<Tr> <Th> OCLC </Th> <Td> 43458776 </Td> </Tr> <P> Snow Falling on Cedars is a 1994 award - winning novel written by American writer David Guterson . Guterson, who was a teacher at the time, wrote the book in the early morning hours over a ten - year period . Because of the success of the novel, however, he quit his job and began to write full - time . </P> <P> Set on the fictional San Piedro Island in the northern Puget Sound region of the state of Washington coast in 1954, the plot revolves around a murder case in which Kabuo Miyamoto, a Japanese American, is accused of killing Carl Heine, a respected fisherman in the close - knit community . Much of the story is told in flashbacks explaining the interaction of the various characters over the prior decades . Carl's body had been pulled from the sea, trapped in his own net, on September 16, 1954 . His water - damaged watch had stopped at 1: 47 . The trial, held in December 1954 during a snowstorm that grips the entire island, occurs in the midst of deep anti-Japanese sentiments following World War II . Covering the case is the editor of the town's one - man newspaper, the San Piedro Review, Ishmael Chambers, a World War II US Marine Corps veteran who lost an arm fighting the Japanese at the Battle of Tarawa . Torn by a sense of hatred for the Japanese, Chambers struggles with his love for Kabuo's wife, Hatsue, and his conscience, wondering if Kabuo is truly innocent . Through extended flashbacks, the reader learns that Ishmael had fallen in love with Hatsue when the two attended high school together right before the war . They had been secretly dating at this time and lost their virginity to each other . </P> <P> Spearheading the prosecution are the town's sheriff, Art Moran, and prosecutor, Alvin Hooks . Leading the defense is the old, experienced Nels Gudmondsson . Several witnesses, including Etta Heine, Carl's mother, accuse Kabuo of murdering Carl for racial and personal reasons . Kabuo Miyamoto (a decorated war veteran of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team), experienced prejudice because of his ancestry, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . </P>

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