A chained Satan Book

There is a house in San Francisco that is home to four generations of mothers and daughters. Its story begins with Reiko, who spends much of her youth watching the ships enter San Francisco Bay, hoping one will bring her mother, whom she has never known, from Japan. The generations of mothers and daughters that follow carry love and hate, understanding and misunderstanding, closeness and distance. These conflicts could occur in most any family. Even though the pace is slow, our interest follows willingly the inner turbulence each woman feels. Each indulges in deep introspection--perhaps too much--and we may or may not identify with her anxieties. Near the story's end, the youngest daughter has "escaped" to Japan, eventually to return.

I found the ending a downer because I didn't recognize any resolution to the anxieties and introspections. It could be that I missed something because I would not have made the same choices these women made in their quest for fulfillment. That said, those who can identify with the book's heroines can savor the richness of a well-told story.