Review & Giveaway: The Gods Of Heavenly Punishment

In partnership with TLC Book Tours, it's my absolute pleasure to be given this opportunity to introduce you to Gods Of Heavenly Punishment By Jennifer Cody Epstein.  Jennifer will be on tour with TLC throughout the month of May and you can find her complete tour schedule here.

About The Author:
Jennifer Cody Epstein is the author of The Gods of Heavenly Punishment and the international bestseller The Painter from Shanghai. She has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Asian Wall Street Journal, Self, Mademoiselle and NBC, and has worked in Hong Kong, Japan and Bangkok, Thailand. Jennifer lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband, two daughters and especially needy Springer Spaniel.

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Release Date: March 11, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0393071573
Genre: Historical Fiction

About The Book:
A lush, exquisitely rendered meditation on war, The Gods of Heavenly Punishment tells the story of several families, American and Japanese, their loves and infidelities, their dreams and losses, and how they are all connected by one of the most devastating acts of war in human history.

In this evocative and thrilling epic novel, fifteen-year-old Yoshi Kobayashi, child of Japan’s New Empire, daughter of an ardent expansionist and a mother with a haunting past, is on her way home on a March night when American bombers shower her city with napalm—an attack that leaves one hundred thousand dead within hours and half the city in ashen ruins. In the days that follow, Yoshi’s old life will blur beyond recognition, leading her to a new world marked by destruction and shaped by those considered the enemy: Cam, a downed bomber pilot taken prisoner by the Imperial Japanese Army; Anton, a gifted architect who helped modernize Tokyo’s prewar skyline but is now charged with destroying it; and Billy, an Occupation soldier who arrives in the blackened city with a dark secret of his own. Directly or indirectly, each will shape Yoshi’s journey as she seeks safety, love, and redemption.

My Thoughts:
With an uncanny attention for detail and immense historical research, Epstein has created an amazing account of life in Japan amid the chaos and heart-break of WWII.  I found myself immediately swept away and captured by the lives of these compelling characters as they experienced not only the devastation of war, but also the human spirit's will to go on.  Although the novel begins with American college sweethearts, Cam and Lucy, ultimately it is the story of Yoshi and a country that embraced American capitalism prior to the outbreak of war. Epstein has proven herself to be a very gifted and talented storyteller who has certainly done a great deal of research. She has given us a side of war that is so often forgotten...that of the "other" side which is no less real and heart-breaking as our own.  An amazing literary gift and one that I would easily recommend to any fan of historical fiction.  Four Stars.  

Giveaway Details:
Jennifer has generously offered a copy of this amazing novel as a giveaway here on my blog.  This opportunity is open to US and Canadian residents only.  To enter, you must be a follower of this blog and leave a comment on this post.  For two additional entries each, please post this to Twitter and Facebook.  I will announce the winner here on May 16th.