“The Buddha in the Attic” by Julie Otsuka

I’ve had a hard time settling into reading. I’ve recently started two books and gave up on them because they had too many characters for me to keep straight. On impulse, after reading a review, I ordered THE BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC. This novel presents no problem in character identification. It’s written in first person plural, from the standpoint of Japanese “picture brides” who, after agreeing to marry men they know only from often forged photographs and letters, immigrate to the United States in the early 1900s. All the narratives begin with “We” or “Some of us”, showing readers the immense scope of experiences and circumstances the women encounter, suffer through, and (usually) survive.

The very young women, after arduous journeys by boat to San Francisco, often endure painful sex with their sometimes brutal husbands. They swelter in the fields while their babies whimper in nearby ditches. They see their children reject their own culture and language. They suffer, mostly alone.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the order is announced for the Japanese to be interned. This is where I am in the book, and I’m eager to read and learn more. This book is stunningly effective in showing the emotions of the Japanese women, sometimes subtly, sometimes straightforwardly, never needing to over dramatize.

I have no doubt I’ll love the rest of this book. THE BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC, winner of the 2012 Pen/Faulkner Award, is riveting.

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