Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews April 4, 2023 March 28, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
Franklin Hata, affectionately known as Doc Hata, is the protagonist and narrator of A Gesture Life. In the novel’s present time, Doc Hata enjoys a reputation as a model citizen in the upper-middle-class town of Bedley Run, located to the north of New York City in affluent Westchester County. When he left Japan for the United States thirty years ago, Doc Hata chose to settle in Bedley Run because the town had just started to develop and he believed he could make a meaningful contribution to local commerce and society. He established a successful medical supply store and later purchased property in a posh neighborhood. He spent many years meticulously restoring the house and landscaping the grounds, and now the Tudor-style home stands out as the most beautiful property on the street. Doc Hata takes great pride the efforts he made to improve his home as well as his social standing. He has a friendly and polite attitude toward everyone in Bedley Run, and he has frequently used his social influence to benefit others. Now in his seventies and retired, Doc Hata takes refuge in his daily rituals.
Yet in spite of his material and social successes, Doc Hata looks back on his life and wonders who he really is. As he grows older and watches his store go out of business under new owners, Doc Hata begins to sense just how fragile his legacy is. He reflects on how others have accused him of relying on politeness too much in order to gain the approval of others, and these reflections allow other memories of pivotal moments from his past to flood into his present. In particular, he recalls his various failures to develop meaningful, lasting relationships with women. For example, he remembers his failure to help a Korean woman named K when he was an officer in the Japanese army. He also remembers his failure to develop a lasting intimate relationship with an American woman named Mary Burns. Finally, he remembers the traumatic events that caused a lasting riff between himself and his adopted daughter, Sunny. As he comes to understand that he has never taken decisive action when it really mattered, Doc Hata resolves to repair his relationship with Sunny and help her care for her son, Tommy. However, he fears he may simply bring them more harm than good.
Please wait while we process your payment