Ash Garden Blog

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Ash Garden Blog

“One morning toward the end of the summer they burned away my face.”

This is the opening sentence to this novel and it appeals to me because it grabbed my attention and made me want to continue to read the rest of the novel. It is an intentionally shocking introduction to a book that is even richer in shocking content. It does this book justice by describing the horror right from the start that is written throughout the rest of the novel. This quote appeals to me because the author does not try and trick or mislead the reader into believing this book may be fairytale with a happy ending. Additionally, this quote appeals to me because it describes the sheer horror of the situation at the time.

“He'd been sought out often enough to know he had to prepare in advance for whatever words came: war criminal, butcher, mass murder. He had learned to hold his tongue.”

This quote appeals to me because it shows how Anton is not actually the menace behind dropping the bomb, he was simply doing what he was told to do; his job. No matter what is said to him, he remains strong and “holds his tongue” he does not let their words faze him. His resilience shows that he can remain calm and focused and not succumb to defending his actions. In addition to this, his ability to listen to the opinion of others regardless of what he believes, appeals to me.

“In my imagination I witnessed a thousand times the terrible violence it brought down upon his wasted body. A thousand times I heard his small lungs struggling to call out through his last breaths.”

This quote appeals to me because this is a very dramatic scene. Emiko feels that she was helpless in Mitsuo’s death and Mitsuo’s death is continuously running through her mind. This quote brings a very dark and dramatic mood to the book. This quote also appeals to me due to the fact that it is very sad that a sister has to lose her brother in one of the worst ways possible and in addition to the loss she has to be haunted by the memory of it.

Questions

1. How to did you research Hiroshima and Nagasaki for this novel?
2. Did anyone in real life inspire you when you were making the characters for this novel?
3. Can you describe a particular story that you came across in your research that was particularly horrifying to you?