Clark and Division

The year is 1944. The place is Chicago. Aki Ito and her parents have been relocated from their home in California to Chicago, and so have thousands of other Japanese Americans. Rose, Aki’s sister, has gone on before them, and they are excited to be reunited with her. But on the eve of this much-anticipated reunion, they are told that there has been an accident, and Rose is dead of a supposed suicide. Aki cannot believe that her sister, who loved life to the fullest and had plans and dreams, would kill herself. And so, Aki puts her own plan in motion: to find out exactly what her sister had been doing that led someone to murder her. This atmospheric mystery combines real history with fictional crimes, and the result is gripping and show more intriguing. The historic background is well-researched. The characters are well-defined and true to life. Aki is an amateur detective, and as such, she makes makes mistakes and puts herself, and her few friends, in danger. Some of what she does is a bit far-fetched, but it does add excitement and drama to the story, as does the locality of Chicago—a big city with all its inherent problems. It’s a heartbreaking story, but one that can be appreciated both on a historical level and as an entertaining mystery. show less

Yes, I was late getting to CLARK AND DIVISION, and anything I say about it has probably been said already. But did I like it? Yes--mostly.

CLARK AND DIVISION is a historical mystery. In my opinion, that makes it better than most historical fiction. Plus, apparently, Naomi Hirahara based her characters on real people and their stories. And her mystery was based on a real case. That's why I liked it.

it is 1944. A Japanese American family was finally allowed to leave the concentration camp where they had been incarcerated in California. They are now in Chicago and soon learn that the eldest daughter, Rose, who went to Chicago ahead of her parents and sister, is dead, run over by a subway. Her 20-year-old sister, Aki, investigates this show more "accident" throughout the book. Was this really an accident? Aki doubts it. But was the official finding, that Rose committed suicide, correct? Aki is sure that's not right. Could someone have pushed Rose? That's the mystery.

Even more than the mystery, though, CLARK AND DIVISION is about the Japanese American experience postdetainment. This historical fiction is the reason, I'm sure, the book won so many awards. show less

Part mystery, part coming of age story, wrapped in historical and cultural contexts and easily one of my favorite books of the year.

With plenty of suspects and heartbreaking twists and turns, the mystery of how and why Aki’s sister Rose died is a compelling page-turner and though Rose doesn’t feature in many scenes, through Aki I felt like I got to know her and I craved justice almost as much as her sister did.

While I have some knowledge of Japanese internment camps through books, movies, etc., I haven’t seen or read much about the time period afterwards when these families were released so that’s another aspect of this book I very much appreciated, the insights into how their hardships were far from over and also the sense of show more community that they thankfully managed to maintain.

Aki is a fantastic heroine, I loved her strength and perseverance, the little bit of romance, the friendships formed and most especially seeing her growth from the girl whose sister spoke up for her at a birthday party to the one speaking up for her sister in the most harrowing of circumstances. show less

If you've never read about the lives of Japanese Americans during World War II, you should read Naomi Hirahara's Clark and Division. Readers follow twenty-year-old Aki Ito and her family from their happy pre-Pearl Harbor lives in Los Angeles to their imprisonment in Manzanar in California's Owens Valley to their resettlement in the Japanese American neighborhood of Clark and Division in Chicago.

Readers see everything through Aki's eyes. She worships her older sister, Rose, who is beautiful, intelligent, and accomplished-- everything that Aki wishes she was. In comparison, Aki feels like a slow, unattractive lump, and it's not until the Itos have been in Chicago for a while that it becomes clear that Aki has been selling herself short show more for most of her life.

Life in Chicago isn't easy. Even giving Rose a proper burial is difficult since cemeteries are not accepting Japanese interments, and Aki cannot believe how everyone seems comfortable with the verdict of suicide on Rose's death. As she juggles her job at the Newberry Library with dealing with her parents, she still finds time to search for answers because she thinks nothing of fighting for her sister even though she won't fight for herself.

Hirahara does an excellent job of weaving a real feeling of menace into the story, and the mystery is a satisfying one to try to solve. But more than a mystery, it's the story of the Japanese American experience during World War II that's the star of Clark and Division. Watching Aki navigate her way through governmental roadblocks, prejudice, lies, and fear to finally begin to get a real sense of herself and what she's capable of is the best part of this book, and the author's list of suggested reading at the end is invaluable.

