Fifty Words for Rain

A Novel

By: Asha Lemmie

Narrated by: Robin Eller, Siho Ellsmore, Katharine Lee McEwan, Jeena Yi, Sarah Skaer, Louis Ozawa

A Good Morning America Book Club Pick and New York Times Best Seller!

From debut author Asha Lemmie, “a lovely, heartrending story about love and loss, prejudice and pain, and the sometimes dangerous, always durable ties that link a family together.” (Kristin Hannah, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Nightingale)

Kyoto, Japan, 1948. “Do not question. Do not fight. Do not resist."

Such is eight-year-old Noriko “Nori” Kamiza’s first lesson. She will not question why her mother abandoned her with only these final words. She will not fight her confinement to the attic of her grandparents’ imperial estate. And she will not resist the scalding chemical baths she receives daily to lighten her skin.

The child of a married Japanese aristocrat and her African American GI lover, Nori is an outsider from birth. Her grandparents take her in, only to conceal her, fearful of a stain on the royal pedigree that they are desperate to uphold in a changing Japan. Obedient to a fault, Nori accepts her solitary life, despite her natural intellect and curiosity. But when chance brings her older half-brother, Akira, to the estate that is his inheritance and destiny, Nori finds in him an unlikely ally with whom she forms a powerful bond - a bond their formidable grandparents cannot allow and that will irrevocably change the lives they were always meant to lead. Because now that Nori has glimpsed a world in which perhaps there is a place for her after all, she is ready to fight to be a part of it - a battle that just might cost her everything.

Spanning decades and continents, Fifty Words for Rain is a dazzling epic about the ties that bind, the ties that give you strength, and what it means to be free.

©2020 Asha Lemmie (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"This virtuosic debut enthralled me from the very first page. Lemmie's compelling and compassionate portrait of a young girl in post-WWII Japan is meticulously researched and beautifully crafted. What a heartbreaking, exceptional story by a sublime talent - I can't wait to see what she does next!" (Fiona Davis, nationally best-selling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue)

"Fifty Words for Rain is an impressive debut novel about a mixed-race girl growing up in post WWII Japan. Sensitive and bristling with closely-observed humanity, Asha Lemmie tells a story that we have not heard before with an ending that is as surprising as it is brutally honest." (Mark Sullivan, best-selling author of Beneath a Scarlet Sky)

"Asha Lemmie's debut novel Fifty Words for Rain follows eight-year-old Nori after she is abandoned by her mother and left to fend for herself in the unkind graces of a family built on tradition and power. Lemmie has penned an impassioned story that confronts the uncomfortable truths behind institutionalized prejudice and the history of violence and subjugation of the powerless by those on the highest rungs of society. It’s an emotional journey with an unexpected ending." (Mary Lynn Bracht, author of White Chrysanthemum)

Unusual ending

I loved the story but was unpleasantly surprised by the ending. The ending was not congruent with the story.

The story went nowhere in the end.

It had a strong beginning, pointless middle and didn’t really have an ending. It just fizzled out. Such a disappointment.

a great listen

I loved the story and the narators. I listened in Audible. I was sad for the main character Nordy and loved to hate many of the others.

Must Read

Excellent book with many twist and turns. I had a difficult time setting it aside to perform my routine daily tasks . Enjoy

Beautifully written and elegantly told

Such powerful writing that I felt like I was growing with the main character, experiencing her pain, sorrow, hope, and joy. A story that I didn’t want to end.

Really depressing book

The story was good and well told. I am not familiar with Japanese culture. If this is an accurate picture, all I can say is thank God I’m not!
I now need a funny rom-com desperately

Sins of the father…

I appreciated the history lesson on post-war Japan. I liked some of the characters who were trying to do the right thing. I disliked the victim mentality, petulance, and 9 lives along the way. Overly long with unusual twists.

She choose Misery

a deeply emotional and thought-provoking story. It seems like the charactet despite facing immense hardship and a loveless environment, managed to find hope and love in small, fleeting moments. However, the decision to choose a life of misery and sadness for the sake of a family that never truly loved her adds a tragic layer to the narrative. It suggests themes of sacrifice, the human need for belonging, and perhaps even a sense of duty or obligation that outweighed personal happiness.

Surprise!

Wonderful story weaving the tale of a young fragile Japanese girl born into a family of power and standing. The characters are well developed with rich scenery and movement all the way to the end. Wonderful first book by Asha Lemmie. I look forward to more coming by this young novelist!

Great Read by the talented Asha Lemmie

Great book debut by a talented author. It was hard to put the book down, I was invested in the characters. I like the story development, the descriptions and the character evolution. I did Whispersync so I enjoyed both listening and reading the book. The bonus today was having Asha Lemmie at our Literary Circle Meeting. She is gracious and wise beyond her years. I highly recommend reading Fifty Words for Rain.