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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I will have to check what other books that I read, but I think this novel was the best I read in 2021, the most memorable. It's all due to Julie Otsuka's writing style, her captivating description of these women.
You find the choral voice of all these women who left their country full of hope for the future and were - mostly - disappointed, all the different destinies that awaited them, all the difficulties they faced along the years. This also tells of the different generations, the children of these exiled women, and how they reacted toward their origin, how the war and the lack of trust treated them. One minor defect : near the end, there were a couple of enumerations that went too long, that is all.
It's a completely original, beautiful novel that took me by the guts and hasn't let go since. At the difference of other novels I have read, I remember it vividly and now, I *have* to read more books by this author.
***
Il va falloir que je vérifie avec les autres livres que j'ai lus, mais je pense que ce roman était le meilleur que j'ai eu entre mes mains en 2021, le plus mémorable. Tout cela à cause du style d'écriture de Julie Otsuka, les descriptions captivantes de ces femmes.
On y écoute la voix chorale de toutes ces Japonaises qui ont quitté leur pays pleines d'espoir pour un meilleur future et furent - pour la plupart - bien déçues, les différents destins qui les attendaient, les difficultés auxquelles elles ont dû faire face au fil des ans. On y voit également les générations différentes, les enfants de ces exilées, comment ils réagissaient par rapport à leur origine, comment la guerre et le manque de confiance les a marqués. Un petit défaut : près de la fin, il y a eu une énumération ou deux qui étaient trop longues, mais c'est tout.
C'est un roman complètement original, magnifique qui m'a prise aux tripes et ne m'a toujours pas lâchée. Contrairement à d'autres livres que j'ai lus, je me rappelle parfaitement de celui-ci et maintenant, il faut absolument que je lise plus de ce que cette auteure a écrit.
You find the choral voice of all these women who left their country full of hope for the future and were - mostly - disappointed, all the different destinies that awaited them, all the difficulties they faced along the years. This also tells of the different generations, the children of these exiled women, and how they reacted toward their origin, how the war and the lack of trust treated them. One minor defect : near the end, there were a couple of enumerations that went too long, that is all.
It's a completely original, beautiful novel that took me by the guts and hasn't let go since. At the difference of other novels I have read, I remember it vividly and now, I *have* to read more books by this author.
***
Il va falloir que je vérifie avec les autres livres que j'ai lus, mais je pense que ce roman était le meilleur que j'ai eu entre mes mains en 2021, le plus mémorable. Tout cela à cause du style d'écriture de Julie Otsuka, les descriptions captivantes de ces femmes.
On y écoute la voix chorale de toutes ces Japonaises qui ont quitté leur pays pleines d'espoir pour un meilleur future et furent - pour la plupart - bien déçues, les différents destins qui les attendaient, les difficultés auxquelles elles ont dû faire face au fil des ans. On y voit également les générations différentes, les enfants de ces exilées, comment ils réagissaient par rapport à leur origine, comment la guerre et le manque de confiance les a marqués. Un petit défaut : près de la fin, il y a eu une énumération ou deux qui étaient trop longues, mais c'est tout.
C'est un roman complètement original, magnifique qui m'a prise aux tripes et ne m'a toujours pas lâchée. Contrairement à d'autres livres que j'ai lus, je me rappelle parfaitement de celui-ci et maintenant, il faut absolument que je lise plus de ce que cette auteure a écrit.
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Tragic
This is truly devastating and heartbreaking. It's a profound human tragedy.
Kudos to the writer for their ability to capture such a range of human emotions, and to so vividly portray the complexities and hardships faced by these women within just a few pages.
The amount of pain, fear, violation, and disappointment these women suffered is truly devastating.
This is a masterpiece.
This is truly devastating and heartbreaking. It's a profound human tragedy.
Kudos to the writer for their ability to capture such a range of human emotions, and to so vividly portray the complexities and hardships faced by these women within just a few pages.
The amount of pain, fear, violation, and disappointment these women suffered is truly devastating.
This is a masterpiece.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Julie Otsuka’s chorus-like novel follows a generation of Japanese picture brides in America, told in a hypnotic “we” voice that blurs individual identity into communal fate. The effect is poetic and devastating: small details of labor, marriage, childbirth, racism, and loss accumulate into a tidal wave of history. It’s short, precise, and emotionally powerful — less about plot than about atmosphere and memory.
Maybe not the book if you're looking for character-driven attachment, but unforgettable as an act of voice and form. A book I’d recommend widely, especially to anyone interested in immigrant stories told with bold stylistic choices.
Writing with an economy of language, Otsuka uses Rashomonic perspective to unveil a tale of communal experience. A mist of social snippets washes a collage, each droplet glimpsed as solo in situ. Heartbreaking, kind, amusing, indicting.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4.5 I really liked how this story was told. Using "We" to encompass so many Japanese Women and the journey of their lives from Japan to the US. Would highly recommend for a book club read.
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes