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chan_bean's review against another edition
5.0
I have to give this book 5 stars if for for no other reason (and there are so many other reason to give it 5 stars) than the fact that it was a memoir that I enjoyed from start to finish. I picked this book up right before leaving the library and had to stop going home, sit down, and read the first three chapters all in one go.
Brina's writing is just so approachable and so vulnerable. This memoir is really ambitious -- it is equal parts about growing up biracial, growing up the child of an immigrant, growing up period, the history of Okinawa, the present state of Okinawa, generational trauma, inter-generational communication and differences, power imbalances in relationships, and love. That is so much to cover. But Brina does it in such a way that it doesn't feel forced. I put this book down feeling like I had genuinely learned something about every single one of these topics. It was hard to put down.
I really, really loved everything about this memoir, but the relationship between Brina's parents was what really gripped me. I went into this novel expecting to hate Mr. Brina -- the author mentions that her father has some rather conservative views, he was a soldier in the U.S. military that still currently occupies Okinawa, and he and his wife couldn't even communicate effectively when he married her and took her to the United States. But their relationship is so intricate: he is really doing his best to be a good husband, as best as he knows how. And Mrs. Brina is so enveloped in grief and trying to cope with her life in the U.S., that it feels like being a good wife shouldn't even have to be a priority for her. At a glance, I wanted to condemn their relationship as toxic and irredeemable. But the way that Brina writes about them... man, it's obvious that they have love for each other, and they love their daughter so, so much. It's heartbreaking, and reminded me that love comes in many forms. Some of them, rather ugly.
I don't know how to describe how much I loved reading this book. I'm really hoping I can find other memoirs like it. Speak, Okinawa is really inspiring me to give the entire genre another chance.
Brina's writing is just so approachable and so vulnerable. This memoir is really ambitious -- it is equal parts about growing up biracial, growing up the child of an immigrant, growing up period, the history of Okinawa, the present state of Okinawa, generational trauma, inter-generational communication and differences, power imbalances in relationships, and love. That is so much to cover. But Brina does it in such a way that it doesn't feel forced. I put this book down feeling like I had genuinely learned something about every single one of these topics. It was hard to put down.
I really, really loved everything about this memoir, but the relationship between Brina's parents was what really gripped me. I went into this novel expecting to hate Mr. Brina -- the author mentions that her father has some rather conservative views, he was a soldier in the U.S. military that still currently occupies Okinawa, and he and his wife couldn't even communicate effectively when he married her and took her to the United States. But their relationship is so intricate: he is really doing his best to be a good husband, as best as he knows how. And Mrs. Brina is so enveloped in grief and trying to cope with her life in the U.S., that it feels like being a good wife shouldn't even have to be a priority for her. At a glance, I wanted to condemn their relationship as toxic and irredeemable. But the way that Brina writes about them... man, it's obvious that they have love for each other, and they love their daughter so, so much. It's heartbreaking, and reminded me that love comes in many forms. Some of them, rather ugly.
I don't know how to describe how much I loved reading this book. I'm really hoping I can find other memoirs like it. Speak, Okinawa is really inspiring me to give the entire genre another chance.
purplepierogi's review against another edition
update bc first take was too harsh :/
this is a memoir that unearths the most intimate dregs of who the author is, her many personal and professional failures, internalized self hatred, an elaborate analysis of her parents marriage, lost decades unable to empathize or connect with her Okinawan mother, many many anecdotes of ways she hurt and failed her mother and herself, and asks us, readers, to understand her and absolve her of all this. can a book be both a sincere apology and also a public record of every horrible, hurtful thing you’ve ever thought about your mother, of her own most intimate failings, published for the whole world to see?
on one hand, memoir /is/ the most raw and intimate scraped out and presented for mass consumption — and this book is part of her healing process. none of us can fully know her life, her story to tell, and she has a right to present that narrative to us. as a thoughtful, searing look at complex people, the book sings. it’s not my job as a reader to judge, but to understand the slice of her life, her inner world, that she has shared.
on the other hand, does she share stories that are not hers to share, to frame ?
major themes here are reckoning with inter generational trauma, reclaiming a heritage once denied by overpowering whiteness and shame, reconnecting with her mother and finally understanding her mother’s experiences. including okinawan history narrative is great, vital for readers unfamiliar. but I question the use of the “we” so extensively on all these experiences of profound suffering of Okinawan women. it’s jarring to read the book, one page how disconnected she is from Okinawa and on another page claiming that trauma and history through the pronoun “we,” to me, speaking over Okinawan voices.
this is a memoir that unearths the most intimate dregs of who the author is, her many personal and professional failures, internalized self hatred, an elaborate analysis of her parents marriage, lost decades unable to empathize or connect with her Okinawan mother, many many anecdotes of ways she hurt and failed her mother and herself, and asks us, readers, to understand her and absolve her of all this. can a book be both a sincere apology and also a public record of every horrible, hurtful thing you’ve ever thought about your mother, of her own most intimate failings, published for the whole world to see?
on one hand, memoir /is/ the most raw and intimate scraped out and presented for mass consumption — and this book is part of her healing process. none of us can fully know her life, her story to tell, and she has a right to present that narrative to us. as a thoughtful, searing look at complex people, the book sings. it’s not my job as a reader to judge, but to understand the slice of her life, her inner world, that she has shared.
on the other hand, does she share stories that are not hers to share, to frame ?
major themes here are reckoning with inter generational trauma, reclaiming a heritage once denied by overpowering whiteness and shame, reconnecting with her mother and finally understanding her mother’s experiences. including okinawan history narrative is great, vital for readers unfamiliar. but I question the use of the “we” so extensively on all these experiences of profound suffering of Okinawan women. it’s jarring to read the book, one page how disconnected she is from Okinawa and on another page claiming that trauma and history through the pronoun “we,” to me, speaking over Okinawan voices.
bombastic_sideeye's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
sienna_canread's review against another edition
4.0
I think I have something for mom and daughter relationships
ellarss's review against another edition
3.25
Not a fan of nonlinear memoirs idk it felt like a chore to get through. I feel like she skimmed over a lot of really interesting points in her life and then went on and on about her love life lol.. I did enjoy the Okinawa history lessons though!