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slewan's review against another edition
3.0
3,5. Är ändå fett glad att jag tvingades läsa den i skolan för jag är ganska säker på att jag aldrig skulle hitta den annars. Props till Biggan som valde en bra bok
laranicole410's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
3.75
kiwiifizz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
There is some mentions of SA and suicide
mmhatton06's review against another edition
4.0
beautifully, almost poetically written. Loved the third person plural style; did not realize the history of the Japanese in this country. Excellent book
annevoi's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the mostly anonymous, collective telling of the stories of "picture brides" who came to the United States (often under false pretenses) and made a new life. So many excellent, telling details. Ending with the WWII internment and the impressions of the neighbors of the Japanese who suddenly disappeared was a deft move.
ktoumajian's review against another edition
4.0
Such an interesting and beautiful read...quietly profound as it chronicles the collective lives (all but the last chapter is written in first-person plural) of Japanese immigrants who come to California as "picture brides", who settle into less than ideal lives as wives and mothers and doing the jobs that "Americans" won't, and then must endure the attack on Pearl Harbor and the unsettlingly slow and then sudden disappearance of the Japanese husbands then whole communities as they are resettled into the internment camps. The last chapter is told in third person from the point of view of the "townspeople" who are troubled by the unexplained disappearance of their neighbors, housemaids and gardeners but who do little to question it or intercede. At times a bit of style over substance (whole novel is written in parallel structure and lists) but lovely writing overall.
scottjbaxter's review against another edition
Julie Otsuka's The Buddha in the Attic is a short book/novella that you could finish in less than two hours of reading on a single day. However, and I do not think I am alone in my opinion here, it is an uncomfortable book.
The story Otsuka tells is a simple and straightforward one (this is not experimental literature) of a group of young women who move from Japan to California to be brides to Japanese men they have never met in early twentieth century California. They believe they are moving to a land of luxury and ease but soon find themselves working long hours in unpleasant jobs; this is not the dreamland of streets paved with gold and money growing on trees they thought America would be before they arrived.
Much of the story, in my reading, is written in a sort of prose poetry in first person plural (we) with all of the women's perspectives capture. The following, from a chapter called The Children illustrates a similar style found throughout the book:
The final chapter, A Disappearance, is the only one written from a perspective other than that of the women. It is written mostly in third person with the Americans who are still living in the California towns that used to have so many Japaneses workers wondering what happened to them. It is not explicitly stated, but the women, their husbands and children have been put in internment camps. The townspeople have no idea what happened to the Japanese. The book ends:
Let me end by sharing my opinion. I found Otsuka's language poetic. However, it was often a poetry focused on pain, exhaustion, and disappointment. The book is a quick read; it is not an uplifting read. Know that before starting.
The story Otsuka tells is a simple and straightforward one (this is not experimental literature) of a group of young women who move from Japan to California to be brides to Japanese men they have never met in early twentieth century California. They believe they are moving to a land of luxury and ease but soon find themselves working long hours in unpleasant jobs; this is not the dreamland of streets paved with gold and money growing on trees they thought America would be before they arrived.
Much of the story, in my reading, is written in a sort of prose poetry in first person plural (we) with all of the women's perspectives capture. The following, from a chapter called The Children illustrates a similar style found throughout the book:
We laid them down gently, in ditches and furrows and wicker baskets beneath the trees. We left them lying naked, atop blankets, on woven straw mats at the edges of fields. We placed them in wooden apple boxes and nursed them every time we finished hoeing a row of beans. When they were older, and more rambunctious, we sometimes tied them to chairs. We strapped them onto our backs in the dead of winter in Redding and went out to prune the grapevines but some mornings it was so cold that their ears froze and bled. In early summer, in Stockton, we left them in nearby gullies while we dug up and sacked onions and began picking the first plums. We gave them sticks to play with in our absence and called out to them from time to time to let them know we were still there. Don't bother the dogs. Don't touch the bees. Don't wander away or Papa will get mad. But when they tired and began to cry out for us we kept on working because if we didn't we knew we would never pay off the debt on our lease. Mama can't come. And after a while their voices grew fainter and their crying came to a stop. And at the end of the day when there was no more light in the sky we woke them up from wherever it was they lay sleeping and brushed the dirt from their hair. It's time to go home.
The final chapter, A Disappearance, is the only one written from a perspective other than that of the women. It is written mostly in third person with the Americans who are still living in the California towns that used to have so many Japaneses workers wondering what happened to them. It is not explicitly stated, but the women, their husbands and children have been put in internment camps. The townspeople have no idea what happened to the Japanese. The book ends:
But all this is only hearsay, and none of it is necessarily true. All we know is that the Japanese are out there somewhere, in one place or another, and we shall probably not meet them again in this world.
Let me end by sharing my opinion. I found Otsuka's language poetic. However, it was often a poetry focused on pain, exhaustion, and disappointment. The book is a quick read; it is not an uplifting read. Know that before starting.
moniale11's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
lovleephtogrl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25