Gifted Hands: Saino No Aru Te: A Novel by Kenneth Fenter

 Gifted Hands: Saino No Aru Te: A Novel

by Kenneth Fenter

The novel, Gifted Hands: Sainoo No Aru Te, is an insightful exploration of Japanese cultural ways. Gifted Hands: Sainoo No Aru Te presents an endearing romance filled with mystery and intrigue; life, death, and romantic love, mixed with prejudice and deception. It is a love story between an American artist and Japanese musician.

Bend, OR – The author’s observations in Gifted Hands: Sainoo No Aru Te show that good and bad things happen as cultures mix in post war Japan.Characters carried forward from Kenneth Fenter’s previous novel, Pivotal Times: The Freshman Class are Keiko from Sasebo, Japan, now joining her veteran boyfriend Charlie, at an American teachers college, in 1956.They have family blessings to marry. Shortly, however, Keiko is called back to Japan to care for her injured father.She seems to have disappeared in the process. Charlie is distraught, and gives up on life until Keiko’s college friend, Carla, takes Charlie into her heart.

Twenty years later, married with children, Carla suddenly dies.Charlie is like a broken man.

Distraught and demoralized, Charlie sets out on the trip Carla and he had planned, hoping to cure his depression.Back in Japan for the first time since his army days, Charlie is nearly killed in a twist of fate that leads him back to Keiko.She was the love of his life twenty years previously.

Her gifted hands for music have brought her fame.Her soul and Charlie’s reunite.But, veiled in fear, she must remain in hiding.Charlie must avoid leading probing Nagasaki mobsters to her.

Reports of women being kidnapped and sold into prostitution add to the fear.Also, Charlie and Keiko are counseled to leave Japan in order to escape harm from Keiko’s vengeful mother.

The novel’s title, Gifted Hands: Sainoo No Aru Te is derived from a poem by the character Haraguchi (Pancho).He writes about an artist like Charlie, and a musician like Keiko, who were separated by an ocean then brought back together, walking through life hand in hand. Actual Japanese words and pronunciations are interspersed for a realistic effect.The author details his actual observations in Japan including styles of dress, arts, foods, architecture, holiday celebrations, and ways of thinking, in the newly released novel, Gifted Hands: Sainoo No Aru Te.

About the Author: 

 

In 1977, Kenneth Fenter and his wife Lora, left teaching positions in Springfield, Oregon to teach English at Chinzei Junior College in Isahaya, near Nagasaki, Kyushu, Japan. Author Kenneth Fenter chronicled their five years in Japan with the three nonfiction book series, An American Family in Japan. For twenty-eight years Mr. Fenter taught English, journalism, and creative writing classes at Springfield High School. Gifted Hands: Sainoo No Aru Te is Kenneth Fenter’s fourth novel featuring the main character Charlie Kelly. To read more about Kenneth Fenter visit his website at arborwoodpress.blogspot.com.

My Thoughts:

More than just a beautiful love story. Gifted Hands is a cultural experience for the senses.

The year is 1956, Charlie Kelly an american and his girlfriend Keiko originally from Sasebo, Japan are both attending Western State College in Gunnison Colorado. Looking forward to marriage and a future life together, their happiness is soon cut short when Keiko receives a disturbing telegram from her mother in Japan. Her father a fisherman by trade has been seriously injured in a boating accident and Keiko’s mother is asking her to come home. Although Keiko has a gut feeling she will not be returning to america, she fulfills her obligation by returning to her country to help her mother care for her father. For weeks Charlie’s letters to Keiko go unanswered, leaving him deeply depressed, wanting to quite school and leave it all behind. While in Colorado, unbeknownst to Charlie, Keiko also has feelings of abandonment as her letters to him also go unanswered. Why is this happening? Who has come between this couple to separate them and their love?

Gifted Hands is more than a sweet love story between an American and a Japanese. In Gifted Hands you get to explore the Japanese culture through the travels of Charlie Kelly, while learning about the cultural differences between Japan and America. These cultural differences which seem like a double-edged sword, when you learn how they may have led to the destruction of Charlie and Keiko’s relationship. Or have they?  

This 21 year journey takes the reader from Colorado to Japan,where Charlie struggles with language barriers, yet still manages savior-faire and making  some friends along the way. The author enlightens with the Japanese language while the reader gets to learn the behavior, mannerisms and traditions of the Japanese culture as they are taken through a Japanese bath house, a traditional Geisha restaurant, and a Japanese consulate, just to name a few. While you also get to hang out with other foreigners at the Kokusai International Center where foreigners living and teaching in Japan come together to speak english, partake in potlucks and share their stories. 

This novel includes a touch of suspense, mystery and at times I found myself in a long-awaited anticipation when it comes to the relationship of Charlie and Keiko. Twists and turns left me wondering what might happen in the next chapter. Will Charlie find his lost love? How will his grown children react? Many lessons are also taught, friendships are very important, love and forgiveness even more so. Also unique experiences and lessons having to do with loss are presented in this book. One important one teaches the readers that sometimes we need to open our hearts and allow others to help us in overcoming our loss or grief. With the help of others one can overcome our desperation, despondency or desolation to help us move forward and find happiness again after a misfortune or tragedy.

The depictions presented in this story are well researched and one gets the sense from the beginning that the author Fenter has had experience with the Japanese culture. I found the information on Christianity in the Japanese culture quite interesting and an eye-opening experience. I also found Kenneth Fenter to be a great story-teller who in his creativity has weaved a great tale of love and passion that any reader whatever their background can easily read and enjoy.

Purchase a Copy:

Gifted Hands: Saino No Aru Te: A Novel by Kenneth Fenter is available for purchase in a softcopy and kindle format on amazon.com (Kindle).

No compensation was received for this post. A complimentary copy of Gifted Hands was received and any opinions expressed above are solely my own. A thank you goes out to Create A Space and Kenneth Fenter for sharing this opportunity.

Comments

comments