At the Foot of the Cherry Tree
Parker, Alli
Gordon Parker is an eager eighteen-year-old Australian boy desperate to fight for his country, and Nobuko 'Cherry' Sakuramoto is a sixteen-year-old girl struggling to survive in Japan in the aftermath of World War II. But when they fall in love, they change the course of history.
When Gordon arrives in Japan, he expects ruthless samurai, angry Japanese men ready to kill Australians at every corner. Instead, he finds Cherry, terrified of ex-enemy soldiers, a survivor of the atomic bomb. Against all the rules and all the odds, they fall in love. But when Gordon discovers the White Australia Policy prevents Cherry coming home with him as his war bride, he does what any 20-year-old soldier would do. He vows to fight. Leaving Cherry alone and pregnant in post-war Japan, Gordon has to convince his family to accept his marriage and wage a desperate campaign against a xenophobic and war-scarred government to allow his wife and children to come home. [Taken from book blurb, Harper Collins Publishers]
Comments from BDS Reviewers
"A very thought-provoking read."
"I really enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down."
"The writing was beautiful and so easy to read and the pacing was great."
"A remarkable story highlighting the importance of judging the person and not their race."
"A powerful story that shows through incredible determination, a wrong can be put right."
"It is interesting to find out more about historical events through a personal story like this one."
"It's very moving and often quite rage-inducing."
"Parker's writing is moving and she delivers a poignant and heart-warming fictionalised story about her grandparents' story in real life."
"I didn't initially warm to the story, but this changed when I got to know the characters and felt more invested in their stories."
336
2023