A to Z Challenge: My Favorite Storytellers-- G

This one was a simple choice...

David Guterson

There are books you read and love, and books you read and cannot get out of your head. Snow Falling on Cedars is one such book. The story here is fantastic, one of love, betrayal, war, and intrigue.

I don't think I can describe the plot better than Amazon did:

"Fighting the distrust and prejudice of his neighbors on a remote island in Puget Sound, a Japanese-American man who spent time in an internment camp during World War II, finds himself on trial for murder. The histories of the accused and the victim, both fishermen and residents of the small town of San Piedro, unfold as newspaperman Ishmael Chambers embarks on a quest for the truth. Lonely and war-scarred, Chambers strives for justice and inner strength, while coming to terms with his ill-fated love for Hatsue Miyamoto, the wife of the accused. Evocative and beautifully written, Snow Falling on Cedars won the 1995 PEN/Faulkner Award.."

But evocative doesn't begin the cover it. The whole book reads like a poem, carrying you through the story in a soft, lilting way.

And this is one of my all time favorite book covers. It was one of the covers I sent to my publisher when we worked on Max and Menna and said "hey, can we do something that is as powerful as this?"

Read it? What were your thoughts?