Review of The Yokota Officers Club: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Poorly Structured, Brilliantly Peopled

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The Yokota Officer's Club is a book about one family moving around the world with the USAF and how it affects them. The main character is the oldest daughter and the book starts with her flying from college to her families newest posting in Okinawa. But there seems to be one of those family secrets that no one ever talks about, that starts us going to flashbacks of a previous posting on mainland Japan and why the family never discusses the Japanese maid they had for those four years and was practically family. The overall structure of the book is pretty poor, with sidelines that are dead ends and segments that jump around. But the author does have a gift for creating interesting characters, most of which are complicated and well fleshed out. And the bond between the mother and oldest daughter is wonderful to read. The locations and the time periods are brought to life marvelously and truly gives the reader a look into something most people know nothing about. There is something here that reminds me of the best parts of "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood". Despite it's many flaws I enjoyed reading this book and miss the characters now that it is over.

7/10

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Added by nataliegoes 2 months ago on 3 June 2008 07:19