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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Although this is fictionalized the stories are well researched. The author notes her research in the Acknowledgements. It seems its not enough to just say that it was extremely sad what Japanese people went through when immigrating to the United States. I recently learned that there were once almost a hundred Japantowns in the United States and now there are just five left.
The last chapter, written from the perspective of other Americans that weren't interned, includes this chilling passage:
> You can still see the official notices nailed to the telephone poles on the street corners downtown, but already they are beginning to tatter and fade, and after last week's heavy spring rains only the large black letters on top -- Instructions to All Persons of Japanese Ancestry -- are still legible. But what it was, exactly, that these instructions spelled out, none of us can clearly recall. One man vaguely remembers a no-pets directive as well as a designated point of departure. ... Many of us admit that although we passed by the notices every day on our way into town, it never occurred to us to stop and read one. "They weren't for us," we say. Or, "I was always in a rush." Or, "I couldn't make out a thing because the writing was just so small."
In these times when a type of fascism is on the rise around the world and even in the United States, these words should serve as a reminder of what we shouldn't do.
The last chapter, written from the perspective of other Americans that weren't interned, includes this chilling passage:
> You can still see the official notices nailed to the telephone poles on the street corners downtown, but already they are beginning to tatter and fade, and after last week's heavy spring rains only the large black letters on top -- Instructions to All Persons of Japanese Ancestry -- are still legible. But what it was, exactly, that these instructions spelled out, none of us can clearly recall. One man vaguely remembers a no-pets directive as well as a designated point of departure. ... Many of us admit that although we passed by the notices every day on our way into town, it never occurred to us to stop and read one. "They weren't for us," we say. Or, "I was always in a rush." Or, "I couldn't make out a thing because the writing was just so small."
In these times when a type of fascism is on the rise around the world and even in the United States, these words should serve as a reminder of what we shouldn't do.
I thought this was just ok. Strange format that I was not used to. The author wrote about all Japanese women as one voice and the use of "we" was a little off-putting for me. As I read in another review, this read like a long poem. The content was interesting, but to me the format and voice turned me off.
a very non traditional narrative of the struggles of mail order Japanese women and their families leading up to WWII. I found this really captivating despite not being a huge history buff.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Julie Otsuka read hundreds of accounts of the Japanese experience at the start of the 20th Century and forged this research into a novella that takes those facts and imagines a lyric, composite character: a legion of Japanese women chanting, "We, we, we."
And I paraphrase: "We left Japan as picture brides. We endured a difficult journey by boat. We met husbands who were much older, much crueler, and much poorer than they claimed. We often endured loveless marriages. We worked in the fields of California under horrible living and working conditions. We moved into the homes of the rich and were treated with little regard. We mailed money back home and went without. We were rounded up and placed into internment camps."
I am from Southern California, and my view of Japanese women prior to reading this book was that they were gracious, polite, hard working and long suffering. I have read of the exploited labor of blacks, hispanics, and Chinese. However, the Japanese experience has been muted and foggy for me. Otsuka brings into sharp focus the hardships many of these women endured, contributing labor that helped develop the California economy. Their contribution has been largely unspoken--until now. Otsuka combines these voices into a thunderous declaration: "WE!"
And I paraphrase: "We left Japan as picture brides. We endured a difficult journey by boat. We met husbands who were much older, much crueler, and much poorer than they claimed. We often endured loveless marriages. We worked in the fields of California under horrible living and working conditions. We moved into the homes of the rich and were treated with little regard. We mailed money back home and went without. We were rounded up and placed into internment camps."
I am from Southern California, and my view of Japanese women prior to reading this book was that they were gracious, polite, hard working and long suffering. I have read of the exploited labor of blacks, hispanics, and Chinese. However, the Japanese experience has been muted and foggy for me. Otsuka brings into sharp focus the hardships many of these women endured, contributing labor that helped develop the California economy. Their contribution has been largely unspoken--until now. Otsuka combines these voices into a thunderous declaration: "WE!"
I stumbled upon this beautiful book and had no idea about everything that happens in it. Incredible and well-written.
This book is not for the faint of heart. The prose sneaks up on you and then --look out! What seemed like an easy read about a difficult and painful subject becomes lyrical and beautiful and riveting --but still about an incredibly horrible period in American history when racism against Japanese immigrants was rampant (and that's before internment, but she Julie Otsuka gets to that, just wait.) I was drawn to the writing but repelled by the subject and the raw honesty.
Very well done. I highly recommend it.
Very well done. I highly recommend it.
Letters from our mothers written to us on the day we’d left home. I can still see your footprints in the mud down by the river.
A choir of experiences. Faceless “us”— all echoes united by circumstances and beliefs.
All that’s left of those lives is hidden in a shape of a laughing Buddha statue in the attic.
This book is not really a comprehensive story, but a trace of Japanese women left in America.
I loved it. So poetic (which is so up my alley), and cruel in its simplicity.
The only thing I didn’t like was probably about the last fifteen percent of the book.
After spending so much time with the pure grief those Japanese women experienced, we are left to witness how war disturbed their lives in a way that focused around all Japanese people in America— emphasizing a lot of random men, giving all of them names.
And then the last chapter suddenly shifts into white people’s perspective, and how all traces of Japanese people are gone in their eyes, which was extremely confusing to me.
It was rather obvious that the main focus of the story was Japanese women, and I don’t really know why Julie Otsuka didn’t keep it that way all the way to the end.
I believe we deserved a faceless choir of voices to share their thoughts at the end. Giving most of the women names made a lot of sense, but giving us the names of their children and men didn’t sit right with me, as it didn’t make the statement strong enough.
If only we had focused on them towards the end, for maybe for the first time in the entire book, since all of their thoughts have always revolved around their husbands and kids.
It would have been a powerful statement.
Alas…
Otherwise a spectacular read.
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes