Julie Otsuka's Novel "When the Emperor Was Divine": A Story of a Japanese-American Family During WWII

Joseph J. Hofer: A great insight into the plight of US West coast Japanese citizens when they were herded into detention camps in 1942. The family separations, very basic accommodations, mental health and physical challenges. This Japanese American author's well written prose makes the reader feel they are present in the story.

Canada on Jul 28, 2023

Amazon Customer: This is the first novel I have read by Julie Otsuka and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Good story, good plot lines, engaging and believable characters, all the ingredients of a great story.

Australia on Aug 05, 2022

Andy: Loved this novel. Short and concise yet I felt that I had a glimpse into a world I'd rarely read about before. A great companion to The Buddha in the Attic too.

United Kingdom on Sep 01, 2019

Michael W. Rickard II: The complexities of hybrid identity are shown in Julie Otsuka’s When the Emperor Was Divine as its American characters of Japanese descent experience the effects of racism and xenophobia by their fellow Americans. Otsuka’s novel examines the many effects of racism and xenophobia experienced by Japanese Americans due to President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 during World War Two. Most of the characters do not suffer direct physical violence as a result of the internment, but Otsuka explores the other sufferings, ranging from being displaced from home to various losses of identity.

The characters (who Otsuka keeps nameless to reflect their loss of identity not only as Americans but as individuals) are displaced from home, something which is psychologically devastating as it creates instability. This is reflected in the girl’s feelings of uncertainty, “Later that evening, the girl awoke to the sound of breaking glass. Someone had thrown a brick through a window but the gas lamps were broken and it was too dark to see” (43). The young girl is confined to a train, parched by thirst and unsure of her surroundings. The Japanese-Americans are not told where...

United States on Jan 29, 2018

Isa2503: Dopo aver letto VENIVANO TUTTE PER MARE che tanto mi era piaciuto, ho deciso di leggere quest'altro volume della stessa autrice.
Versione originale in inglese.
Lo stile è bello, agile e facile come pure il lessico.
In questo racconto, l'autrice affronta la situazione tragica e dolorosa nella quale si sono trovati gli americani di origini nipponica dopo l'attacco a Perl Habour.
Il libro è diviso in 4 capitoli, ciascuno del quali è narrato da uno dei membri di questa famiglia
La madre (che narra di quando ha appreso dell'ordine di evacuazione e dei preparativi per la partenza verso il campo di concentramento nello Utah )
La figlia (che narra del viaggio da casa verso campo)
Il figlio (che narra della permanenza nel campo)
Il padre (che narra della propria disperazione quando, subito dopo l'attaco a P.H., viene arrestato ed interrogato).

I protagonisti ci prendono per mano ed insieme a loro viviamo tutte le loro perdite, tutte le loro umiliazioni, tutte le loro speranze ed i loro sogni.
Ci rendiamo conto quest'intera comunità perse non solo i beni materiali, ma anche la stima dei loro concittadini ed anche la dignità.

Italy on Sep 02, 2013

Consolata: Se "Venivamo tutte per mare" raccontava coralmente le vite di migliaia di donne giapponesi che dal principio del Novecento sono sbarcate in California per congiungersi con i mariti emigrati, sposati per procura, qui è narrata l'oscura e vergognosa storia dell'internamento dei cittadini statunitensi di origine giapponese dopo Pearl Harbor. Considerati indiscriminatamente potenziali traditori, informatori del nemico, più fedeli all'Imperatore che al governo dello zio Sam, furono allontanati dalle proprie case, privati di averi e libertà, raccolti in campi di concentramento dove trascorsero anni nell'inattività e nel disagio più totali. La famiglia protagonista vive dapprima il trauma di veder prelevato in piena notte il padre (portato via in vestaglia e ciabatte, particolare che tormenterà il figlio bambino per tutto il tempo della separazione) poi, quando per strada compaiono i manifesti in cui si avvisano gli americani di ascendenza giapponese che il giorno tale dovranno partire per una destinazione sconosciuta portando con sé solo una valigia di effetti personali, lo strappo violento della perdita di punti fermi, amici, abitudini, sicurezze. Né il ritorno sarà la facile...

Italy on Nov 17, 2012

kenofunited: Evacuation notice, number tags, armed guards, fences, mass eating halls and loyalty documents; these are absolutely absurd and inhumane but most of all, they are Americans too. In When the Emperor was Divine, Julie Otsuka leads us to look at a commonly avoided historical event- the Japanese internment camps through a different lens. When I was in high school, I learned about the Japanese internment camps in only one day but I learned about how the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor for several long days. However, this novel opened my eyes in how the Japanese-Americans were really treated in these camps. This novel can be read as a historical novel, but its details and parallelism also bring out a lot of emotion from the readers. For me, I felt extremely sympathetic for what happened to the Japanese Americans. But most of all, the loud and courageous voice at the end of the book woke me up and reminded me that I needed to defend my inalienable rights as an Asian American too.

In Emperor, a Japanese-American's family was evacuated from their home and was forced to live in a fenced internment camp in a desert. I remembered the boy had a turtle in the camp and the first thing he did...

United States on Mar 17, 2011