Kami and Kaze: A Story of Occupied Japan

This time around the highly versatile and prolific Austin-based Singaporean Wena Poon has written a breezily entertaining novella of Kate, a single American woman who is dispatched to work in Occupied Japan. There she is provided with a house and servants, including a driver with a mysterious past. Also, Kate's mother joins her in Japan, and a bit of drama ensues. Poon weaves historical facts, some tragic, into this tale, but it is overall a light read with plenty of witty banter.

I happen to be a fan of Wena Poon's writing.. I discovered her books a few years ago and have followed her ever since. This may sound trite, but her style is not dissimilar to early Amy Tan...insights into Asian cultures without the cloying overly Asian voices that some other Asian writers develop...This story is about the American occupation of Japan after the WWII defeat but in a very intimate, personal way,through the eyes of a Japanese family and a young American public health officer. .. As historical fiction, it does give some wonderful insights into the dynamics of the occupation as well as strong character development...I could not put it down and read it straight through in one enchanted evening..Another Amy Tan analogy...I remember reading Ms. Tan's first short story in the LA Times Sunday magazine and she followed it up by writing her first blockbuster novel, the Joy Luck Club. I sincerely hope Ms. Poon follows suit and writes a full wonderfully long novel with these characters and story line..