Reading Snow Falling on Cedars in the Summer

Our selection for the hot summer month of June is Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson.  The setting is San Piedro Island and this is post-World War 11. This story starts of with a court scene and then goes back to when "the incident" took place.

In the first few pages, we meet in the courtroom, the accused man, Kabuo Miyamoto; the judge, Llewellyn Fielding; and a local reporter, Ishmael Chambers. We learn that the deceased is a fisherman named, Carl Heine, and that Kabuo is also a fisherman, a Japanese American, and a former school mate of Ishmael. This writer is very detailed.  There is a lot of detailed description of San Piedro Island, the lonely life of the fishermen, and about the dead man, including his genitalia, as he is being examined by Horace Whaley, the coroner.  On page 56 and I have just read a bit of information that makes me see why, of all the fishermen, Kabuo is the one accused of murder. Carl has a blow to his head that looks like a kendo strike, as in Japanese stick fighting.  I am now on page 60 and the story is back into the courtroom.

I think it's about to get really interesting.  I'll let you know later.