Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

“‘That’s fine. Be who you are,’ she said, turning away, a look of disappointment in her eyes. ‘But I’m an American.’” 

When Henry maintains his distance from America by asserting his Chinese identity above all else, Keiko feels dismayed. It seems that she is searching for solidarity in Henry, for acknowledgement that they are both American, equal and united. That Keiko doubles down on her conviction despite Henry’s disappointing answer demonstrates her pride, her resolve, and her strength of character.

“The lack of meaningful communication between father and son was based on a lifetime of isolation. […] Whatever stumbling methods of communication Henry had used with his own father seemed to have been passed down to Marty.”

One of the novel’s key themes is the nature of father-son relationships. Miscommunication and isolation plagued Henry’s relationship with his father, fracturing it beyond repair. Henry regrets that these same problems have manifested in the next generation of father and son, between himself and Marty.

“Henry looked west to where the sun was setting, burnt sienna flooding the horizon. It reminded him that time was short, but that beautiful endings could still be found at the end of cold, dreary days.” 

This is one of many passages that articulates Henry’s worldview: Life is marked by hardship and difficulty, but those gray days only make the bright moments stand out in sharper relief. As always, Henry focuses on the sweet among the bitter.

“Like so many things Henry had wanted in life—like his father, his marriage, his life—it had arrived a little damaged. Imperfect. But he didn’t care, this was all he’d wanted. Something to hope for, and he’d found it. It didn’t matter what condition it was in.”

In this moment Henry has just found the old Oscar Holden record, which has come to symbolize Keiko in his mind. Henry sees their relationship reflected in the broken record: It was broken, but just as the record’s two halves are held together by the label, Henry and Keiko are still bound by their memories and shared experiences. Finding the record again gives Henry hope that Keiko might still be out there too.

“Henry smiled and was grateful for such a kind and thoughtful future daughter-in-law, even if she didn’t know the ice cream was Japanese. It didn’t matter. He’d learned long ago: perfection isn’t what families are all about.” 

Marty delayed introducing his white fiancée Samantha to his father because he feared Henry would disapprove of their relationship. But Henry, who once suffered through his own father interfering in his private life, welcomes Samantha with open arms. Pure bloodlines mean little in comparison to genuine love, respect, and understanding.

“They were together, alone even, but they might as well have been standing up at the visitors’ fence—Henry on one side, Keiko on the other—separated by razor wire.” 

As Henry visits Keiko at Camp Harmony, he is confronted with the reality of her situation. Although they share this moment together, their circumstances could not be more different. This epiphany foreshadows how time and distance will affect their relationship, though these forces do not diminish how they feel about each other.

“The sense of belonging was foreign to him, something alien and awkward, like writing with your left hand or putting your pants on inside out.” 

In struggling to navigate his dual identity as a Chinese American, Henry has endured isolation from his peers and even from his parents. In this moment Keiko assures Henry that her parents don’t hate him or define him by his heritage. They put more weight in his actions. What’s more, like Keiko, the Okabes are firm in their status as Americans, and they see Henry as American too—not an enemy, just a fellow citizen and a good person.

“Henry was learning that time apart has a way of creating distance—more than the mountains and time zone separating them.” 

As time marches on, Henry and Keiko’s correspondence dwindles, with increasingly larger gaps coming between Keiko’s letters. Henry is well acquainted with how distance can emerge between two people who live under the same roof, given his relationship with his father. Here he recognizes that time and distance can have the same damaging effect.