Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel

by Jamie Ford

4.5 (16,377)

4.5 stars from 16,377 reviews. One of the highest rated Literary Fiction books we track.

369 pages~6.2 hr readPublished by Ballantine BooksPublished 2009-01-27

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Last checked: May 3, 2026

Price history: $1.99 $14.99

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Perfect for you if...

  • You're drawn to quiet, character-driven stories that explore how ordinary people navigate impossible historical moments.
  • You care deeply about Asian American voices and stories about communities affected by wartime displacement.
  • You love novels that weave together multiple timelines to show how the past shapes who we become.

Maybe not for you if...

  • You prefer fast-paced plots with high stakes and dramatic confrontations over introspection and slow revelation.
  • You're looking for a sweeping romance novel with explicit emotional fireworks rather than restrained, bittersweet longing.
  • You want straightforward narrative structure and find dual timelines or frequent flashbacks frustrating.

About this book

In 1986, Henry Lee encounters a crowd outside the Panama Hotel in Seattle's Japantown, which has been closed for decades. The new owner has discovered belongings left behind by Japanese families sent to internment camps during World War II. As artifacts are displayed, Henry, a Chinese American, recalls a young Japanese American girl named Keiko Okabe from his childhood in the 1940s. The two shared a bond of friendship and innocent love that crossed the prejudices of their families' older generations. When Keiko and her family were evacuated to internment camps, she and Henry could only hope their promise to each other would endure. Forty years later, Henry searches the hotel's basement for the Okabe family's belongings and a long-lost object of immeasurable personal value. His search becomes a journey to revisit the sacrifices he has made for family, love, and country.

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Price History

Kindle price over time. Green zones = periods when the book was free.

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Free$7.50$14.99Apr '20Jun '23Apr '24May '26
$1.99$14.99

Currently on sale at $1.99 — 87% off peak. Price has dropped 20 times over the last 6 years. Goes on sale roughly every 80 days. Typically stays discounted for 93 days.

Sales Rank

Amazon sales rank: lower number = better selling book. #1 is the bestseller.

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#328#47,817#95,306Apr '18Apr '23Jan '24Apr '26

Currently around #21K in the Kindle store — a steady mid-list seller. Climbing the charts — 42% improvement recently.

Rating & Reviews

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4.0★4.5★5.0★May '23Nov '23May '24Jan '26RatingReviews

Currently 4.5★ from 16,377 reviews

Gaining approximately 71 new reviews per month. Steady word of mouth growth. Rating has remained stable at 4.5 over the tracking period.

Sale Prediction

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Free$7.50$14.99Apr '20Jun '23Apr '24May '26PredictedMay '26

Actual Predicted

This book is currently discounted at $1.99. It typically returns to around $14.99.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.

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Jamie Ford

1 book on Vagrant Press

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