The many tropes of South American literature can be cloying if not done well. Magical realism can move into absurdist fantasy, sweeping epics can become confusing, and political messages more text than subtext. In this book, Allende shows how she’s able to balance these with her usual prowess.
Generations passing along traits and trauma is a common theme in Allende’s work. The Japanese Lover reaches across the tragedy of the Polish Jewish community’s persecution under the Nazi, following the story of Alma’s escape as a young child and fostering by her American cousins, and her eponymous paramour, Ichemei.
The parallels between Alma’s treatment during WWII and Ichemai’s, a 2nd generation American of Japanese heritage, are a key theme through this book. The victorious writing of history often sweeps under the rug the inhuman treatment perpetrated, Ichimei’s internment by the US government and the impoverishment that came with it. Alma’s life, by contrast is one of comparative wealth and abundance despite arriving in America with nothing.
Like most of Allende’s works, this book also looks at la longue durée and how time the great arbitrator. Alma’s inability to be with Ichimei, because of 1950s norms against interracial relationships and later as life gets in the way runs alongside the other generations, including Alma’s own grandson. She’s a staunch support of time’s arc bending towards justice and it certainly comes out here.
It’s not all clever blending of timelines and narratives. The thread of Irina, Alma’s caregiver, feels both overblown and half-baked. She’s a slimly written character, her trauma defining her character rather than her being a fully-rounded one. Her story is almost drowned out by the broader sweeps.
In the hands of a lesser writer, the narrative threads would come undone, but Allende’s optimism wins out. As a reader, I was left with an appreciation of the interconnections of lives and the ever present distance between what we see of others Vs the histories they keep hidden from us.
