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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The OG Asian American novel - everyone should read. Essentially the story of US government mandated Japanese American post-WWII depression. So everyone should read, but only if in the right headspace haha.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was striking in style and in content. Okada does an amazing job using multiple POV characters to tell the story of Ichiro and to get at the heart of a time I have never read about before. The blunt reality of a community's reaction to WW2 and the effect it had on Japanese-Americans is expressed in a raw and harsh way in this book. This may shock and turn some readers away. However, the writing is truthful and close to the heart of the author and that shows through.
This novel is applicable to the culture of America today and can be transferred in many alarming aspects. This I think is the strength of the book. Okada's message still permeates through this country and the hopes expressed by the character Kenji have not been fully realized.
As I said previously the language of the book is shocking. There are several racial slurs used that one does not say (ever) or often hear today (this could be triggering to some) however I do honestly believe that these words are not meant maliciously by the author. He is mainly showing a reflection of 1940s-50s America through their usage.
Read at your own risk but personally, I found the book very striking and honest.
This novel is applicable to the culture of America today and can be transferred in many alarming aspects. This I think is the strength of the book. Okada's message still permeates through this country and the hopes expressed by the character Kenji have not been fully realized.
As I said previously the language of the book is shocking. There are several racial slurs used that one does not say (ever) or often hear today (this could be triggering to some) however I do honestly believe that these words are not meant maliciously by the author. He is mainly showing a reflection of 1940s-50s America through their usage.
Read at your own risk but personally, I found the book very striking and honest.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
Moderate: Suicide
One of the greatest novels I've read. You have to read it to understand anything about being Asian American and to understand yourself as an Asian American. Published in 1957, 'No-No Boy' was so far ahead of its time in its exploration of the immigrant experience, belonging, generational trauma, internalized racism, interracial solidarity, race relations between minorities in America, intersectionality, war, death, loss, love, hatred, and goodness, that 60 years later it still reads as fearless and radical as if it had been published yesterday. No-No Boy spoke to all these things before we even had words for them, before they even existed in the Asian American cultural consciousness. And it's written so, so beautifully.
My heart physically hurt while reading—like I was endlessly on the verge of tears. I felt like I wanted to lay down and die, and for once I mean that in a good way. Something I jotted down in my notebook while reading: "this is the pain of having gone your entire life without a mirror and looking up to see it was hovering just beyond the veil the whole time."
In his Afterword, Frank Chin writes, in 1976: "To believe that I was the first to write was to believe Asian Americans were less than gutless all their history here... No-No Boy proved I wasn't only the yellow writer in yellow history. The book was so good it freed me to be trivial... Back in 1957 John said things Asian Americans are afraid to think, much less say today. Things that every yellow feels." And this is still true. This book set me free, today.
No-No Boy needs to be taught in schools. Because it's—I can't even express it properly—because it's the existence of history, a real history. There are other canons and we need to find them.
My heart physically hurt while reading—like I was endlessly on the verge of tears. I felt like I wanted to lay down and die, and for once I mean that in a good way. Something I jotted down in my notebook while reading: "this is the pain of having gone your entire life without a mirror and looking up to see it was hovering just beyond the veil the whole time."
In his Afterword, Frank Chin writes, in 1976: "To believe that I was the first to write was to believe Asian Americans were less than gutless all their history here... No-No Boy proved I wasn't only the yellow writer in yellow history. The book was so good it freed me to be trivial... Back in 1957 John said things Asian Americans are afraid to think, much less say today. Things that every yellow feels." And this is still true. This book set me free, today.
No-No Boy needs to be taught in schools. Because it's—I can't even express it properly—because it's the existence of history, a real history. There are other canons and we need to find them.
kinda a difficult read but it takes on interesting topics that the american education system loves to ignore
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes