Reviews with content warning for Racism - When the Emperor Was Divine

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

25 reviews

julietlol's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.75

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bex_knighthunterbooks's review against another edition

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I was really interested in learning more about this horrific part of American history, but I just found I wasn't getting anything out of this read. The writing style is very unemotional and detached, with the characters feeling generic and flat. This is probably intentional, as it even went so far as to call the main characters 'the boy' and 'the mother' etc., and I've seen this done before as a way of telling a story that so many people had in common, but in this instance it was just leaving me disconnected. Even dramatic events like in the first chapter were explained in a matter-of-fact way and gave no clue as to any inner conflict of the characters. The writing drew our attention to little details of their lives, including name dropping brands that were probably meant to be recognisable to an American audience but didn't to me. This concentration on details made me feel like I wasn't really picking up on the wider narrative and what was going on.

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mrsfishreads's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a tough read. I think what I wanted is it to flow better, for the POV to stay the same. There were times I didn't know whose point of view it was coming from.. the mother, the daughter, a stranger? Beyond the writing, the story was heartfelt and heartbreaking. The evacuating of Japanese- Americans during WWII was an absolute crime. One America has never really paid for.

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relf's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This short novel tells the story of an unnamed Japanese-American family from California being sent to internment camps during World War II. The story is told simply, almost starkly, with an eye for detail but without sentimentality, from the points of view of the family members. A powerful story that enunciates, without recrimination, the utter injustice done to Japanese-Americans and the struggle they faced even when they returned from the camps. Very moving. I listened to the audiobook, which is beautifully narrated.

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amiably's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

I loved the last chapter the most. Check TWs before reading.

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spacerkip's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective slow-paced

3.0

A powerful story about a part of US history it's tried so hard to ignore. The detached and impersonal writing style wasn't quite to my taste, so it didn't have as hard of an impact on me. I can definitely see it appealing to fans of more literary fiction. Emotions don't come across through the words on the page, but more through the things that aren't said/described. That being said, I think it will linger with me for quite a while.

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abitbetterbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

It feels difficult to describe and rate a book that feels both deeply personal and also impossibly foreign. My own grandparents were interned in camps during WWII in Canada, and I am always searching for stories that can help me make some sense of that experience. After having read The Swimmers, also by Julie Otsuka, I really wanted something that dealt with the subject more directly and not just alluded to. When the Emperor Was Divine definitely fit that bill.

The American- and Canadian- Japanese experience was different, of course, but there were many similarities and notes that made it feel like a gut punch and also a ghost. I’m not exactly sure how else to describe it. I think the telling of a lot of this story through the eyes of children was a brilliant choice.

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