Fifty Words for Rain

July 13, 2020
Lemmie’s epic, twisty debut chronicles the life of Nori Kamiza, a half-Black girl born illegitimately into a noble Japanese family in 1940. After Nori’s mother abandons her at eight at her grandparents’ Kyoto estate, Nori endures two years hidden away in the attic, where she is beaten by her grandmother, Yuko, who values the family’s honor above all else. When Nori’s older half-brother, Akira, moves into the house, he takes her under his wing and grants her more freedom. Yuko resents Akira’s love for Nori and sends her, at 11, to live in a brothel and play the violin for customers. Two years later, Akira manages to get Nori back. In Kyoto, the siblings take in British cousins Alice and William, the former in Japan to avoid scandal. Years later, when tragedy strikes Nori again, she finds a home with Alice and her family in England. But just as she acclimates, Nori’s called back to Kyoto, where she learns some hard truths. Lemmie makes a few bewildering narrative choices (Nori is ice cold to a suitor who continues to adore her, and though she has the money to do so, doesn’t rescue a friend in the brothel), but she keeps the reader guessing and ends with a staggering gut punch. Sometimes bleak, sometimes hopeful, Lemmie’s heartbreaking story of familial obligations packs an emotional wallop.

July 15, 2020
Born into a noble Japanese family during World War II, Noriko Kamiza should be a princess, but her illegitimacy makes her a disgrace to her own family. At only 8 years old, Nori is left at her maternal grandparents' manor in Kyoto. As she abandons her daughter, Nori's mother gives her a bit of advice: Obey your grandparents. Do not resist. Nori's grandparents are horrified at Nori's very existence: Her skin color, which reveals that her father was an African American serviceman, is visible proof of their daughter's infidelity. Nori's life will be hard, and Lemmie's debut novel traces her journey from being hidden in her grandparents' attic, beaten, and subjected to painful bleach baths to lighten her skin; to being sold to a brothel and groomed for sale to the highest bidder; to being rescued and finding freedom from her grandmother's abuse. Meanwhile, Nori discovers that she has an older half brother named Akira. Seeing Akira as the only hope to redeem the family's honor, Nori's grandmother is dismayed to witness Akira and Nori's deep love for each other. Lemmie's sweeping historical backdrop, from the post-World War II decline of minor royalty through the expanding liberations of the 1960s, is breathtaking. Unfortunately, Nori's own metamorphosis into a strong young woman is inconsistent and a bit confusing. Again and again, just when we think she has found a deep internal strength to endure or even overcome adversity, Nori lapses into a shrill childish tantrum. Moreover, the majority of the novel propels Nori toward a grand moment of defying her grandmother, but in the final pages Lemmie pulls her punch, leading the reader to wonder if Nori has another plan up her sleeve to be played out in a sequel. A bold historical portrait of a woman overcoming oppression marred by inconsistent character development.

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August 1, 2020
Lemmie's debut novel is a gripping historical tale that will transport readers through myriad emotions. Noriko Kamiza is the illegitimate child of a Japanese aristocrat and an African American GI. When her mother abandons her, leaving her with her Japanese grandmother in the years following the end of WWII, Noriko soon learns that her very existence is considered a stain on the Kamiza name. Eventually she finds an unlikely ally in her half-brother, Akira, the legitimate heir to the Kamiza estate, and the two form an unbreakable bond that will lead to profound and unexpected consequences in their lives and the lives of all they come in contact with. Lemmie has a gift both for painting pictures with lush descriptions and for eliciting horror with the matter-of-fact way in which she recounts abhorrent acts. Lemmie intimately draws the readers into every aspect of Noriko's complex story, leading us through the decades and across the continents this adventure spans, bringing us to anger, tears, and small pockets of joy. A truly ambitious and remarkable debut.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)