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The Yellow Bar: The Basics

The Yellow Bar, by John Falch, is a novel of historical fiction describing the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, during WW2. The reader follows the story mostly from the perspective of Pepot, the youngest son of a rural family who has to deal with the repercussions of the military occupation. Obviously enough, some events and personal stories are fictionalized, but the general context is accurate.

The plot starts a few years before the invasion, describing how Pepot’s family managed to escape poverty by selling food and drinks to people passing by their house. Then it proceeds to show how their “rural middle class” (in lieu of a better word) dream shattered. The invaders occupied not only their country but also their house, forcing them to become servants. It’s a story of surviving, waiting, and hoping.

Blood Stained Tea, by Amy Tasukada, is the first novel of a series called “The Yakuza Path”. As the name implies, the plot of Blood Stained Tea unfolds in modern-day Japan (Kyoto, to be precise). The local Yakuza syndicate, the traditional Japanese organized crime, struggles to maintain control of the city, as a competitor group of Koreans attempt a takeover. Nao, a young tea merchant and a former (sort of) member of the Yakuza, tries to balance between his family loyalty and his feelings for Saehyun, a prominent member of the competitor gang.