Nisei: A Novel

Robert Takahashi sits in his mother's empty attic in Hawaii, facing financial ruin from nursing home costs and gambling debts. He plans to end his life once his affairs are settled, believing his wife has abandoned him and his daughters see him only as an embarrassment. He barely knew his father and knows little of his parents' past. While clearing the house for sale, Robert discovers a manuscript hidden under an eave, along with ten US military medals. As he reads his father's account, he learns about a Japanese boy born in Hawaii whose life was disrupted by internment, and a young Nisei who served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team to demonstrate his patriotism. The manuscript also reveals a forbidden love from the past and how prejudice shaped his father's life. Through his father's words, Robert uncovers family secrets spanning two generations of men confronting both external circumstances and internal struggles.