busybusyreading_asako 's review for:

Speak, Okinawa: A Memoir by Elizabeth Miki Brina

5.0

medium-paced

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AH! This book. Wow. It had been on my radar for a while but finally read it this year as I was semi-partaking in January In Japan. Brina is a half Japanese woman living in the states, and this book is part memoir, part history of Okinawa - a small Japanese island prefecture which was occupied by the US Army during WW2, and which still houses 14 US military bases.

Brina talks a lot about her at-times troubled relationship with her mum, who was born in Okinawa and met and married a Vietnam veteran and moved to America not knowing anyone or any English. Beautifully layered with her personal stories is quite a traumatic portrayal of Okinawa as it underwent occupation. Through several chapters she writes in plural first person perspective to create a ‘voice’ of the Okinawan people, which was a unique tool that used sparingly was quite powerful. The title of the book started to make sense when listening to these chapters

Speak, Okinawa is very emotive and vulnerable book, and I couldn’t begin to imagine the research and personal journey Brina went through to write this. I really connected with her character (half Japanese, Japanese immigrant mother living in an English speaking western country). It definitely made me reflect on my relationship with my mum, and also made me quite sad because she’s no longer with us. 🤍 I think most people probably won’t cry as many times as I did reading this book!

I did audio for this which was incredible, narrated by Sachi Lovatt and the author herself.