THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE PEN/FAULKNER AWARD

'This is classic whodunnit territory but Guterson's fiercely intelligent and moving novel is far more than a murder mystery ... Guterson has written a novel about the human condition that marvellously combines tenderness and excitement' The Times

In 1954 a fisherman is found dead in the nets of his boat, and a local Japanese-American man is charged with his murder. In the course of his trial, it becomes clear that what is at stake is more than one man's guilt. For on San Piedro, memories grow as thickly as the cedar trees and the fields of ripe strawberries - memories of a charmed but forbidden love affair; of land desired, paid for, and lost. Above all, San Piedro is haunted by what happened to its Japanese residents during World War II, when an entire community was sent into exile while its neighbours watched.

'If Truman Capote, Arthur Miller, Harper Lee and John Grisham all washed up on a desert island together, they might well come up with something like this ... Guterson's majestic novel is an exquisite hybrid, weaving strains from both classic and populist American literature into a fruitful and gloriously original whole' Independent on Sunday

'A skilfully constructed, deeply affecting story of love and death' Sunday Times
'Compelling ... a flawlessly written first novel' New York Times