Review : Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

Author: Julie Otsuka
Publisher- Format: e-book galley: Knopf Doubleday 160 pgs,and audio: Books on Tape, Random House Audio - 3 hrs, 52 min
Year of publication: 2011
Subject: Japanese mail-order brides
Setting: US - 1st half of 20th century
Genre: historical fiction
Source: ebook- publisher galley through NetGalley; audio - public library download

The publisher entices us thusly: "... a tour de force about a group of women brought from Japan to San Francisco in the early 1900s as mail-order brides. In six unforgettable, incantatory sections, the novel traces their new lives as "picture brides": the arduous voyage by boat, where the girls trade photos of their husbands and imagine uncertain futures in an unknown land . . . their arrival in San Francisco and the tremulous first nights with their new husbands . . . backbreaking toil as migrant workers in the fields and in the homes of white women . . . the struggle to learn a new language and culture . . . giving birth and raising children who come to reject their heritage . . . and, finally, the arrival of war, and the agonizing prospect of their internment. Once again Julie Otsuka has written a spellbinding novel about identity and loyalty, and what it means to be an American in uncertain times."

Written almost entirely in the first person plural voice, the author uses this unusual point of view to give us what appears to be an impersonal overview of all that is happening - "we did such and such, one of us did this, etc." .  But as the haunting repetitious prose chants itself into our brain, we the reader realize that the events being portrayed were at once incredibly personal, intimate, and private moments of the entire group.  They may each have experienced their lives individually, but these experiences paint a collective picture of loneliness, despair, hope, encouragement, and ultimate heart-break.  

It is truly, as the publisher touts, a tour-de-force.  It is easy to see why it was a National Book Award finalist.  The poetic nature of the prose, and the vivid imagery of the women's adjustment to life in America, to marriage with men they did not know, and to a country that does not quite accept them, are well worth the short time needed to immerse oneself into the story.  It won't be quickly forgotten.

Review: The beautiful one Has Come: Stories

Author: Suzanne Kamata
Publisher Format: Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing Paperback, 212 pages 
Year of publication: 2011 
Subject: American women married to Japanese, living in Japan
Setting: various Japanese town
Genre: short series
Source: e-galley ARC from publisher

 This superb collection of short stories is going to be one of my best of the year when it comes time to make up that list in December.  Suzanne Kamata has given us a portrait of American women living in foreign countries, marrying foreigners, and often giving up life as they know it to reside in their husband's native country.  Most were set in Japan, a setting that resonates with me, since I lived in Japan for a total of five years quite awhile ago.

I especially identified with the American woman in the story "You're so lucky" about a woman who is having a C-section in Japanese hospital--she looks at the clock as they begin to administer the anesthetic. It was shockingly similar to my own experience when my son was born there, although he was born in the American Naval hospital.  Of course, she gives birth to twins, and must then begin to deal with physical disabilities that many preemie babies have.

In the next story, "The Naming," we are treated to almost the same event but from the perspective of the Japanese father, who as a baseball coach is struggling with a team that has lost 19 straight games. He is suddenly called away from his team when his wife goes into labor, and hurries to the hospital while his team of underdogs wins without him. His internal struggle with the children's disabilities mirrors his wife's, and it is not until he comes to grips with their ability to survive that he can face naming the children.

Kamata continues with stories of the family dealing with these children.  In "Polishing the Halo" the mother is worried that "Not only was Ana a girl in a society that favored boys, not only was she a mixed race child in a country that cherished pure blood, but also she was disabled."   As she watches, another mother, herself deaf,  signs a halo and says she is an angel, giving Ana's mom hope and a new perspective.

Throughout all the story, Kamata's sympathetic and compelling picture of multi-cultural marriage, of different customs and traditions, and unmet expectations adds to her ability to give us insight into the hearts and minds of these women who have chosen to abandon the familiar in order to remain with the love of their lives.

Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing proves again that small publishers can and do spot the winners.  My thanks for the opportunity to review this one. 

Review: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

Author: David Mitchell
Publisher/Format: Recorded Books MP3 audio - 19hours;
Publisher/Format: Random House (2010) read as ebook 496 pages
Narrators: Jonathan Aris and Paula Wilcox.
Characters: Jacob de Zoet, Orito Aibagawa, Ogawa Uzaemon
Subject: feudal life in 19th century Japan,
Setting: Nagasaki  and Dejima Japan
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: public library


This is definitely going to be one of my top 5 of the year.  It has everything...lush scenery, a heart-stopping-page- turning plot, memorable characters, a sense of history, and a delicate brush of language so suitable to the Japanese temperament.  It definitely put me in mind of James Clavell's Shogun, a book I read and loved while we were living in Japan many years ago.

Mitchell gives us a love story, a warrior story, and a well-researched view of the Dutch East India Trading Company in the waning days of its prominence.  Jacob de Zoet, nephew of a Dutch pastor, has signed on as a clerk for a five year stint in the company at their office on Dejima, a small man-made island off the coast of Nagasaki.  There he meets the young Japanese mid-wife who is training under the resident Dutch doctor.  When the midwife is kidnapped by a cult living high in the mountains, de Zoet wants to rescue her.  From there we see a long struggle to find the group, and convince authorities of the atrocities being perpetrated.

The story is very involved. There are many sub-plots, a shipload of characters both Dutch, English, and Japanese, all presented realistically, often with warm humor, but without the overblown romanticism one often finds in books about feudal Japan.  Although I lived in Japan for five years, and traveled around quite a bit, I'm not an expert.  I do know enough however to be able to say this is as good as it gets for story-telling.  It's as real as it can be, and it shows us a people with an innate sense of dignity, a code of honor, and a country of exquisite beauty.  Mitchell even gives us a particularly beautiful poem to describe a setting at the beginning of chapter 39.  It is obvious why he was once again on the Booker Prize Long list for 2010.

I read this on my e-reader along with listening to  the audio book. Both formats are elegantly done and I will probably even purchase a print copy to keep in my permanent library.  I could not pass up the chance to hear the wonderful Japanese pronunciations of English words.  One of the major characters is the interpreter  Ogawa Uzaemon , and his puzzling over words and meaning brought back many fond memories of my struggle to make myself understood.

David Mitchell's prose does not have that problem.  It is absolutely perfect.

Friday Favorites from the Past: Shogun

Building on the My Favorite Reads theme over At Home with Books, I'm 'borrowing' her logo, and making this a Friday Favorites column every week. This week's showcased book from the past is Shogun by James Clavell. I was living in Japan when I read this, so the rich panapoly of scenery, history, and culture was quite vivid to me. I loved being able to learn more about the history and culture of that exotic country, and remember asking all my Japanese friends about various customs, foods, and locations. It's the story of John Blackthorne, a European sea captain, who ends up in Japan during the era of the Shoguns. I don't remember many details (it's been over 20 years since I read it) but I do remember that it was historically accurate, and that Clavell did a magnificent job bringing that history to a fictional setting. It is a dense read (particularly at the beginning and especially if you're not familiar with Japan) but one that was well worth it. I suspect most Americans over the age of 40 have seen the movie (or was it a mini-series?) starring Richard Chamberlain. We waited anxiously for Armed Forces TV to show it overseas so we could compare the book to the film. I'm partial to the book, but on the other hand, who doesn't like Richard Chamberlain? If you want a good summer read, with rich characters, an exciting plot with lots of action, incredible scenery, and a history lesson on top, go find a copy of this one. I'm going to have to find time to re-read it myself.