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Show 78 appallingly ignorant. In all her nights at the club she had not heard a single truthful observation about what she know bast. The GIs discussed tha "gooks" endlessly, but with a contempt running from good-natured irony to deep hatred. Usually they talked on surface matters -- ths inadequacy of plumbing or diet - with the assumption that unless it was American it wasn't good. Against such ignorance how could she hope, even if she had the opportunity, to point out the vast clarion-roll of Japansse paintsrs, poets, playwrights, novelists, thinkers, much lass the turbulant beauty of their history? And the nisai werB as ignorant as ths rsst. Was shs to spend the rsst of her lifa among these people? If she married this thoughtful, sturdy American, whose love had crept in without her noticing, she would have to leave Japan. He could not stay here even if he would. And at that thought she quailed; if ths forcss that pulled them together had not bean strong she would have turned him away. But they ware strong. She could no more return to her Barliar life than he to his. Each evening when she went home, slid the door opan, stepped up onto the mats, she had to force asida a small sickening wave of despair. Her mother was asleap, ths fine thin face turned to the wall, and Kimiko undressed and crept under the bedclothing (which had been carefully made out) knowing that tomorrow had no more to offer than today - a jangling contrast between Japan's desperate plight and the GIs' raucous vulgarity. Until Koontz came along she had, each night, screwed her courage to the sticking-point, wondering how long she |