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

4.0

The novel reads as a dream you have not realized is a nightmare. The use of the plural first person forces the perspective of watching yourself in a dream. At times, it lulls you during the chapters but it keeps a rhythmic pace to this short collection of vignettes. I was overwhelmed by the fatalism of the Japanese immigrant women experience. Even when they resisted there was a sense that resistance was preordained. The novel makes you think and feel about a period of history that it is likely many have not considered carefully before.