sophievigeant's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
theknitpick's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
madamenovelist's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
leiya_h's review against another edition
4.0
Insightful stories on the resilient of Japanese immigrants and their later generation lives in both US and Brazil.
jmiae's review against another edition
5.0
In a recent episode ('Seeing Ghosts' across Generations) of the amazing NPR podcast Code Switch, the host asks a first-generation Chinese-American writer if learning more of the Cantonese language has made her feel more comfortable with being Chinese-American. In a similar vein, on a recent visit to the fabulous Elliott Bay Book Company in Capitol Hill in Seattle, I noticed an abundance of books by Japanese authors that have been translated into English.
These are great things. I love, absolutely love, that different Asian experiences are getting more coverage in media and have a larger presence in well-respected bookshops. But it also frustrates me, because not all Asian experiences are of the first-generation type, and as a fourth-generation Japanese-American, it is an invaluable experience to read books like Sansei and Sensibility and to know that there are publications of writers who represent the Asian Americans who have been in this country for longer and have a different experience and a different perspective on being Asian in America. It's safe to say that, perhaps outside of Hawaii, there aren't many and certainly not many published by mainstream publishing houses (Sansei and Sensibility was published by Coffee House Press).
This is an important book to read and understand, not because you, dear reader, seek out books with Austenite sensibilities, although that's a fantastic reason in itself. It's important because it sheds light on the experiences of a generation that is, I'm afraid, being forgotten or overlooked, perhaps because it is less 'authentically' Japanese than books written about Japan by Japanese nationals, or perhaps because newer immigrant experiences are just more abundant. I personally own a disproportionate amount of books translated from Japanese or books written about post-modern Asian immigrant experiences (On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous has to be one of the most incredible pieces of fiction published this century).
This book is about my father's generation, sansei or third generation. My mother's too, technically, but she is from Hawaii and her family did not experience the trauma that my father's family did in the internment camps. The sansei are not only the generation that inherited the fallout of the trauma of WWII and the Japanese American concentration camps, but also the last generation that had to grapple with being visibly Japanese in the wider U.S., at least of the Japanese who first arrived after the Meiji Restoration. As Yamashita notes in one of the stories, many sansei (outside of Hawaii) did not marry other sansei, and so most yonsei (fourth generation) on the mainland are hapa. In a way, the sansei were the in-between generation, the bridge between the immigrant generations who had to navigate a new world and the accompanying political minefield, and the more comfortably American generations to follow.
This is an older story of Asian immigration to America, straight out of the history books, and it offers lessons on what it's like to be a minority group in America after several generations have passed. Read this not just to enjoy the innumerable nods to the one and only, the OG, Jane Austen. I hope that people read this to understand better what happens to your family history, your heritage and how you relate to it, your understanding of where your family came from and what they went through and how they were treated by this country, when you have been here not for one or two generations, but for three or four or five.
These are great things. I love, absolutely love, that different Asian experiences are getting more coverage in media and have a larger presence in well-respected bookshops. But it also frustrates me, because not all Asian experiences are of the first-generation type, and as a fourth-generation Japanese-American, it is an invaluable experience to read books like Sansei and Sensibility and to know that there are publications of writers who represent the Asian Americans who have been in this country for longer and have a different experience and a different perspective on being Asian in America. It's safe to say that, perhaps outside of Hawaii, there aren't many and certainly not many published by mainstream publishing houses (Sansei and Sensibility was published by Coffee House Press).
This is an important book to read and understand, not because you, dear reader, seek out books with Austenite sensibilities, although that's a fantastic reason in itself. It's important because it sheds light on the experiences of a generation that is, I'm afraid, being forgotten or overlooked, perhaps because it is less 'authentically' Japanese than books written about Japan by Japanese nationals, or perhaps because newer immigrant experiences are just more abundant. I personally own a disproportionate amount of books translated from Japanese or books written about post-modern Asian immigrant experiences (On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous has to be one of the most incredible pieces of fiction published this century).
This book is about my father's generation, sansei or third generation. My mother's too, technically, but she is from Hawaii and her family did not experience the trauma that my father's family did in the internment camps. The sansei are not only the generation that inherited the fallout of the trauma of WWII and the Japanese American concentration camps, but also the last generation that had to grapple with being visibly Japanese in the wider U.S., at least of the Japanese who first arrived after the Meiji Restoration. As Yamashita notes in one of the stories, many sansei (outside of Hawaii) did not marry other sansei, and so most yonsei (fourth generation) on the mainland are hapa. In a way, the sansei were the in-between generation, the bridge between the immigrant generations who had to navigate a new world and the accompanying political minefield, and the more comfortably American generations to follow.
This is an older story of Asian immigration to America, straight out of the history books, and it offers lessons on what it's like to be a minority group in America after several generations have passed. Read this not just to enjoy the innumerable nods to the one and only, the OG, Jane Austen. I hope that people read this to understand better what happens to your family history, your heritage and how you relate to it, your understanding of where your family came from and what they went through and how they were treated by this country, when you have been here not for one or two generations, but for three or four or five.
peachani's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
apossiblething's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
francienolans's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
I really loved this book. Usually I’m hit or miss with short stories but these were so good. Something about the way the author writes made it fast paced and easy to get through and enjoyable. I enjoyed each story.