"Daikon" | Reviewed by William Winkler

It is late summer, 1945. On the south Pacific island of Tinian the newly formed 509^th bomb group were preparing to deliver a new weapon against mainland Japan. Only a select few were aware of the nature of the weapon, known to most as “The Gadget.” The first attempt to deliver the weapon ended in failure when the B-29 carrying it was brought down by a Japanese fighter. This is the first chapter of Samuel Hawley’s novel “Daikon.”

  “Daikon” details how the weapon, the first atomic bomb, falls into Japanese hands, and their attempts to understand its nature and whether it might be used against its creator. The premise upon which Hawley’s story hangs is that the Americans built not two (“Fat Man” and “Little Boy”) but three atomic bombs, the first of which was aboard the doomed (fictional) B-29 “Wicked Intent.”

In a separate but intertwined arc, Hawley tells the story of Dr. Keizo Kan, a physicist assigned to research the development of a Japanese nuclear weapon, and his wife Noriko, a broadcaster of propaganda aimed at American forces in the Pacific Theater.

Toward the end of the war in the Pacific Japanese leaders, both Imperial and military, were embroiled in a power struggle over the Potsdam Declaration, which dictated the terms of a total Japanese surrender. Both factions were aware that Japan was certainly going to lose the war. The hard liners insisted that Japan resist up until its dying breath to save the honor of the nation, understanding that such resistance would cost hundreds of thousands if not millions of lives, both Japanese and American. To avoid the destruction of the nation the capitulationists argued that a negotiated surrender would allow for a preservation of Japanese culture and heritage.

Keizo and Noriko’s separation and attempts at reunion are the result of a government not only at war with a foreign adversary but also between factions within itself.

The novel’s strength derives from both skillful storytelling and well-researched foundational work. The acknowledgment section of many novels is drier than unbuttered toast, but Hawley’s acknowledgments add fascinating historical background to the book and are well worth a few extra minutes of the reader’s time.

Buy the book.