I received this free ebook as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a very powerful and moving story of the meaning of love—friend, romantic, and of mankind— set primarily in Japan during WWII. I had not read any historical fiction of WWII from the Japanese perspective so I appreciated this frame of reference. The writing is rich and engaging. Overall, a very worthwhile read.

Sachiko provides an interesting and fact based account of the life of a young person who survived the bombing of Nagasaki. War is a tragedy and many atrocities on both sides occur. It is horrific reading the account of this young woman and the years that followed. She truly was never able to escape the tragedy of her youth experiences. Many will fault the United States for its bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, this story is just one side of the tragedy. The U.S. was unfortunately lured into the war with Japan and the Japanese were no easy enemy. Their treatment of U.S. POW's who were also drafted citizens, their own citizens, and the inhumane bombing of Pearl Harbor among others was atrocious. Japan had to be stopped. It is a good read and has its place in a balanced account of the Pacific theater of WWII.

DNF. Though I really wanted to like this book, as I thought it would give me an insight into a facet of Japan's history that I was unfamiliar with, I found the writing a little too plodding and demonstrative to allow me to become invested in the story. Perhaps it was the translation, but that made it hard to enjoy the story the way I would have liked to.

What is Sachiko about ? Sachiko is the story of a life, of love, faith and sacrifice. There's nothing to throw away in it. This English edition is coming out over 30 years after the release of the original japanese version, and I have no idea why it took so long to adapt it in English. However, the wait is really worth it, as the English version flows seamlessly.

True beauty is hidden in this book. Even though the plot takes place during WWII, every character is just so pure at heart, and that is completely touching.
Religion is a huge topic here. It annoyed me a little when I started reading, but I was able to understand how it's very relevant to the story, and in the end, it makes the story all the more powerful, as it is a central point of the book.

Seeing Sachiko's growth through the years and hardships is inspiring, and the way she does everything in her power to make everyone proud while trying to pursue her own dreams and want really gets you. I so wanted to hug the girl.

From childhood to elderhood (is that even a word ?), we see Japan evolve through the eyes of Sachiko, a typical woman of that era : respectful while rebelling in her own little ways, through love and faith.

Long story short : I fell in love with Sachiko, both as a character and as a book. Fans of historical fiction will definitely be head over heels for Sachiko too !

An historical tale of love set in the 1930s, Sachiko charts the lives of two young Japanese Christians, Sachiko and Shūhei, aswell as those of a pair of Polish missionaries in Nagasaki. As political tensions rise, the characters face persecution; making their daily lives unbearable and challenging their faith.

Whilst Shusaku's novel is impeccably researched and impressively far-reaching- the focus splits between Nagasaki and Auschwitz- I found the narration quite alienating.

To begin with, It's delivery appears over-worked and deliberate;
" At a Yakitiri street stall jammed among many others along the riverbank, Detectives Kaneda and Ono were chomping on Yakitori skewers and watching the old chef wash up his cooking utensils."

Whilst the use of verbs feels self-conscious, the selection of adjectives is limited and immature. I'm uncertain how many different aspects of a setting should be described as gloomy but I'm fairly sure that it is fewer than there are here with: " something gloomy lurking beneath the city";"gloomy-looking houses"; "the mood of everyone (being) gloomy" as they are unable "to escape the surge of this gloomy fate".

Rather than immersing the reader in the pages, it feels like a walk through a story-plot that keeps you at arms length; over-telling in an 'in-case-you-missed-that' kind of way. Whether this is because the author's original words have been somewhat lost in translation or if it's because he doesn't trust the reader to interpret his intentions correctly, I don't know but it is uncomfortable.

Furthermore, I quickly became frustrated with both the descriptive passages and the dialogue which, for me, fall at the first 'show don't tell' hurdle of writing:
"So it's the same as caring about us, huh?"
"Well, yes it's the same. But caring very deeply about someone is called love."
"Then, Kiku..." to satisfy her own curiosity, and to see her mother's reaction, Sachiko asked, "Then Kiko loved Seikichi, didn't she?"
Her mother said nothing.
"She did, didn't she? She really loved him."
With a peculiar look on her face, Sachiko's mother gave no response. She wasn't sure whether Sachiko was innocent and understood nothing, or whether she was mocking her mother."

Nevertheless, my thanks to netgalley, the publisher and the author for sharing a copy with me in return for my honest opinion.