Fifty Words for Rain (2020), by Asha Lemmie, is a historical novel that is set in post-World War II Japan. The story follows Nori Kamiza, the illegitimate child of an aristocratic Japanese mother and a Black American soldier. She struggles with her identity and the societal rejection she faces for her multiracial heritage. Raised by her rigid maternal grandparents, Nori has a close but complex relationship with her half-brother Akira, a violin prodigy. Nori’s journey will lead her far beyond the narrow confines of her grandparents’ estate and redefine her concepts of self, family, and womanhood. Fifty Words for Rain was Asha Lemmie’s debut novel. It was a New York Times bestseller and a Good Morning America Book Club pick.

This guide references the Dutton/Penguin Random House 2020 edition of the novel.

Content Warning: The novel depicts instances of colorism, racism, and related prejudices. It depicts physical abuse, sexual assault, and child trafficking. It also depicts self-harm, death by suicide, a violent death in a car accident, and the death of a baby.

Plot Summary

Shortly after the end of World War II, eight-year-old Nori Kamiza is abandoned by her mother, Seiko, at Nori’s maternal grandparents’ Kyoto estate. Seiko descends from Japanese aristocracy, and she became pregnant with Nori when she had an affair with a Black American soldier. Nori’s grandparents are ashamed that Nori was born out of wedlock and treat her cruelly; they hide her in the attic and attempt to whiten her skin with painful bleaching treatments.

When Nori is 10 years old, she meets her 15-year-old half-brother, Akira, who is Seiko’s legitimate son. Akira is the official Kamiza family heir. He moves to Kyoto from Tokyo, but he finds the old-world traditions of his grandparents oppressive. Akira gradually warms up to Nori, and fights their grandmother, Yuko, on Nori’s behalf. He is a musical prodigy and teaches Nori to play the violin. Yuko does not approve of the siblings’ close relationship. When Akira returns to school, Yuko secretly sends Nori away to a brothel. Akira is furious when he finds out.

Nori, now 11, is spared actual sex work at the brothel. Her education and high status allow her to remain a musical performer, and she plays the violin for the male clientele. When Nori is 13, she is sold to a mysterious patron and sent to Tokyo. Determined to escape a fate of sexual slavery, Nori attempts suicide at her patron’s estate. She is saved just in time and discovers that her “patron” is actually Akira, who has been searching for her for all this time.

Akira arranges a meeting with their grandparents, which Nori begs to attend. Akira negotiates a deal with Yuko: He says the siblings will have safety and freedom until Akira turns 21, when he will transition into his role as the Kamiza heir. Nori will continue to live with him. Nori declares her allegiance to Akira, prompting their grandfather to attack her. Akira saves Nori, but the negotiations end abruptly. Nori learns that her existence is a legal secret, precluding her from school or travel abroad. Akira has official documents forged for her, just in case.

Akira travels to Europe to study the violin. While he is gone, Ayame, a trusted housekeeper at the Tokyo estate, gives Seiko’s diaries to Nori. Nori learns about her mother’s past: Seiko’s dreams of playing the piano, her heartbroken return to Japan from Paris, and her unhappy arranged marriage to Akira’s father.

When Akira returns from Europe, he brings British friends with him: Will and Alice Stafford, who are cousins. Nori and Alice become fast friends. Will flirts with Nori, though she is not interested. He rapes her on her 14th birthday; Nori keeps this a secret, but she is increasingly distressed by him.

After Will and Alice leave, Nori and Akira encounter a businessman who invites Akira to perform at his annual Christmas concert; Akira declines since he has other travel plans, but he suggests that Nori perform instead. On the eve of the concert, Nori is delightedly surprised when Akira arrives to accompany her as her pianist. It is his 21st birthday. The concert is a success, but as Nori and Akira leave the event, their car crashes. Nori is gravely injured and Akira dies. Yuko blames Nori for Akira’s death and exiles her from Japan.

Nori drifts through Europe, and seven years pass. When she is 23, she attends a concert in Paris that Will is in. He discovers her in the audience and tells Alice, who is now 26, married, and expecting her third child. Alice is delighted to be reunited with her friend and Nori moves in with her in London. Alice hires a piano teacher, Noah, for her daughters, and over time, Noah and Nori fall in love.

The following year, Nori and Noah begin to plan their wedding. Then, Nori receives a letter informing her of Yuko’s death and naming Nori the sole heir to the estate. Nori doesn’t want to return to Japan but hopes that by doing so, she can finally end things with her family. However, when she arrives in Kyoto, she learns the letter was a trick: Yuko is dying but not dead. Nori is furious, especially when she learns that the car accident that killed Akira was engineered by her grandfather. Yuko tells her it was meant to kill Nori, not Akira. Now, Yuko wants Nori to cut ties with her friends in London and focus on her political and aristocratic duties as heir to the Kamiza estate.

At first, Nori wants to leave immediately. However, she learns that she is pregnant with Noah’s child. This discovery pushes her to accept the mantle of Kamiza heir since she wants to change the family for the better. She breaks off her engagement with Noah and gives birth to a son. At the end of the novel, Nori is determined to be a powerful, canny matriarch of the Kamiza clan.