Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

As a young boy Henry is caught between worlds. He is the sole Chinese American among the all-white children at his elementary school; his Chinese-speaking parents forbid him to speak anything but English at home; his friendship with Keiko, a Japanese girl, puts him into conflict with his anti-Japanese father; and his love of jazz, propelled by Sheldon, his African American friend, is yet another thing he cannot share with his highly traditional parents. Unlike his father, Henry does not choose his friends based on skin color or nationality. Born in America, he would like to consider himself an American. However, his father complicates his sense of identity by forcing Henry to wear buttons that declare his Chinese heritage while forbidding him from speaking Chinese. The novel’s 1942 narrative serves as a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age story, as Henry learns how to negotiate these conflicts, both internal and external. This process is aided by Henry’s deep sense of fairness, which is unmotivated by popularity or greed, unlike other characters in the story. For example, he hides photos for Keiko’s family, although this is in direct defiance of his parents’ wishes, and he stands up to bullies, especially to protect Keiko’s honor.