Snow Falling on the CedarsThe book Snow Falling on the Cedars is about a Japanese man Kabuo Miyanmoto who is on trial for murder. He is accused of murdering a white man, Carl Heine. Much of the story is told through the memories of various characters. The action takes place in the 1050s in Puget Sound, on a fictional island called San Piedro. I think Snow Falling on Cedars was a great book. I felt the author was able to present an unbiased view of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. He presented many diverse perspectives on this period and explained why they thought the way they did. For example, Kabuo Miyamoto, the defendant, had fought in the United States Army during World War II. Kabuo was deeply affected by his experience in the war and it changed his worldview. On the other hand, Carl Heine's mother, Etta, is extremely prejudiced against the Japanese. She believes that all “dirty Japanese,” as she calls them, are lazy and untrustworthy. She judges all Japanese people according to their race. The author also represents the American friends of the Japanese. Etta's husband was friends with Kabuo's father and when the family was sent to an internment camp, he offered to take care of their land. However, when she died, Etta sold the land to someone else. By including all of these different perspectives on this period, the reader gets a more complete picture. Another reason I enjoyed this book was that the characters were flawed, which made them more realistic. For example, the journalist Ishmaël had some character flaws. He had fought in the war and had his arm amputated. He was also in love with Hatsue before she married Kabuo. Therefore, when he found evidence that could exonerate Kabuo, he waited until the very last moment to show it to the judge, because he was debating whether or not to use it. Another flawed character was Kabuo himself. His war experiences had made him emotionally distant. When he was in the courtroom, he showed no emotion, even though he could have been hanged. He believed his death would be an atonement for the people he had killed during the war. The last flawed character is the coroner. He is portrayed as a nice, normal guy. However, after completing his autopsy on the victim, he told the sheriff to look for a "right-handed Jap"..