Repentance
WWII Fiction
by Andrew Lam
France, October 1944. A Japanese American war hero has a secret.
A secret so awful he’d rather die than tell anyone—one so entwined with the brave act that made him a hero that he’s determined never to speak of the war. Ever.
Decades later his son, Daniel Tokunaga, a world-famous cardiac surgeon, is perplexed when the U.S. government comes calling, wanting to know about his father’s service with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Something terrible happened while his father was fighting the Germans in France, and the Department of Defense won’t stop its investigation until it’s determined exactly who did what.
Wanting answers of his own, Daniel upends his life to find out what his father did on a small, obscure hilltop half a world away. As his quest for the truth unravels his family’s catastrophic past, the only thing for certain is that nothing—his life, career, and family—can ever be the same again.
REVIEW
5 out of 5
This was a powerful read that will have you stepping back in time alongside Daniel as he tries to uncover the secrets his father has been keeping. Both Daniel and his dad felt like real people, grappling with their own inner demons and trying to make their way through life. I like that the dad wasn’t put on a pedestal, and has a realistic view of his own actions during the war. This was an emotional roller coaster from start to finish, with various obstacles and truths popping up the further you get into the story. A captivating read that spans generations.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Lam, M.D. is the award-winning author of Saving Sight, Two Sons of China, and Repentance. His writing has appeared in the New York Times and Washington Post. He is a retinal surgeon with a history degree from Yale and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Dr. Lam’s first book, Saving Sight (Irie Books 2013), about his work as an eye surgeon, was an Amazon bestseller. His first novel, Two Sons of China, (Bondfire Books 2014) won a Forewords Reviews Book of the Year award in 2014. His latest novel, Repentance (Tiny Fox Press 2019), is a Japanese American WWII family drama closely entwined with the history of the highly decorated Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team.