Summer of the Big Bachi
by Naomi Hirahara
List Price:
Our Price: $3.00
You Save: $4.99 (62%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Naomi HiraharaEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-01-29
ISBN: 0440241545
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Dell
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780440241546
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Summer of the Big Bachi
Book Review: A Japanese gardener with a childhood secret
Summary: 5 Stars
Opening lines of a brief prologue :
"Mas Arai didn't believe in Jesus or Buddha, but thought there might
be something in bacchi. In Japanese, bachi was when you snapped at
your wife, and then tripped on a rock in the driveway. You didn't
suffer your punishment in another lifetime, but within the same life,
even within the next few minutes."
Mas is an aging gardener in Altadena, California. He harbors a secret
going all the way back to Hiroshima, before the war, before the A-bomb
dropped. His secret is just a closed-off part of his predictable life.
His wife is dead. His daughter has her own life and seldom sees Mas.
When Mas isn't working, he hangs out at Tanaka's Lawnmower Shop for
poker and gossip with his contemporaries.
Then an investigator from Hiroshima shows up asking about a local
nurseryman named Joji Haneda, who appeared on an American TV program
as a survivor of the bomb blast. It has been almost 30 years since Mas
saw Joji Haneda.
Mas muses that America is his home; there is no place for Hiroshima
anymore. ... "If Joji's in trouble, that's his business. If he falls, he
can fall alone." But bachi is closing in on Mas. He's mugged and his
truck is stolen, with the threat that unless he keeps his mouth shut
about Haneda he'll lose more than his truck next time.
Events force Mas to confront his past and his memories of two
childhood friends -- one survived the bomb blast, one did not. The
survivor became rich playing the black market. Mas makes allowances,
saying, "Well, he lookin' for a place for himself. Just neva found
it."
There is a arrest for murder, but the story belongs to Mas and the way
he puts his long-held secret to rest.
Hirahara paints a vivid picture of the Japanese gardeners who took
care of the lawns of Southern California before "they were replaced by
their former helpers ... with shiny new trucks, eager family members,
and cut-rate prices." Mas Arai is a memorable character.
Literature & Fiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Literature & Fiction Books
Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott
Scribner; Published: 1986-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
The Killing Groundby JACK HIGGINS
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LTD; Published: 2007; Hardcover; Book
Saving Fish from Drowningby Amy Tan
4th Estate; Published: 2005; Paperback; Book
Life Expectancyby Dean Koontz
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Constant Princessby Philippa Gregory
Touchstone/Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005; Hardcover; Book
Wolf of the Plains (Conqueror, Book 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harper; Published: 2007; Paperback; Book
Saharaby Clive Cussler
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2005-03-21; Paperback; Book
Perelandra (Cosmic Trilogy)by C. S. Lewis
Voyager; Published: 2005-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.67
Price in other shops:
The Lord Of The Rings: Part 2 The Two Towersby J. R. R. Tolkien
Harper Collins Publishers; Published: 2001; Paperback; Book
Red Marsby Kim Stanley Robinson
Trafalgar Square; Published: 2001-06; Paperback; Book
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
A Rage in Harlemby Chester Himes
Vintage; Published: 1989-12-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.50
Price in other shops:
American Born Chineseby Gene Luen Yang
Square Fish; Published: 2008-12-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.29
Price in other shops:
Asian American Literature: An Introduction to the Writings and Their Social Contextby Elaine Kim
Temple University Press; Published: 1984-02-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.29
Price in other shops:
America Is in the Heart: A Personal History (Washington Papers)by Carlos Bulosan
University of Washington Press; Published: 1973-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
No-No Boyby John Okada
Univ of Washington Pr; Univ of Washington Pr; Published: 1978-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.85
Price in other shops:
1001 Cranesby Naomi Hirahara
Yearling; Published: 2009-06-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.11
Price in other shops:
Blood Hina: A Mas Arai Mystery (Mass Arai Mystery)by Naomi Hirahara
Minotaur Books; Published: 2010-03-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.98
Price in other shops:
Blood Hina: A Mas Arai Mystery (Mas Arai Mysteries)by Naomi Hirahara
Minotaur Books; Published: 2010-03-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.69
Price in other shops:
Snakeskin Shamisenby Naomi Hirahara
Delta; Published: 2006-04-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Gasa-Gasa Girlby Naomi Hirahara
Dell; Published: 2008-05-20; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.81
Price in other shops: