W.W. Norton 304 pp
Hardcover, October 1998 isbn 0-393-04673-7

A Japanese-American farmer's tribute to family, farm and community.

Epitaph for a Peach - David Mas Masumoto's successful and critically acclaimed first book - grew out of his attempt to save his orchard of old-fashioned juicy peaches from replacement by a more commercially viable brand. His glorious new book, Harvest Son, is about taking over and renewing the family farm.

In prose of zen-like calm and clarity, Masumoto relates how he learned to prune vines and survive a storm; to value the knowledge of old farmers and the rusty tool forgotten in the shed; and to take on a leadership role in his Buddhist community. He also shares life vividly in the present: how it feels to really sweat while you work; the way dust cakes on your neck when you're driving a tractor; the pleasure of rinsing off under a cold faucet; a grandmother's joy at hearing that her grandson will visit her birthplace; the way grapes are dried into raisins; and the way a family works together in the fields.

Masumoto celebrates the continuity in which he harvest grapes from the vines that his grandfather planted. He also mourns the losses suffered during the Japanese-American internment before he was born. But by knitting together part and future, he holds on to what matters, despite the pressures of change.

David Mas Masumoto lives with his wife and two children on their farm in Del Rey, California.

(from W.W. Norton 1998 Catalogue)