Featured Review: The Water Trade by Rob Smith

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MrsCatInTheHat
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Featured Review: The Water Trade by Rob Smith

Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Water Trade" by Rob Smith.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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Love, war, mystery, history, spies, lies and more fill the pages of Rob Smith’s The Water Trade. Smith’s writing enraptured me, making it difficult at times to stop and take notes as I was reading. The Water Trade held my interest from beginning to end.

Smith starts out by giving the reader background information about Japan’s water trade. He shares how it started in the 5th century in Japan, beginning as informal arrangements of “entertainment” by females for males, and how it evolved into the more formal geisha system of “entertainment” by the 17th century. Sex and sensuality are implied at times, but the word “entertainment” is how the author explains the system. This is just the beginning of the details Smith gives us throughout the story. The Water Trade is a work of fiction, loosely based on a true story, which primarily takes place during World War 2 in Hawaii and the decade afterwards.

The story starts in Japan, in the early 1900s, with the birth of two children about a decade apart, unknown to each other but who share a common, mysterious, teacher, Mrs. Zwagers. Arashi becomes an ensign in the Japanese Navy and then eventually a spy for Japan, in Hawaii at the beginning of WW2. Miyuki eventually makes her way to Hawaii in 1941. Arashi eventually encounters Miyuki at the teahouse, where geishas entertain Japanese men. Miyuki is a bookkeeper at the teahouse. Around the same time, Miyuki meets an American sailor, Smitty, whom she quickly becomes attached to, despite fighting the desire. As their lives intertwine, we realize people are not always who we think they are, and that minor characters are more important than we recognized. Watching Arashi, Smitty and Miyuki interact in the months, weeks and days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is intriguing and spell binding. The results of the attack on the characters are not what we expect. The story follows the characters into their new post-war lives.

Eventually, they all make their way back to Hawaii in the early 1950’s for a mind-blowing end to their stories. To go any further with the story would spoil it for the reader but I can tell you that it involves Mrs. Zwagers and a cab driver! Nothing is as it seems. The mysteries reveal themselves in unexpected ways; very little of what this reader predicted was right. For me, that was the best part of the book, as a predictable book is nowhere near as interesting as one that makes me continue to wonder as I did in The Water Trade.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The Water Trade warrants such a high rating due to continual intrigue, excellent historical background and overall excellent story line. If you enjoy the WW2 era and a well-written story that is different from the rest, than you will enjoy this book.

******
The Water Trade
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Post by ashnance »

Great review! This sounds like a wonderful story - there's nothing better than a book that keeps you guessing! I'll definitely be adding this book to my list.
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Post by barb429 »

Sounds like a very interesting book! I don't know anything about this subject, so I think that this would be very informative as well as entertaining. Thanks for such a great review!
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Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

barb429 wrote:Sounds like a very interesting book! I don't know anything about this subject, so I think that this would be very informative as well as entertaining. Thanks for such a great review!
Although not an expert on WWII, I found the facts to be accurate from what I do know. And I looked up a few of them while reading and found them to be accurate as well.
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Post by SpiderDreamer1 »

This sounds pretty interesting! I might check it out at some point, but this kind of thing has always been intriguing to me. Well thought-out review too.
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Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

ashnance wrote:Great review! This sounds like a wonderful story - there's nothing better than a book that keeps you guessing! I'll definitely be adding this book to my list.

I love to be kept guessing!

-- 08 Aug 2016, 12:03 --
SpiderDreamer1 wrote:This sounds pretty interesting! I might check it out at some point, but this kind of thing has always been intriguing to me. Well thought-out review too.
This is one of the most intriguing books based on this historical event and period that I've read. Since the subject interests you, I'm betting you'll like it too.
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Post by ashnance »

Do you have any advice on where to find this book? I'd love to read it, but can't find it on Goodreads or Amazon. Is it just not out to the general public yet?
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Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

ashnance wrote:Do you have any advice on where to find this book? I'd love to read it, but can't find it on Goodreads or Amazon. Is it just not out to the general public yet?
I'm not aware if it's out for the general public or not yet. I was given it to do an official review for OnlineBookClub.org. It was really good so I hope you can find it before too long. And then come back here and share what you thought!
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Post by Clifora »

I'm not really into historical fiction, but your review of the book really did spark my interest in historical fiction. Thank you for the great review!
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Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

Clifora wrote:I'm not really into historical fiction, but your review of the book really did spark my interest in historical fiction. Thank you for the great review!
Thank you, often historical fiction sparks an overall interest in an historic time period for me. I end up researching other aspects of the time period as well as checking out how well the author represented the time period.
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Post by Jacque33 »

Great review. I'm with Clifora, and not a huge fan of historical fiction, but this seems like it's not too far in the past for me. Thanks for the intriguing review.
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Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

Jacque33 wrote:Great review. I'm with Clifora, and not a huge fan of historical fiction, but this seems like it's not too far in the past for me. Thanks for the intriguing review.
I had a hard time classifying World War Two novels as historical fiction but then I starting doing some counting. The war ended 71 years ago. I can't really call that contemporary and it makes it easier to view it as historical.
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Post by zero_macabre »

Sounds like an intriguing book. Thanks for the detailed review!
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Post by Joyful »

Great review. Sounds like an interesting story. Although not my cup of tea, I would recommend it based on the review.
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Post by Sweet Angel »

Great review. I like read historical event and reading about World War 2. Looking forward to reading this book.
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