Daikon: A Novel

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War has taken everything from physicist Keizo Kan. His young daughter was killed in the Great Tokyo Air Raid, and now his Japanese-American wife, Noriko, has been imprisoned by the brutal Thought Police. An American bomber, downed over Japan on the first day of August 1945, offers the scientist a surprising chance at salvation. The Imperial Army dispatches him to examine an unusual device recovered from the planes wreckagea bomb containing uraniumand tells him that if he can unlock its mysteries, his wife will be released.

Working in secrecy under crushing pressure, Kan begins to disassemble the bomb and study its components. One of his assistants falls ill after mishandling the uranium, but his alarming deterioration, and Kans own symptoms, are ignored by the commanding officer demanding results. Desperate to stave off Japans surrender to the Allies, the army will stop at nothing to harness the weapons unimaginable power. They order Kan to prepare the bomb for manual detonation over a targeta suicide mission that will strike a devastating blow against the Americans. Kan is soon confronted with a series of agonizing decisions that will test his courage, his loyalty, and his very humanity.

An extraordinary debut novel that is the result of twenty-eight years of work by its author, Daikon is a gripping and powerfully moving saga that calls to mind such classics as Cold Mountain and From Here to Eternity. It is set amid the chaos and despair of the worlds third largest city lying in ruins, its population starving and its leadership under escalating assault from without and within. Here is a haunting epic of love, survival, and impossible choices that introduces a singular new voice on the literary landscape.

Reviews

Since 1945, there have been rumors that the U.S. military hauled at least three atomic bombs to Japan, one for Hiroshima and one for Nagasaki. What happened to the third The truth will never be known, but Samuel Hawley has crafted a breathtaking story of what might have been. Meticulously researched and beautifully written,Daikonis a riveting tale about war, intrigue, love, and perseverance.
John Grisham
In the opening pages ofDaikon, I knew I was in the hands of a skilled writer. ByDaikons end, I felt honored to share the same craft. Literature allows us to get out of our own skins and live other lives. ThroughDaikons characters, I inhabited the Japanese culture of 1945, immeasurably different from my own: obedience to authority ingrained through centuries; worship of a living god/man; accepting injustice without complaint; welcoming the terrifying duty and honor to sacrifice ones life for the group. I witnessed the final days of World War II through the eyes of a loving Japanese man and woman separated by war and state terrorism. I endured the firebombing of Tokyo, and I felt extreme hunger and abject fear as much as is humanly possible without the actual experience. And finally, I was nearly shattered by one mans willingness to sacrifice almost everything to save that which he most treasured. Throughout it all, I could not look away. This novel is storytelling at its finest.
Karl Marlantes, New York Timesbestselling author ofMatterhorn
Daikonis a gripping and fascinating work of historical fiction thats so convincing I felt like Id stumbled onto an extraordinary World War II documentary with indelible characters and haunting footage from a vantage Id never imagined.Daikonwill sweep you away.
Jess Walter, #1New York Timesbestselling author ofBeautiful Ruins
In Samuel Hawleys spellbinding debut novel, history and possibility collide. The result is a gripping, propulsive journey into the nuclear heart of what might have been. The year is 1945, and Japans defeat is at hand. But what iftheyhad the atomic bomb And what ifwe, by mistake, had given it to themDaikonponders whether whats best in humanity is found only in its darkest moments. And whether love can transcend death and war. The result is a breathtaking chain reaction that unleashes the true power of the novel.
Adam Johnson,New York Timesbestselling and Pulitzer Prize winning author ofThe Orphan Masters Son
Daikonis an exhilarating tale set amid the extraordinary devastation and despair of Japans last days in World War II. Carefully researched, thoroughly convincing, and utterly compelling. I loved this book, and you will love it too.
Arthur Golden,New York Timesbestselling author ofMemoirs of a Geisha

Author Bio

Samuel Hawley was born and raised in South Korea, the son of Canadian missionaries, and taught English in Korea and Japan for nearly two decades. He is the author of the nonfiction book The Imjin War, the most comprehensive account in English of Japans 16th-century invasion of Korea and attempted conquest of China. He currently lives in Istanbul, Turkey. Daikon is his debut novel.