A Dictionary Of Mutual Understanding Jackie Copleton by Jackie Copleton 9780099592471, 0099592479, B072M35CD1 instant download after payment.

"This impressively layered first novel never strains credulity as it explores grief and guilt amid revelations of long-buried familial secrets, destructive love affairs and more."  -  The New York Times

Amaterasu Takahashi has spent her life grieving for her daughter Yuko and grandson Hideo, who were victims of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945.  Now a widow living in America, she believes that one man was responsible for her loss; a local doctor who caused an irreparable rift between mother and daughter.

When a man claiming to be Hideo arrives on her doorstep, she is forced to revisit the past; the hurt and humiliation of her early life, the intoxication of a first romance and the realisation that if she had loved her daughter in a different way, she might still be alive today.

“Copleton’s deeply moving novel offers both mesmerizing storytelling and a thoughtful probe of difficult questions about love, trust and forgiveness. Gripping, convincing and heartbreaking, though ultimately hopeful, this is an accomplished debut.”  –  Cleveland Plain Dealer

Set against the dramatic backdrop of Nagasaki before and after the bomb, A Dictionary Of Mutual Understanding is about regret, forgiveness and the exquisite pain of love.