The Buddha in the Attic

What a marvelous title for a marvelous novel with a marvelous length. 129 pages. But all is not so marvelous in this chronicle of Japanese immigrants trying to adapt to the American way, particularly in the chapter titled “A Disappearance.” There, Julie Otsuka describes an incessant march of men, then of women and of children. Yet she never refers to camp and she uses “disappearance” in its singular form. Both choices are subtle yet powerful. In this unusual novel, every word is substance. This is an epic, a chronicle, a lament, a statement. A history defined with gestures and with names. With individual and with places. At some point you will look for main characters, for a focus. And you will keep searching. The Buddha in the Attic is a list, a chant. Borderline experimental, it is a poem and a tale. I am calling it a masterpiece.

I thought this book was deeply moving and the pluralized first person narrative made this book something unique. Japanese, mail-order brides have come to America married to men they have written to and have received pictures. They develop lives and while the book is in almost a chorus the reader still gets to know the individual and perhaps has an even better connection.For those who say they won't read a short story or novella because a story can't be told well enough which means the reader won't have the same depth of feeling I challenge them to read this story. And I have to say (and I hate politics in reviews so I have to apologize) this was such a timely read in today's political climate.

Incredibly well written description of the agony so many Japanese 'war brides' had to suffer from the moment they left their homes in Japan, their arduous journey across the ocean, their hopes, and fears described in surprisingly poetic style, making one part of their difficult journey and their great expectations only to be shattered by brutal reality when they arrived. Their dreams did not come through, they found themselves in virtual slavery, providing free labor and often badly mistreated by their husbands with no way out...They bore it in silence, suffered unbelievable hardship in silence and submission, something that they had been taught by their mothers in Japan. And then the ultimate punishment, being accused of collaborating with the Japanese aggressors in the war and just because of their Japanese roots they have to leave their homes, farms shops, and they are shipped to internment camps. The most soul wrenching chapter is at the end when we witness the reaction of their former neighbors. An unforgettable read!! Wonderfully presented.

This book is a historical fiction take at the Japanese internment camps during the world war. Told in a plural first person, this novel explores the lives of women who were shipped off to America to live lives they didn’t expect at all. They live as farmers and maids and prostitutes to provide for their families until their husbands start disappearing, and soon, the wives too. It’s an easy read, quick to finish, with heavy emotional quotes woven in. It’s not the most compelling or interesting, I would not have read it if it wasn’t for class, but still a good book.

This began well and sustained my interest for the first fifty or so pages, then it just became a tedious chore. I'm very interested in first person plural narration (FPP) and am attempting to read every book in FPP. I found Otsuka's ambitious attempt to be less than successful. Otsuka's FPP is too broad, There are so many ways Otsuka could have tackled this concept that would have worked better.This would have worked as a short story or novella at half the size as is. But still would have run itself to the ground. By including all of Japan's picture-brides with no anchor of place, there is no one for the reader to embrace, root for, or despise. Had she narrowed her choice to a group of several women, perhaps from a neighborhood, or church, etc. This work could have taken on some definable shape to capture the weight of the tale she wishes to tell. The Point of View (POV) is simply too limiting for the scope of the story she wanted to tell. You cannot tell an entire nation of immigrant's experience within this POV because the individual experience will vary too greatly to be contained here. As it does within her attempt - had she narrowed it to just farm workers or maids or mothers, it would have stood a chance, but including every possible kind of female Japanese immigrant voice left no room for anything but the most sweeping of generalities.This offering becomes static and highly repetitive. Otsuka often degrades the FPP to simplified lists that encapsulate generic experiences that are alienating and lose sight of the reader's empathy and patience. She often makes no attempt to lessen the harshness of the POV or weave the "we" voice into a more cohesive narrative. Indeed, as I read, I often felt I was being beaten over the head with the word "we."I'm disheartened that the novel was unsuccessful. Otsuka is more than capable of creating an affable and compelling story. Her imagery is crisp and her prose is lean. It is a fast page-turning read with small, tight, and self-contained sections that make it a perfect book to read in waiting rooms and when you only have a minute here and there. There is a very poignant and important story within its pages that deserves telling, however, Otsuka is incapable of balancing all the elements of the story in addition to the ambitious choice of narration. While I am a fan of first person plural, it was a poor choice for this particular story. This story and the characters within it deserve a closer and more intimate exploration than the method Otsuka chose to apply allows.

Historical fiction can be very hit and miss, and has a bit of a bad rap these days thanks to the legions of historical romance writers out there, pumping out a constant stream of low quality literature. So it's always a little nerve wracking picking up a book by a writer you don't know.This book however is outstanding. It took me a while to adjust and warm up to the strange narration style (1st person plural? Which I've never, ever seen done before). For a while I was trying to work out what value it really added, because it felt almost gimmicky at times, but it pays off massively in the second half.It's a fantastic novel and a really innovative form from my point of view. It's wonderful to see authors challenging what we think of as a novel.

On opening the book one is immediately struck by the fact that our narrator is not the usual "I" but "we". I've only come across this once before - in the wonderful "We The Drowned" by Carsten Jensen - it worked very well in that novel and it works again here.The "we" in question are young Japanese girls and women making their way to new meet new husbands in America and Julie Otsuka creates an amazingly evocative atmosphere from the moment that they embark on their journey through to the outbreak of World War II. By using the "we" technique the story is not limited to the trials and tribulations of one of the girls but instead we see a wide spectrum of what their new world holds. For many it is not the promised land they had hoped for and their husbands don't turn out as expected. For a lucky few, life is good.For a relatively short book, the author has crammed in a great deal and we learn a lot about a group of people who are very much forgotten today (I certainly knew nothing about them before reading this).It leaves the reader with plenty to think about and a true sense of understanding what these young women went through in their very difficult move to another continent.

I quite understand why this book is not popular with some readers. It is not a cohesive story, does not concentrate on one or two characters and is almost certainly non-fiction.However, I found it wonderful! The flow of the story, told by a great many women, is exciting, frightening, fun and humorous all at the same time. The women's stories are all different yet all report almost identically similar experiences and report with widely diverging attitudes.It was like reading poetry - I was completely involved. I would have liked to have known what happened next, though.

I think your enjoyment of this book will be determined in part by whether you already have an interest in the issues it covers. The book is quite short and it is poetic too, with a structure which is followed through the whole book based on individual and group experiences of being Japanese picture brides. Contrary to what might be heard the book is about Japanese who went to marry other Japanese in the states.It is an enjoyable read from the perspective of someone interested in experiences of Japanese people and recent modern history. If you want a good story then this isn't really a novel, but it does bring into mind the number of issues and concerns for this group of people...

Brilliant, heartbreaking - all done with the deftest of touches, as we get snapshots of a generation. Only once did I long for more focus on a limited number of characters, but he broad overview style of the book, these snapshots of of everyone allows for a depth I wouldn't have thought possible but Julia Otsuka shows us how it's done.