His greater purpose, however, and one that he achieves with skill and grace, is an investigation of racism, the nature of justice and the ``same human frailty passed from generation to generation.'' This is a luxurious book, whose finely detailed evocation of its small-town setting effectively draws the reader to consider its larger issues. First-novelist Guterson, a contributing editor at Harper's and author of the short-story collection The Country Ahead of Us, the Country Behind, pays meticulous attention to the legal intricacies of Kabuo's trial. The Washington Post Book World Fans of the show will undoubtedly enjoy the chance to read. Snow Falling on Cedars opens in Judge Lew Fielding's courtroom as the trial of one of these Japanese-Americans, Kabuo Miyamoto, who is on trial for killing fellow fisherman Carl Heine. Just the thing for a cold winters night between episodes. It is also home to many Japanese-Americans.

All of the island's inhabitants are gripped by the murder trial, but none more so than Ishmael Chambers, a local reporter who lost his arm in the Pacific theater, and Hutsue Imada, Kabuo's wife and Ishmael's former lover. Luminous.a beautifully assured and full-bodied novel that becomes a tender examination of fairness and forgiveness.Guterson has fashioned something. San Piedro, a small island in the Pacific Northwest, is home to salmon fishermen and strawberry farmers. Accused of his murder is fellow fisherman Kabuo Miyomoto, a member one of the many families of Japanese descent on the island. Shortly after WWII, fisherman Carl Heine is found dead in the waters off San Pedro, an island of ``damp souls'' off the coast of Washington State. Snow Falling on Cedars David Guterson 3.86 182,048 ratings5,534 reviews Gripping, tragic, and densely atmospherica masterpiece of suspense San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, is a place so isolated that no one who lives there can afford to make enemies. This poetic novel beautifully captures the painful legacy of war and a community's struggle to deal with that pain.

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