Mystery, character study, history... Clark and Division is a story that you won't want to put down until you've read the very last page.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less

Clark and Division is a groundbreaking book for the author and a welcome addition to the mystery canon. It's the story of a family caught up in an infamous moment of American history, when Japanese-Americans were uprooted and sent to concentration camps, removing them from the west coast, from their lives, and from their belongings and livelihoods. When one daughter is released from the camp and sent to Chicago to establish a new home for her parents and sister, she's eager to start over. But when the rest of the family arrives she has gone missing, and soon they learn she fell in front of an El train. Though the police rule it a suicide, her sister refuses to believe it and as she struggles to help her parents find new jobs and a home, show more she does what she can to find out what actually happened to her sister.

The mystery is a good one, but the book goes beyond the puzzle to take a wider look at the experience of internment and how Japanese-Americans were treated throughout the ordeal and during resettlement, viewed through the eyes of a young woman who idolizes her more sophisticated sister and struggles to keep her family together through tragedy and dislocation. It brings to life a historical moment and a community experience that every American should know more about - not just what happened, but what it was like, admirably made affectingly real through this novel. show less

Naomi Hirahara's Clark and Division provides an excellent read in terms of its success as a mystery novel and in terms of the time period and community it takes readers to: World War II Chicago, where Japanese-American families who were held in West Coast concentration camps are being relocated. I've read a number of books dealing with life in the camps and afterward, but they've all been set on the West Coast with characters returning to areas they're familiar with.

Clark and Division opens before Pearl Harbor, before the camps have been established. Aki Ito contentedly lives in the shadow of her older sister Rose, who is brilliant, charismatic, and fierce in pursuing what she feels is right, whether or not it's easy. After Pearl show more Harbor, the family are relocated to Manzanar, then later to Chicago. Rose heads to Chicago first, part of a group of carefully selected Neisi. When the rest of the Ito family arrive, they learn that Rose is dead, having committed suicide by throwing herself onto the subway tracks.

Aki can't accept that her sister would choose to end her life, so she begins investigating the story of Rose's time in Chicago. In the process, Aki explores the complexities of the city's Japanese-American neighborhood. Aki quickly finding work at the Newberry Library and her community expands to include two of her coworkers: one Black, the other Polish-American. These two story lines—Aki's investigation of her sister's death and her experience carving out a life for herself in a new city—propel the novel forward.

If you enjoy character-driven fiction, whether or not it fits into the mystery genre, you'll find yourself quickly immersed in Clark and Division. I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own. show less

Interesting story of an Asian family caught up in the movement to encampments after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The older daughter earns the privilege of being moved to Chicago. She works to be able to move her family there. The day her family finally arrives in Chicago, they learn that she has died after being hit by a commuter train. Aki, the sister of Rose, is told that she committed suicide. She also learns that Rose had an abortion. Aki, who has always looked up to Rose, does not want to believe any of this. She makes it her goal to find out what really happened to Rose and who is responsible. Aki starts asking questions and going to places where a woman would not wanted. She learns by the end of the story who molested her sister, show more who performed the abortion, and who threatened to such an extent that she threw herself in front of the train. A moving story of redemption and being able to move forward with one's life.
Kirkus:When a young Japanese American woman is murdered during World War II, her grieving younger sister turns sleuth to solve the crime.

As she tells it, the story of young Aki Ito’s family begins in Southern California in the 1920s. Mom emigrates from Japan in 1919 to marry Pop, who, starting as a farm laborer, rises to the post of market manager. Aki looks up to her elder sister, Rose, the star of the family. The bombing of Pearl Harbor changes everything for the family; they are sent to the Manzanar internment camp in 1942. Then, in June 1943, the War Relocation Authority recruits Rose to be one of the "loyal" nisei to move out of the camp and work in Chicago. Her boyfriend, Roy, follows a few months later. When the family is finally allowed to follow, they are greeted with the horrifying news that Rose is dead, killed by a subway train. Aki’s decision to uncover the truth about Rose’s death comes slowly. Hirahara immerses readers in this ignoble period in American history and in the family’s grief, presented from Aki’s wary, wide-eyed perspective. Learning that Rose had an abortion accelerates Aki's desire to know the truth. She’s unsettled even further when Rose’s death is ruled a suicide. Subsequent chapters begin with passages from Rose’s diary, providing a chilling backdrop to the truth that is gradually revealed. Getting a job at the Newberry Library puts Aki closer to the heart of the city and exposes her to the casual racism all around her. Roy’s failure to offer support and the fear and evasiveness of Rose’s roommate, Tomi Kawamura, only harden Aki’s determination to find answers. Her investigation becomes her rite of passage into adulthood.

An effective whodunit that’s also a sensitive coming-of-age story. show less