A review by jwinchell
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

4.0

I can’t recall reading another novel written in the first person plural. The collectivity of Japanese mail order brides was overwhelming- nuanced in a pointillist way (as another reviewer pointed out), but also described in broad strokes: the boat, being “taken” by their new husbands, white people, childbirth and child rearing, paranoia and disappearance. The last chapter is written from the perspective of those who remained after the Japanese were sent to internment- a chapter that leaves a gaping sense of loss. This was a sad novel but an educative one.