Reviews tagging 'Deportation'

Quando l'imperatore era un dio by Julie Otsuka

6 reviews

julietlol's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, and Deportation

The moderate content warnings that I wrote are some of the central themes of the whole novel.

mrsfishreads's review against another edition

emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a tough read.  I think what I wanted is it to flow better, for the POV to stay the same.  There were times I didn't know whose point of view it was coming from..  the mother, the daughter, a stranger?  Beyond the writing, the story was heartfelt and heartbreaking.  The evacuating of Japanese- Americans during WWII was an absolute crime.   One America has never really paid for.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, War, and Deportation

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, War, and Deportation

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and War

Minor: Deportation

turtleycool's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, and Deportation

grey_writes_love's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Racism, and Deportation

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

stephalopuff's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs

Moderate: Racism, Colonisation, War, and Deportation