The Woman in the White Kimono

A Novel

By: Ana Johns

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Lauren Ezzo

Oceans and decades apart, two women are inextricably bound by the secrets between them.

Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura’s prearranged marriage to the son of her father’s business associate would secure her family’s status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man - an American sailor, a gaijin - and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it’s learned Naoko carries the sailor’s child, she’s cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.

America, present day. Tori Kovac, caring for her dying father, finds a letter containing a shocking revelation - one that calls into question everything she understood about him, her family and herself. Setting out to learn the truth behind the letter, Tori’s journey leads her halfway around the world to a remote seaside village in Japan, where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption.

In breathtaking prose and inspired by true stories from a devastating and little-known era in Japanese and American history, The Woman in the White Kimono illuminates a searing portrait of one woman torn between her culture and her heart, and another woman on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.

©2019 Ana Johns (P)2019 Harlequin Audio

great read

I couldn't put it down. beautiful story!! I could visualize while listening and found the story to be very emotional...

Good story bad narration

The story was good but the ‘male’ voices were irritating & embarrassing. Listen to this book if you can ignore the narration.

A Story with History

Having lived in Yokosuka for a year so much of this story resonated with me and I knew where the story was by the descriptions given.

The story captured my attention and held it. I listened to it straight through!
As history shows, the time of this story both sides handled things badly.

I cried at the end.

so good

an amazing story told by a passionate narrator, definitely makes you feel alllll the emotions

Good book

I enjoyed the story however I wish it would have told more about what happened with jimmy while his wife was stuck in the maternity home. She never knew what happened to him. And the story didn’t say if he went looking for her.

Good story, narration ?

Good overall story, so I rated a 4. I rated performance low due to the narrator. There were actually times I hit fast forward to get through the overly emotional, high pitched and breathy reading. There were too many sections read like this that could have been read a little less dramatically. I would recommend this book to friends to read.

Amazingly told, if Sad and Dark Story

This was a very engaging story. I was hooked after just a few chapters and cold not stop listening to it. The characters are very well fleshed out, and you gain a deep understanding of them from the get go. You feel for them and what they are both going through. You wish beyond anything, even though you know it is impossible, for something good to come out of all this and for them to have a happy ending.

And here is the one thing that just...stung me: the Ending. I will not spoil anything, but suffice it to say do not expect a happy ending. It is thematically appropriate and well written of course, but the ending still felt like a gut punch to me, and truth be told I go back and forth debating if I would have gotten the book if I knew just how it would all end.

That is Not me saying stay away though. If you are ok with sad endings and are prepared for an emotional roller coaster, then this book is no doubt for you. The narrators do an amazing job, the pacing is great, and i look forward to future books from the author.

Overall, 4/5 seems like a fair assessment. I hope you enjoy if you decide to purchase.

Bad Narrator

The narrator that read as Tori was Horrible......it was an effort listen to the story. The author did a good job of describing Japanese customs in 1957 after the war.

Little Bird

Excellent book. I really enjoyed the rich history and exceptional story telling. Definitely worth your time.

Dumb ending

I enjoyed listening to it until the last few chapters
A Japanese accent speaking English doesn’t sound like a Russian would. The accent was way off.
But the worst is the unanswered questions and somehow we’re supposed to find peace with it. Especially the biggest question of what happened