amgee017's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
sidneyparish's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
mandasachs's review against another edition
3.0
It was ok. Quick read but by the end of the book I was over it.
christineandbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
abitbetterbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
It feels difficult to describe and rate a book that feels both deeply personal and also impossibly foreign. My own grandparents were interned in camps during WWII in Canada, and I am always searching for stories that can help me make some sense of that experience. After having read The Swimmers, also by Julie Otsuka, I really wanted something that dealt with the subject more directly and not just alluded to. When the Emperor Was Divine definitely fit that bill.
The American- and Canadian- Japanese experience was different, of course, but there were many similarities and notes that made it feel like a gut punch and also a ghost. I’m not exactly sure how else to describe it. I think the telling of a lot of this story through the eyes of children was a brilliant choice.
The American- and Canadian- Japanese experience was different, of course, but there were many similarities and notes that made it feel like a gut punch and also a ghost. I’m not exactly sure how else to describe it. I think the telling of a lot of this story through the eyes of children was a brilliant choice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, War, Confinement, and Racial slurs
Minor: Deportation
nguyenht22's review against another edition
3.0
A candid, lucid account of Japanese internment during World War II. The story appealed to me in many ways but perhaps it is the fact that there exist en masse victim literature of every major atrocity of human history that I have become numb, less sensible than I feel necessary for such tragedies.
ploganiv's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sharonus's review
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Racism, and War
shansbookjournal's review against another edition
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 against another edition
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