The Kamikaze

Book excerpt: Life is like music. Music is like being alive. It has all the stations of life. Music makes us fall in love, shed tears, laugh, and it can also make us want to die, depending on the mood. A world without music would be lifeless. If I had to choose between death and life, for sure I would choose life. No matter how dangerous it can be, I would want to live. Sunday, March 4th, 1945. I am now writing at any time I want. It keeps my mind busy. Now I play my biwa at any time too. I’m always aware when I hear the American warplanes flying over my island. I spend my nighttime hours sitting by the water, fishing for my next meal. The sea air brings echoes from the nearby American naval base; its inhabitants are having a happy time. I see the large flames dancing up to the sky, the men’s silhouettes brightened in a hot orange colour moving around the wood fire, the sound of broken glasses, and the shouts of drunken men. I’m here all alone just looking at them, my heart aching with nostalgia of not having a friend by my side. Or anybody. High school senior Ryan Wilsoms is tired of his mundane life. He complains about his circumstances, manipulates others for his benefit, and does not appreciate his family. When he hears an exciting WWII legend about a Japanese kamikaze who was said to be stranded on Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, he is sure the tale is true, and that it is his destiny to learn more about this young man’s life. Soon, Ryan and his friend Diego embark on an adventure to the Galapagos Islands to prove the soldier’s existence. Along the way they encounter many difficulties, but they also find extraordinary kindness in ordinary people. Just when they are about to give up, they make a discovery in a cave that changes Ryan’s life forever—a journal belonging to the ghost they have been following, Hiro Akiyama. Back at home in Canada, Ryan seeks help translating the diary. As he learns more about Hiro, whose life mirrors his own, Ryan goes on an unexpected journey of self-realization and growth, thanks to the authentic words and hardships of a young soldier from many years ago.