what it was to be there when this happened is a revelation to me. Seeing Japanese citizens during WWII as true human beings undergoing unimaginable tragedy is an experience.

The main story is of a widow now living in the United States being confronted by a man who believes himself to be the grandson she believed to have been killed on that fateful day in Nagasaki. Eventually, we get several viewpoints of the events that happened to the family.

All in all, this is a very good novel and one I heartily recommend to all. Most will see it through different eyes than mine, but be that as it may, this is a very rewarding read and I recommend it heartily.

As I approached the final chapter of this book, I set it aside. It had built to a crescendo with so many unforgettable characters. I wished to set my thoughts aside and comprehend the read I was about to finish and understand it was coming to its literary end.

Poignantly entwined, my heart was vested in the mother, daughter, grandchild, husbands, lovers, the terror of Nagasaki, the time frame, mans inhumanity to man, his humanity to man, pain, forgiveness, hope, denial, beauty, death, ugliness, deformity, redemption...

This was by far one of the most extraordinary passages thru Japan's history. The preface in each chapter defined a Japanese term, which provided the reader a door in which to travel on this journey.

My heart has expanded. I have grown and learned so much from Jackie Copleton's masterpiece and I thank her..

Truly TEN stars.

I enjoyed this book as a Japanophile & WWII history buff. As a fiction, it was very well researched & although the author gives a great feel for the tragedy that occurred in Nagasaki, I didn't feel like she villianized either side, but presented a very human story from the perspective of a mother struggling with a complicated relationship with her daughter. I speak conversational Japanese so was able to easily read the romaji words like gaijin etc but someone unfamiliar with Japanese language and culture might do best reading this book on kindle with access to a definition at the touch of a button. I did find parts of the book slightly predictable which is is why I'd give it 4.5/5 stars but it was very well written striking a perfect balance of not excessive or unnecessary description but just the perfect amount to give you a feel for the tastes, smells & sounds of the character's world's without being strained or overdone. I'd recommend this book to people who enjoy historical fiction, it is a deeply sensual book without being syrupy or inappropriate and an enjoyable read.

Set in the aftermath of 1945 atomic bomb, this book is hauntingly brilliant. The story is how a woman spent her entire life mourning the loss of her daughter and grandson. She spent her life blaming the person she felt responsible for their loss. This book was beautifully written and easy to read although the content was tragic. A truly memorable and inspiring read.

Amaterasu Takahashi, native of Nagasaki, suffered tragic losses during WWII. The bombing of her city is the background for this story, which is filled with beautifully crafted characters (mostly) with mostly predictable back stories. Ama's only child Yuko, gets involved with a married physician Jomai Sato known to her family as a cad. I wish I was wrong in second guessing how he was known, but unfortunately, I wasn't. Ama and her loyal husband Kenzo separate the lovers and find a husband for Yuko, Ama threatens to tell Sato's wife and boss about his affair, and he in turn threatens to expose her past. The lovers are separated and reunited after Yuko gave birth to Hideo and her husband Shige was shopped out to war. Both Hideo and Yuko were presumed to be casualties of pikadon (the Japanese word for describing the blast from the atomic bomb). Ama and her husband move to the US to escape their sorrow, and Sato does work at an orphanage while mourning his loss of Yuko. He treats a young boy named Hideo who may or may not have been Yuko's son, and adopts him. His wife, Natsu, after Sato has died from Leukemia, has located Amu and sends Hideo with a package of letters Sato had written to Yuko, one a year after pikadon to her. Was this a final, albeit postmortem attempt to play out their endgame, or a generous act on Natsu's part or an ending to a figment of Sato's imagination? Will this get resolved, or does it even need to be resolved will be for you to discover.
At the beginning of each chapter, there is a definition of a Japanese concept which oftentimes has nothing to do with the chapter. Rather it's an insight in to Japanese culture. I found it confusing because at first I kept trying to figure out what I was missing when I didn't see the concept played out in the narrative. I would have preferred the definitions to be in a glossary or related in a timely manner to the story.
There are all too few novels dealing with the hibakusha, the word for the survivors of the a-bomb explosions who were exposed to its radiation. It should also include the people who lost dear ones as well. I was glad to have read this book but I feel as if the writer could have done a better job. She is very skilled and I look forward to reading her future books. I predict this book will be a best seller despite the problems I had with it.

Amaterasu survived the bombing of Nagasaki only to lose her daughter and grandson. Living in Philadelphia, she is skeptical when a scarred man shows up at her doorstep claiming to be her grandson. What follows is a mish-mash of Amaterasu relating the story of her family during the war.

The transitions between Amaterasu’s life, Yuko’s and others is a bit awkward and hard to follow. The author starts with a journal entry or a letter and then switches points of view. I think the book would have been much better if the author did this a bit differently. Overall, not a bad book, but it could have been much more powerful.

I love historical fiction and this book didn't disappoint. It is the first book I have read on the subject and the horrors of the bombings and the aftermath were brought to life with vivid descriptions. .Thank you for the ARC.