A BUDDHA in the ATTIC: J. Otsuka

A Buddha in the Attic traces the lives of Japanese mail order brides lured to the U.S. with the promise  of a better life.  The arduous, impoverished lives of these young women made them eager to accept proposals of marriages from Japanese men unbeknownst to them.  Thes hardships & heartaches of the voyage & leaving all they had known behind is told through the numerous women who chose (or were coerced) into leaving their homes. The poignant voices are reflected by a unifying chorus.  Julie Otsuka's novel, "Buddha" won the Pen/Faulkner award.  It is an elegant & powerful tale of woe, wonder & shame that reminds us of these brave, pioneering Japanese women & men who endured unbearable harships with strength and dignity.  The story unfolds in Japan, early 20th C, through turbulent voyages headed to San Francisco, to the fraudulent and terrifying lives this women led with their husbands along the west coast, through the births of their children, to WWII and the frenzied racial   Executive Orders by FDR for Japanese internment.  The use of we & they rather than a singular narrative speaks of the varied experiences and emotions of both Japanese & Americans who were complacent as the Japanese were evacuated from their homes after Pearl Harbor.  These Japanese mail order brides "wondered if we had made a mistake, coming to such a violent and unwelcoming land.  We stopped dreaming.  We stopped wanting.  We simply worked, that was all."  The joys of parenthood gave way to assimilated English speaking offspring that "we could barely recognize.  Mostly, they were ashamed of us."  There is plenty of shame to go around. The Exclusion Orders forced Japanese to be interned for the years of  WWII in CA, OR, WA & AZ. "Our mayor has assured us there is no need for alarm. {The Japanese are in a safe place.}"  Many of the Americans who stood by, "who were more than a little relievered to see the Japanese go. We would like to believe that most, if not all, of the Japanese here in our own town were good, trustworthy citizens, of their absolute loyalty we could not be sure."  The racial bigotry and persecution of the Japanese was shamefully hypocritical to what Americans were fighting to eliminate.   Not until '88, did our then Pres.,  Reagan was an official apology & reparations made to the Japanese for the prejudicial persecution in  the 40's.  "Haruko left a tiny laughing brass Buddha up high, in a corner of the attic, where he is still laughing to this day."  Otsuka's brilliant historic novel must be taken out and read for generations.