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wai 's review for:
When the Emperor Was Divine
by Julie Otsuka
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is slim and a very quick read but one that stays with you. I found the end particularly poignant, discussing the surrealism of returning to society after internment and facing both overt and covert forms of racism and complacency in the white majority. The family survives but the trauma they all faced in imprisonment and the current social climate has taken its toll and begs the question - how much did they really survive?
I'm a quarter Japanese American and this just reminded me of all the history classes I've taken that discussed WWII, how little they all discussed Japanese internment and how much justification we were given for the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. More of this rhetoric exists still today than people realize and is hard for Japanese diaspora and their families.
I'm a quarter Japanese American and this just reminded me of all the history classes I've taken that discussed WWII, how little they all discussed Japanese internment and how much justification we were given for the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. More of this rhetoric exists still today than people realize and is hard for Japanese diaspora and their families.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Racism, Xenophobia
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Dementia
Minor: Vomit