The Translation of Love - Softcover

"Remarkable, beautiful. . . . A haunting mystery that is also a moving coming-of-age story." --Chris Bohjalian, New York Times bestselling author of The Guest Room and Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

"[Kutsukake] conjures the voices of [an] agonized time with graceful simplicity." --The New York Times Book Review

"A spellbinding, magnificent story. . . . Thoughtful and discerning, The Translation of Love presents resonating testimony to humanity's resilience." --The Christian Science Monitor

"Dazzling. . . . A commanding story about identity, redemption, and healing that's not to be missed." --Bustle

"Mesmerizing. . . . Moving from the gorgeously epic to the unflinchingly intimate, The Translation of Love takes us to the emotional core of Occupied Japan. It captures the strange, liminal time between destruction and recovery, and the uttermost vulnerability of those carrying on in the rubble of uncertainty and loss." --Kyo Maclear, author of The Letter Opener

"Kutsukake skillfully weaves [her] characters' varied perspectives together to create a vivid and memorable account of ordinary people struggling to recover from the devastations of war." --Booklist (starred review)

"A bold, beautiful book. . . . Kutsukake's remarkable debut spans the emotional terrain between identity and loyalty, love and loss, victory and defeat." --Brian Payton, author of The Wind Is Not a River

"Stunning." --Library Journal

"The Translation of Love offers rich insights into an underreported period in history." --The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

"Eloquent, moving. . . . A heady blend of detailed historical research and compelling storytelling." --The Japan Times

"An elegantly crafted reminder that no one is left untouched by the ripple effects of war and that our quests for outside truths can often lead us to secrets we've been keeping from ourselves." --Sarah Bird, author of Above the East China Sea

"[A] moving debut. . . . A memorable story of hope and loneliness." --Publishers Weekly

An emotionally gripping portrait of post-war Japan, where a newly repatriated girl must help a classmate find her missing sister.


After spending the war years in a Canadian internment camp, thirteen-year-old Aya Shimamura and her father are faced with a gut-wrenching choice: Move east of the Rocky Mountains or go “back” to Japan. Barred from returning home to the west coast and bitterly grieving the loss of Aya’s mother during internment, Aya’s father signs a form that enables the government to deport them.

But war-devastated Tokyo is not much better. Aya’s father struggles to find work, compromising his morals and toiling long hours. Meanwhile Aya, born and raised in Vancouver, is something of a pariah at her school, bullied for being foreign and paralyzed when asked to communicate in Japanese. Aya’s alienation is eventually mitigated by one of her principal tormenters, a willful girl named Fumi Tanaka, whose older sister has mysteriously disappeared.

When a rumor surfaces that General MacArthur, who is overseeing the Occupation, might help citizens in need, Fumi enlists Aya to compose a letter asking him to find her beloved sister. The letter is delivered into the reluctant hands of Corporal Matt Matsumoto, a Japanese American serving with the Occupation forces, whose endless job is translating the thousands of letters MacArthur receives each week. Matt feels an affinity toward Fumi but is largely powerless, and the girls decide to take matters into their own hands, venturing into the dark and dangerous underside of Tokyo’s Ginza district.

Told through rich, interlocking storylines, The Translation of Love mines this turbulent period to show how war irrevocably shapes the lives of people on both sides—and yet the novel also allows for a poignant spark of resilience, friendship, and love that translates across cultures and borders to stunning effect.
From the Hardcover edition.