When Mikan Road Was Ours: one man's journey into his family's past and reshaping his future

When Mikan Road Was Ours by D.K. Furutani is a story of four generations of a Japanese American family as they experienced the California agricultural fields, the bittersweet of inheritance and what it means to belong. Mr. Murano is a reclusive high school English teacher who is just exiting through life. Still reeling from his father’s sudden death and his own cancer diagnosis, he goes to work, comes home, grades papers and tries to appease disgruntled parents. However, his routine is broken when he inherits his great-uncle’s unpublished memoir. He is transported to 1930s California as the Murano family works their farm. Mr. Murano discovers family members he never knew and the complexities of the past in the words of someone who lived it. From the California farms to the concentration camps of World War II and beyond, Mr. Murano discovers the truth of his ancestors and even himself. 

When Mikan Road Was Ours is the debut novel of D.K. Furutani and it was engaging. It is rare to find a new historical fiction which featured the Japanese-American experience in America. It is beautifully written; however, I struggled with this story as it is an uncomfortable and extremely sad time period in American history. However, it is a story of resilience. It is a story of strength. It is a story of a man who finally finds the connection to his Japanese heritage that he has been desperate for and lacked in his life. The story is separated by Mr Murano’s present life as he reads the memoir and the memoir himself. And readers do not learn Mr Murano’s first name. He is only acknowledged as Murano or Mr Murano the entire story. Overall, it is a hard story to read but very important. I recommend When Mikan Road Was Ours. 

When Mikan Road Was Ours is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook