F rom the bestselling, award-winning author of The Buddha in the Attic and The Swimmers, this commanding debut novel paints a portrait of the Japanese American incarceration camps that is both a haunting evocation of a family in wartime and a resonant lesson for our times. On a sunny day in Berkeley, California, in 1942, a woman sees a sign in a post office window, returns to her home, and matter-of-factly begins to pack her family's possessions. Like thousands of other Japanese Americans they have been reclassified, ...
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F rom the bestselling, award-winning author of The Buddha in the Attic and The Swimmers, this commanding debut novel paints a portrait of the Japanese American incarceration camps that is both a haunting evocation of a family in wartime and a resonant lesson for our times. On a sunny day in Berkeley, California, in 1942, a woman sees a sign in a post office window, returns to her home, and matter-of-factly begins to pack her family's possessions. Like thousands of other Japanese Americans they have been reclassified, virtually overnight, as enemy aliens and are about to be uprooted from their home and sent to a dusty incarceration camp in the Utah desert. In this lean and devastatingly evocative first novel, Julie Otsuka tells their story from five flawlessly realized points of view and conveys the exact emotional texture of their experience: the thin-walled barracks and barbed-wire fences, the omnipresent fear and loneliness, the unheralded feats of heroism. When the Emperor Was Divine is a work of enormous power that makes a shameful episode of our history as immediate as today's headlines.
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Add this copy of When the Emperor Was Divine to cart. $0.99, good condition, Sold by Jenson Books Inc rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Logan, UT, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Anchor Books.
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This item shows signs of wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact, but may have aesthetic issues such as small tears, bends, scratches, and scuffs. Spine may also show signs of wear. Pages may include some notes and highlighting. May include "From the library of" labels. Satisfaction Guaranteed.
Add this copy of When the Emperor Was Divine to cart. $0.99, like new condition, Sold by More Than Words rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Anchor Books.
Add this copy of When the Emperor Was Divine to cart. $0.99, very good condition, Sold by More Than Words rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Anchor Books.
Add this copy of When the Emperor Was Divine to cart. $0.99, good condition, Sold by More Than Words rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Anchor Books.
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Add this copy of When the Emperor Was Divine to cart. $1.25, good condition, Sold by Your Online Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Houston, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Anchor.
Add this copy of When the Emperor Was Divine to cart. $1.25, good condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Anchor.
Add this copy of When the Emperor Was Divine to cart. $1.25, fair condition, Sold by Your Online Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Houston, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Anchor.
Add this copy of When the Emperor Was Divine to cart. $1.25, fair condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Anchor.
Add this copy of When the Emperor Was Divine to cart. $1.25, good condition, Sold by Gulf Coast Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Memphis, TN, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Anchor.
Add this copy of When the Emperor Was Divine to cart. $1.30, very good condition, Sold by Jenson Books Inc rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Logan, UT, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Anchor Books.
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Very good. A well-cared-for item that has seen limited use but remains in great condition. The item is complete, unmarked, and undamaged, but may show some limited signs of wear. Item works perfectly. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine is undamaged.
Illuminating as to the feeling's of Americans to Japanese/American's after Pearl Harbor. Fear played such a large part in every aspect of WW II. A great book to read !!
pamela1717
Apr 2, 2008
Simple and emotional
Very stark and removed and I assume that was the intention of the author. I think the starkness serves a large purpose for the story. Many books spend time on character development and story line (not a bad thing), this one doesn't. By omitting these I think the author sets the reader up to imagine so much more than an author can supply and to ask themselves "What if this happened to me?"
Rubycanary
Jan 23, 2008
gorgeous and sad
This is a fantastic depiction of a subject that hasn't been written about nearly enough in contemporary American literature. A family of unknown name, but of Japanese origin, is the example of a common tale. People told to leave their homes to live a life in the desert of Utah. Declared enemies of the state, and told to show their loyalty to the US by allowing themselves to be locked up for years.
The only character given a name is a presumably white girl who dares to write letters to the unnamed boy.
The book is simple, beautiful, and very successfully makes its point.