The riveting story of a Japanese immigrant who leads a proper, decorous life in a New York suburb. As his life slowly unravels, he is transported back to his days as a medic in the Japanese army in World War II, and his obsessive love of a young comfort woman.

"Not since Kazuo Ishiguro's Remains of the Day has there been a novel so attentive to the interplay of dark memory and light manners...a beautiful, solitary, remarkably tender book."-New York Times Book Review

"Exceptional...A beautifully tapestried story of seeking identity and acceptance in another culture while remaining separate from the tug of it."--Christian Science Monitor

"A Gesture Life is the touching, multilayered rumination of an uneasy psyche. It is also a tragic, horrifying page-turner, whose evocation of wartime victims is unforgettable...a deeply involving tale."-Chicago Tribune

A Gesture Life is:

"Unforgettable."-USA Today

"Mesmerizing."-San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

"Masterly."-Newsweek

"Magnificent."-Newsday

"Beautiful."-Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Hugely affecting."-Boston Globe

"Remarkable."-Kirkus Reviews (starred)

One Of The Most Celebrated Novels of the Year
A New York Times Notable Book
A Los Angeles Times Notable Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Notable Book of the Year
A Finalist for the New Yorker Book Award
An Esquire Distinguished Book of the Year
Talk Magazine's Best Book of 1999
An ALA Notable Book of the Year
A St. Louis Post-Dispatch Notable Book of the Year

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NY Times Notable Book Club (118)