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jasmin_ravn's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
4.5
If not for this book I would have probably never known about the Japanese internment camps - which is kind of alarming when you think about it. The format of this graphic memoir makes the historical aspects of the book very easy to digest, and the story is one your heart immediately attaches itself to. Would highly recommend it to anyone who doesn’t know about this important period in American history.
bookbuyingwithkatie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
fast-paced
5.0
therazzdazzler's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
muse692's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
sarojaede's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
George Takei's They Called Us Enemy is a poignant and pretty unflinching look at how his family was forced into internment camps during World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This forced imprisonment occurred simply because of Takie's family's heritage and race despite his mother being born in the United States and his father being a successful business owner.
For Takei, the initial experience was confusing because even though he and his family were prisoners in these internment camps because his family tried to keep things relatively normal, much of the innocence and simply naivete that came with childhood also made the initial internment a bit of an "adventure". As Takei unravels the tail of his childhood one of the strongest aspects of this graphic novel (well, really graphic non-fiction work) is how he depicts these conflicting feelings through the text and the illustrator, Harmony Becker captures them in the images of young boys playing and just having fun under the guard towers containing armed guards.
Takei sketches for us, as readers, his family's stay in three internment camps, the first of which were the horse stables at the Santa Ana Raceway. These accommodations were cramped and smelled strongly of horse manure, but as soon as the family seemed settled and "comfortable" in these surroundings, they were moved further away from the west coast to the Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas, a swampy rural area.
Again, Takei depicts for us the struggles of living in this camp but also the ingenuity of the residents to help one another by, for instance, acquiring scrap lumber to build boardwalks connecting the buildings from one to another.
The longest time that Takei and his family spend in internment camps was at their third location of imprisonment at the Tule Lake War Relocation Center, which did bring them back to California. Takei and his family were among the last to leave the internment camp, and when they did, they resettled in Skid Row in Los Angeles because few other locations would take Japanese residents largely due to the holdover of hatred from the war.
This was an excellent read from both a first-hand historical perspective but from also a personal perspective. I learned a great deal about the politics and orders behind the creation of the internment camps and how Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin Roosevelt imprisoned not only Japanese immigrants but also Americans of Japanese descent based on fear and a stereotype that the Japanese were "inscrutable" and "we could never tell what they were thinking". The continued political maneuverings even stripped many of the Japanese American citizens of their citizenship and deported many back to Japan toward the end of the war.
One of the things that I most appreciated about the text was that we get to see George Takei as a youngster living through this experience, but we get to see him as he comes of age and grows into adulthood continue to live with the experience and how this experience begins during his teenage and college years (and beyond) to drive his passion for political issues that hinge on social justice issues not simply of race but of equality for all people especially those who are marginalized due to race, gender, or sexual orientation. Finally, we also get to see the now perspective of Takeibecause part of the premise of the book overall is that he is telling his story to an audience in more present times at a meeting at the historic home of Roosevelt.
I highly recommend Takei's text for the quality of the writing and the illustrations but also as a way to easily move into better understanding this uncomfortable and dark aspect of our American history.
For Takei, the initial experience was confusing because even though he and his family were prisoners in these internment camps because his family tried to keep things relatively normal, much of the innocence and simply naivete that came with childhood also made the initial internment a bit of an "adventure". As Takei unravels the tail of his childhood one of the strongest aspects of this graphic novel (well, really graphic non-fiction work) is how he depicts these conflicting feelings through the text and the illustrator, Harmony Becker captures them in the images of young boys playing and just having fun under the guard towers containing armed guards.
Takei sketches for us, as readers, his family's stay in three internment camps, the first of which were the horse stables at the Santa Ana Raceway. These accommodations were cramped and smelled strongly of horse manure, but as soon as the family seemed settled and "comfortable" in these surroundings, they were moved further away from the west coast to the Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas, a swampy rural area.
Again, Takei depicts for us the struggles of living in this camp but also the ingenuity of the residents to help one another by, for instance, acquiring scrap lumber to build boardwalks connecting the buildings from one to another.
The longest time that Takei and his family spend in internment camps was at their third location of imprisonment at the Tule Lake War Relocation Center, which did bring them back to California. Takei and his family were among the last to leave the internment camp, and when they did, they resettled in Skid Row in Los Angeles because few other locations would take Japanese residents largely due to the holdover of hatred from the war.
This was an excellent read from both a first-hand historical perspective but from also a personal perspective. I learned a great deal about the politics and orders behind the creation of the internment camps and how Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin Roosevelt imprisoned not only Japanese immigrants but also Americans of Japanese descent based on fear and a stereotype that the Japanese were "inscrutable" and "we could never tell what they were thinking". The continued political maneuverings even stripped many of the Japanese American citizens of their citizenship and deported many back to Japan toward the end of the war.
One of the things that I most appreciated about the text was that we get to see George Takei as a youngster living through this experience, but we get to see him as he comes of age and grows into adulthood continue to live with the experience and how this experience begins during his teenage and college years (and beyond) to drive his passion for political issues that hinge on social justice issues not simply of race but of equality for all people especially those who are marginalized due to race, gender, or sexual orientation. Finally, we also get to see the now perspective of Takei
I highly recommend Takei's text for the quality of the writing and the illustrations but also as a way to easily move into better understanding this uncomfortable and dark aspect of our American history.
sumayyaha's review against another edition
4.0
I want to disclaim this by saying: I do not rate biographies/autobiographies because they are someone's life and you can't give that a rating. However, I will rate the writing/art.
I thought this told the life and experiences of George Takei along with other Japanese Americans quite well, it was pretty comprehensive. Sometimes the narrative switched to current him and then went back to his younger self and I appreciate the way the he was looking back on his experiences rather than telling it as a child would. Although for this same reason I don't think it would be as easy to understand for younger audiences. The art was also a well balanced depiction for his life.
I don't normally review graphic novels so I hope this review is fine :)
I thought this told the life and experiences of George Takei along with other Japanese Americans quite well, it was pretty comprehensive. Sometimes the narrative switched to current him and then went back to his younger self and I appreciate the way the he was looking back on his experiences rather than telling it as a child would. Although for this same reason I don't think it would be as easy to understand for younger audiences. The art was also a well balanced depiction for his life.
I don't normally review graphic novels so I hope this review is fine :)