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siriface's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, War, Abortion, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy
the_fbc_paris's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
annasforages's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
haunting retelling of Japanese picture brides in the 1900s and the initial incarceration of Japanese Americans at the beginning of WW2.
really appreciated the lack of plot and the usage of multiple voices as 1 narrator and no defining characters. super effective way to mimic Americans' view of Japanese Americans as 1 blob without any individual personalities.
just wish the last chapter wasn't from the POV of said Americans but it was still effective in sparking that anger in the reader
really appreciated the lack of plot and the usage of multiple voices as 1 narrator and no defining characters. super effective way to mimic Americans' view of Japanese Americans as 1 blob without any individual personalities.
just wish the last chapter wasn't from the POV of said Americans but it was still effective in sparking that anger in the reader
yodamom's review against another edition
3.0
I was interested in the lives the women had lived when brought here under the horrible conditions these women had been, Sold to men in America as wives, directly from Japan some not even passed puberty yet. The details are there, as they traveled through the experience. The are listed like a grocery list with little emotion. It is a collective or truths about the women "WE" their trip, their husbands, their work, their children, their encampment. Little details, big details. Then it just ends. I was disappointed, it felt like a warm up, then nothing.
nelley's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
elysenicole213's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Racism, and Racial slurs
jpark's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
lahoori's review against another edition
5.0
This novel was unique in its use of a collective voice. It was written as "we" and "us"' the very specific generation of Japanese picture brides who came to the US and suffered and thrived as a group. The picture brides, and their collective experiences are the main character, and the novel traces their lives through the landmarks of their lifetimes: the journey to the US as new brides, their first meeting of their husbands and sexual experiences as new wives, their working lives and its hardships and successes, their children and their marriages-- until the war. Then, they pack up and collectively disappear from American towns and cities and the narrative voice switches to the "we" of their fellow American citizens and neighbors who notice they have gone. At least for a while....until they are forgotten.
Some readers criticize the collective voice, but I found it incredibly moving and apt. Much has been made about the collective/group psychology of the Japanese, so telling the story as a group experience was clever. I was moved to tears in almost each chapter at the incredible hardships and beauty they found, collectively, as women, wives, mothers, and immigrants. The author cites quite an interesting list of memoirs she read for the novel and it is easy to imagine that some of the details are lifted from real life.
The story ends once they board the trains and leave their belongings and lives behind to go into the internment camps of WWIi. I was surprised the story ended there, but really, the picture brides and the communities of Japanese immigrants disappeared from the American consciousness then, on darkened trains rolling off into the harsh corners of Western states. So many Americans don't know/remember that the Japanese were interned and lost their homes, livelihoods, and presence in many of our communities. It was a very beautifully and carefully crafted novel.
Some readers criticize the collective voice, but I found it incredibly moving and apt. Much has been made about the collective/group psychology of the Japanese, so telling the story as a group experience was clever. I was moved to tears in almost each chapter at the incredible hardships and beauty they found, collectively, as women, wives, mothers, and immigrants. The author cites quite an interesting list of memoirs she read for the novel and it is easy to imagine that some of the details are lifted from real life.
The story ends once they board the trains and leave their belongings and lives behind to go into the internment camps of WWIi. I was surprised the story ended there, but really, the picture brides and the communities of Japanese immigrants disappeared from the American consciousness then, on darkened trains rolling off into the harsh corners of Western states. So many Americans don't know/remember that the Japanese were interned and lost their homes, livelihoods, and presence in many of our communities. It was a very beautifully and carefully crafted novel.
claire_hell's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5