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Beth Am Women Virtual Book Club: "The Japanese Lover" by Isabelle Allende

Monday, February 13, 2023 22 Sh'vat 5783

7:30 PM - 9:00 PMZoom Videoconference

Led by Nancy Cavillones

In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco’s parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family’s Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family—like thousands of other Japanese Americans — are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world.

Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco’s charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years.

Upcoming Books:

*We enjoy a partnership with Kepler's Books, which will donate a portion of your purchase back to Beth Am each time you shop – as long as you enter Kepler's site through the Beth Am website. You may also generate a contribution to Beth Am when you shop at the Kepler's Books store in Menlo Park by mentioning us at the register.

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