Summer of the Big Bachi by Naomi Hirahara is not your typical mystery. This book does not start out with a bang or a murder. It starts very slowly by showing us Mas Arai, who is a 69 year old gardener. As we learn more about him and his place within the Japanese-American Community in the L.A. area, we discover that there are secrets. Secrets from the war. Secrets that people want left behind. Secrets and money that people would kill for.
Strangers are coming around asking questions. Mas who is an ornery character, doesn't want anyone knowing his business or background. Why do they want to know about Mas' old friends? Who sent them? What does this have to do with a piece of land in Hiroshima? He does not want any more trouble headed his way. To get himself and his friends out of this mess, Mas needs to ask some questions of his own.
Hirahara takes her time with her character study of Mas and his social environment. But by doing this, she also manages to create a ominous feeling that something bad is really going to happen. She allows the reader to experience the growing pressure surrounding Mas. Is he going to tell what he knows - can he tell it? Will they let him? In creating this amoral character she leaves the reader in suspense of what he is going to do.
A great study of a character who is a survivor. Survivors are not always the "heroic people" Hollywood makes them out to be. They are as real as the next person. I am interested in seeing where Hirahara's sequels take him. A little different, but a good read.
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