Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Quando l'imperatore era un dio by Julie Otsuka

8 reviews

leslie_overbookedsocialworker's review against another edition

hopeful reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism

tiamia1084's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Hate crime

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Animal death

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

amiably's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I loved the last chapter the most. Check TWs before reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Animal death, Hate crime, and War

Minor: Sexual assault

spacerkip's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

3.0

A powerful story about a part of US history it's tried so hard to ignore. The detached and impersonal writing style wasn't quite to my taste, so it didn't have as hard of an impact on me. I can definitely see it appealing to fans of more literary fiction. Emotions don't come across through the words on the page, but more through the things that aren't said/described. That being said, I think it will linger with me for quite a while. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, and Racism

Minor: Racial slurs, Torture, and War

rory1387's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Hate crime, Racism, Grief, and War

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

wai's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Dementia

Minor: Vomit