Nisei

In this gripping novel, a man in despair stumbles upon the secrets of his Japanese fathers World War II experiences, and the past that shaped his family. Robert Takahashi sits in the empty attic of his mothers old home in Hawaii, a home he has to sell to cover financial losses from her nursing home careand his own massive gambling debts. Once his affairs are in order, he can proceed to the next step: suicide. His wife is done with him anyway. His daughterswell, hes nothing but an embarrassment to them. Robert barely remembers his father and knows little about his parents past. But a manuscript hes just foundleft under an eave and contained in a dusty box along with ten medals from the US militarywill enlighten him about many things. As he reads his fathers words, he discovers a story of a Japanese boy born in Hawaii, a life uprooted by internment, and a young Niseis harrowing quest to prove his patriotism by serving with the renowned 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He also learns about a long-ago forbidden loveand how prejudice can derail a lifein this sweeping tale of family, war, and two generations of men battling powerful forces both externally and within themselves.