shansbookjournal's review
5.0
4.5, rounded up. An important topic and perspective told with a unique writing style that I thought worked and was interesting
naeunida's review
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mamalemma's review
5.0
Outstanding, quick read on a nameless Japanese American family interned during WWII, one of the most shameful acts in US history.
I was really struck by a passage in the book about how much worse it has been for “others” in our country than now. In the book, a mother and her two children are being moved by train to a Utah desert camp. The 11 year old daughter is looking out a window at a town, where families are walking home from church, children are playing, and a couple is riding bicycles across a bridge. A soldier comes into the car and asks that the shades be drawn. “Ugh,” I thought. “How awful that the government wanted to hide their shameful act from ordinary citizens.” In the next paragraph, the girl complies with the order and says that it’s for the best, as the last time they went through a city with the shades open, a brick was thrown through the window at them. My 2018 sensibility was shocked: the government wasn’t trying to hide their shame, but actually protect the evacuee/prisoners FROM the ordinary citizens. The current US policy and rhetoric is appalling, but I am comforted that this type of behavior would never fly now. There is hope for us after all.
I was really struck by a passage in the book about how much worse it has been for “others” in our country than now. In the book, a mother and her two children are being moved by train to a Utah desert camp. The 11 year old daughter is looking out a window at a town, where families are walking home from church, children are playing, and a couple is riding bicycles across a bridge. A soldier comes into the car and asks that the shades be drawn. “Ugh,” I thought. “How awful that the government wanted to hide their shameful act from ordinary citizens.” In the next paragraph, the girl complies with the order and says that it’s for the best, as the last time they went through a city with the shades open, a brick was thrown through the window at them. My 2018 sensibility was shocked: the government wasn’t trying to hide their shame, but actually protect the evacuee/prisoners FROM the ordinary citizens. The current US policy and rhetoric is appalling, but I am comforted that this type of behavior would never fly now. There is hope for us after all.
kimba13's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
longhornletters's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I like that the nameless characters allow them to rise to the level of archetype instead of sink to the level of stereotype.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
theinkwyrm's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written, but I think that someone who isn't aware of the Japanese internment camps in the US during WW2 might end up getting a little lost. I thought it was lovely in its descriptiveness and how character-focused it was. However, it was so short that I never felt particularly attached to any of the characters. That and the distance they are experiencing from each other due to the trauma of their displacement makes it feel like they aren't even particularly attached to each other (even though I know they are). There's just a lot of distance going on in this novel that's hard to overcome even though we know what's going on in the characters' heads.
kerickertful's review against another edition
5.0
Heartbreaking. Otsuka is a phenomenal writer. She distills complex thoughts and feelings so precisely.