Immensely entertaining. Newsday

Poignant and remarkable. Philadelphia Inquirer

Warm, compassionate, engaging, and thought-provoking. Washington Post

With a subtle ominousness, Yamashita sets up her hopeful, prideful characters and, in the process, the entire genre of pioneer lit for a fall. Village Voice

A splendid multi-generational novel . . . rich in history and character. San Francisco Chronicle

Particularly insightful. Library Journal

Informative and timely. Kirkus

Yamashita's heightened sense of passion and absurdity, and respect for inevitability and personality, infuse this engrossing multigenerational immigrant saga with energy, affection, and humor. Booklist

This enriching novel introduces Western readers to an unusual cultural experiment, and makes vivid a crucial chapter in Japanese assimilation into the West. Publishers Weekly

The story of an idealistic band of Japanese immigrants, who arrive in Brazil in 1925 to carve a utopia out of the jungle. The dream of creating a new world, the cost of idealism, the symbiotic tie between a people and the land they settle, and the changes demanded by a new generation, all collide in this multigenerational saga.

Karen Tei Yamashita is the author of Through the Arc of the Rain Forest, Brazil-Maru, Tropic of Orange, Circle K Cycles, I Hotel, and Anime Wong, all published by Coffee House Press. I Hotel was selected as a finalist for the National Book Award and awarded the California Book Award, the American Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Award, and the Association for Asian American Studies Book Award.