Reviews

This book is kind of like an epic lyric poem. It tells the story of multiple picture brides who traveled from Japan to America in many "we" sentences. I think some people compared it to a Greek chorus. It was touching and real and detailed. It was also fairly short, which was perfect for my attention span. My only complaint is that it was SO somber.

In Japanese-American literature, people who grew up in Japan but moved to America later are "Ikkei", sort of like first-generation. In my research on Topaz, there was a lot about the conflict between Ikkei and "Nikkei" (second-generation, often US citizens). After reading this book, I can understand it a little better. Also, for some reason I always imagined Japanese immigrants as being middle and upper-class, but most immigrants around the turn of the century were really poor and worked in farms or as maids.

bookishbulletin's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

rebeccasreadingrambles's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was short, but sweet. I loved the way the story was told. Not by one narrator, but through the eyes and experiences of so many Japanese women who traveled to America to meet their husbands and hope for a good life. The writing style is "some of us...all of us....one of us." It makes them sound like more of a collective community, but with varying stories. The writing was so good and almost sounded like poetry at times. The things these unnamed, anonymous women went through during their lives was so vivid that even with the barest of descriptions I could see them in my mind. They saw not only their own personal lives change, but a change in their communities and in the world. Each story was unique, despite the use of "some of us". Definitely go read this wonderful book.

jordanengelke's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-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

5.0

gaiareadingbooks's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

silvej01's review against another edition

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3.0

While it didn’t quite work for me, I give credit to Otsuka for trying an innovative way to combine the shared and individual historical experiences of members of a minority group. The book sets out to capture the lives of Japanese women who came as young mail-order brides to the western states of the US in the early half of the 20th Century. To do this she uses a first-person plural voice in what at times feels like a Greek chorus and at other times like an oratorio. She covers their Pacific crossing, the initial encounters with their various husbands, their (mostly hard) life with work, family, and adjusting to the predominant white majority with their different culture, mores, and prejudices. Ultimately, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the women describe how they and their families were forced into internment camps during the Second World War, in violation of their rights and the supposed values of American system of justice. Despite the collective voice, Otsuka makes efforts to describe a range of experiences (“Most of us on the boat were accomplished…. Some of us came from the mountains…. One of us was from Kumamoto…. One of us was from a silk weaving village....”). The language is lyrical and strong, and there are powerful moments. Just the same, while I found it an interesting and at times beautiful literary experiment, the absence of true individual characters kept me at a distance.

qpmnguyen's review

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dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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