The Woman in the White Kimono

May 20, 2019
Johns’s rich and memorable debut alternates from the present to the past as a daughter uncovers shocking secrets about her father. In 1957, Tori Kovac’s father was in the U.S. Navy and stationed in Japan where he met and fell in love with beautiful Naoko. Her family was opposed to their marriage, having already picked a husband for Naoko. In the present day, Tori, a journalist, cares for her widower father after his cancer diagnosis, taking him to doctor’s appointments at a cancer center in Ohio. Shortly before he dies, Tori’s father gives her a letter that he believes will help her understand the secrets of his life when he was a young man in the Navy. The letter is addressed to a Japanese woman who is the mother of his daughter. After reading the letter, Tori becomes determined to find out if she has a half-sister in Japan. Tori travels to Japan to uncover secrets from her father’s past, and she questions why her father would have left the woman and child behind. Johns does a good job depicting the 1950s Japan setting, but the highlight is the strong characterization of Tori. This novel about unearthing the past packs an emotional punch.