Paperback review: The Buddha in the Attic, By Julie Otsuka
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Julie Otsuka based her chorus of young Japanese women emigrating to the United States on the real-life recollections of those who left their homes as girls to marry strangers, and the authenticity of her story is indebted to those memories.
The mostly teenage girls have only photographs of their intendeds as they sail across the ocean, and most are disappointed by the faces that greet them when they arrive. A life of toil in the fields, or serving rich households awaits, but Otsuka also shows a generation adapting to new soil, giving birth to children who will grow up American, and the shock that comes when Pearl Harbor forces America into the war and Japanese families are interned. This is the story of the immigrant experience, but it is also the story of the powerless: these women have no rights, no authority, no voice.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments