Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - When the Emperor Was Divine

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When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

9 reviews

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.

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turtleycool's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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directorpurry's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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stephalopuff's review

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

The last chapter of this book is powerful and stands on its own as a poem, for sure.

My star rating is reflective more of the audiobook than the book itself. Do yourself a favor and read a hardcopy. The narrator sounded so prim and proper, her style of narration felt inappropriate for the subject matter and the way the book itself was written. That being said, the book itself feels a little detached from its audience - do I dare say a SparkNotes of the characters' experiences? I'd like to read more detailed, thorough accounts of Japanese internment.

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bookedbyelizabeth's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.25

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lalalayna's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

this book made me so sad.

Spoiler

the last chapter with the father broke me

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jamesflint's review against another edition

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3.0

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rohnstrong's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I cannot recommend this breathtaking novel enough. It was tragic and absorbing. Its matter of fact writing style paired perfectly with grizzly subject matter we’re not often taught.

Please read this novel.

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wai's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-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? Yes

5.0

This book is slim and a very quick read but one that stays with you. I found the end particularly poignant, discussing the surrealism of returning to society after internment and facing both overt and covert forms of racism and complacency in the white majority. The family survives but the trauma they all faced in imprisonment and the current social climate has taken its toll and begs the question - how much did they really survive?

I'm a quarter Japanese American and this just reminded me of all the history classes I've taken that discussed WWII, how little they all discussed Japanese internment and how much justification we were given for the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. More of this rhetoric exists still today than people realize and is hard for Japanese diaspora and their families.

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