Sunday, May 27, 2012

The Buddah in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

The Buddha in the Atttic by Julie Otsuka

I'm not quite sure how I ended up reading two stories in a row about Asian picture brides of the early 20th century.  The Buddha in the Attic is on a list of books people are reading in Cleveland.  I'm writing my own novel set in Cleveland, so I'm kind of obsessed with what they like to do there.  After reading this novel, I have a whole new respect for Clevelanders and their taste in reading material.

The last book I read, Honolulu told the story of Korean women ending up in Hawaii.  The Buddha in the Attic tells the story of Japanese brides trying to make a new life in San Francisco.  Their stories are very similar, quick weddings, quick wedding nights and then off to the fields for years of hard labor.

 The difference in The Buddha in the Attic is the way the story is told, singularly, collectively, beautifully.  Ms. Otsuka writes in a style I'm not sure what it would be called, but it is wonderful and captivating. I didn't want to put this book down.

The brides face constant struggles to earn a living and find their place in this strange country called America.   Racism stares them directly in the face and yet they move on all in the name of caring for their families.  Their children ignore the Japanese culture the brides long to keep alive.  Their lives are filled with joy, heartache, disease, and despair, the ebb and flow of all human life.

Until one day they disappear and are sent away to internment camps for Japanese during World War II.  The families had become a part of the landscape, running businesses, making friends, sending children to school.  And suddenly they were gone from our lives.  We never thought of them as different.  Until they were gone.  

The Buddha in the Attic is beautiful, heartwarming, and unusual but a novel I will hold close for a long, long time.  Thank you Cleveland for sharing it with me.

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