THE BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC

Author: Julie Otsuka

Genre: Fiction, Standalone

Published: 2011

Personal Rating: 4/5 (very good)

Format: eBook

Yearly Count: 28

From NetGalley:

In six unforgettable, incantatory sections, the novel traces their new lives as "picture brides": the arduous voyage by boat, where the girls trade photos of their husbands and imagine uncertain futures in an unknown land . . . their arrival in San Francisco and the tremulous first nights with their new husbands . . . backbreaking toil as migrant workers in the fields and in the homes of white women . . . the struggle to learn a new language and culture . . . giving birth and raising children who come to reject their heritage . . . and, finally, the arrival of war, and the agonizing prospect of their internment.

Once again Julie Otsuka has written a spellbinding novel about identity and loyalty, and what it means to be an American in uncertain times.

The unique style in which Otsuka chose to write this book was repetitious and sometimes tedious; HOWEVER, that repetition created a sense of importance and an overall picture of that Japanese community at that time.  The story began as paragraphs of squished lists, and on occasion she would interject a more intimate statement allowing a more personal peek (loved those).  That pattern was prevalent in the first half then it began to wane as the book continued.

The narrator was a collective group, so many, many aspects of their lives were able to be explored.  I envisioned it like a paint-by-number.  Paint this color here and that color there, and eventually with all the parts covered, you have the whole picture.  Overall, I really enjoyed the story and learned a thing or two along the way.

My thanks go to Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for providing me with this eGalley.