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knkoch's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I struggled to connect with this one.
It’s a novel about a second generation Japanese-American family of four, the parents of said family having endured forced internment at Heart Mountain camp during WWII. It’s also a novel about suicide, and an examination of cultural associations between suicide and Japan, both real and stereotypical.
I found the exploration of growing up in a Japanese-American family after internment (the book is written from the perspective of the oldest son in the family) interesting and valuable, and I learned more about different acts and movements of resistance by Japanese-Americans during internment. But this didn’t work as a novel for me. The writing was ruminative and very tell over show, and I tend to like fiction to be more visceral, visual, and descriptive. I wanted more to happen, I guess, but it felt very locked within the main character’s brain and thought patterns. I also had troubles with the younger brother character, who felt like he fit into a “troubled genius” trope too easily.
It’s a novel about a second generation Japanese-American family of four, the parents of said family having endured forced internment at Heart Mountain camp during WWII. It’s also a novel about suicide, and an examination of cultural associations between suicide and Japan, both real and stereotypical.
I found the exploration of growing up in a Japanese-American family after internment (the book is written from the perspective of the oldest son in the family) interesting and valuable, and I learned more about different acts and movements of resistance by Japanese-Americans during internment. But this didn’t work as a novel for me. The writing was ruminative and very tell over show, and I tend to like fiction to be more visceral, visual, and descriptive. I wanted more to happen, I guess, but it felt very locked within the main character’s brain and thought patterns. I also had troubles with the younger brother character, who felt like he fit into a “troubled genius” trope too easily.
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