Novel Synopsis

Published in 2021 by Black Rose Writing, Two Nails, One Love opens in New York City with the narrator—Ethan Taniguchi, a Japanese-American gay man in his early 40s—awaiting the arrival of his mother from Hawaii. The two have been estranged for more than ten years, and the reunion is fraught with past grievances bubbling to the surface. After a fateful ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty, Ethan’s mother reluctantly reveals details of her shattered childhood—her family’s imprisonment in a concentration camp in Arkansas in World War II, followed by a deportation to Japan, where she witnesses the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Ethan’s past is also revealed—painful memories of a forsaken career in music and a delayed coming out at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Eventually, both mother and son come to understand the complex and subtle ways that their lives are intertwined, with the past reverberating powerfully through the present. ​ (Cover art: Jana Brenning.)

About the author

I’ve worked for more than 30 years in the publishing industry. Throughout that time, I’ve been a staff writer/editor at the Harvard Business Review, the MIT Sloan Management Review, Scientific American, and several other magazines. Now, though, I’ve turned my focus to writing fiction. A short story of mine—”Finding the Right Keiko“—was recently published in The Baltimore Review (Winter 2021), and my first novel—Two Nails, One Love—was published in 2021 by Black Rose Writing. I’m stoked to be starting this new chapter in my life!

Thursday, September 7, 2023
6pm

Join us on a beautiful Thursday evening as Alden Hayashi comes to Little Tokyo to discuss Two Nails, One Love!

We are excited to be in conversation with Alden on his deeply personal journey writing his first novel.

Menu
Agedashi Tofu
Chilled Summer Udon
K&K Ranch Seasonal Fruit

Ticket price includes meal and author honorarium.