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BooK rEviEW
The Buddha in
the Attic
by Julie Otsuka
published in 2011
published by alfred a. knopf
Isbn: 978-0-307-70046-9
tEXt: KAtH LIu
What possesses someone
to pack up everything
they own and move to
a country they have
never been to before, especially when
they don't speak very much of the
language nor understand very much
of the culture of their destination
country? Necessity? A dream of
a better life? Wanderlust? Love?
For the group of young Japanese
women in this novel it was a bit of
everything. As mail-order brides,
they were to be married to men
whom they had only heard about
through written letters and a single
photograph. Leaving their lives,
their families, their culture and their
comfort zone, they set out across
the ocean for America. When they
arrived the reality that faced them
was devastatingly different to their
hopes and expectations.
T h r o u g h f i r s t p e r s o n p l u r a l
narration, Otsuka presents the
collective experiences of these
women, divided thematically by
significant events – from their first
night as wives to childbirth to
their removal from the towns and
cities along the Pacific coast during
World War Two. As a result of
this narrative style and thematic
organization there isn't a traditional
plot with a beginning, middle and
end. Rather the experience of
reading the stories of many comes
to be almost like a meditation on
lives past. The choice to present
this material in this way is a wise
one, I think, as to do anything other
than present the simple facts could
create a potential emotional overload
for the reader. This is not only
because of the number of different
perspectives and stories but also
because of the confronting nature of
the content within.
I remember very clearly the first
time I discovered that Japanese
Americans and Canadians had been
removed from their homes and
livelihoods during the Second World
War when I read Obasan by Joy
Kogawa for a postgraduate trauma
literature paper. I'd no idea that this
kind of thing had happened and to
be honest, I was shocked by what I
learned. It hadn't mattered if these
people had lived there half of their
lives, or if they had been born there
and were therefore citizens – in the
wake of the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt
authorized the exclusion of all people
of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific
coastline and housed them in war
interment camps inland. Like I said –
it's confronting stuff. But let's forget
for a moment all of the why's and
the wherefores of this decision. Let's
hold off on the pointing of fingers
and the placement of blame and guilt
and focus on what it is that Otsuka
is telling us to do – to listen to the
voices that couldn't be heard back
then.
These voices are not only of the
Japanese who were interred but also
of their neighbors who were very
much affected by their removal.
The last chapter is written from the
perspective of these neighbors which
shows that at first they were worried,
upset and guilty about the way the
Japanese had been treated. But as
time passes and new stores open
in place of Mr Harada's grocery
or the Imanashi Transfer, and the
Instructions to All Persons of
Japanese Ancestry notices fade and
blow away with a stronger breeze
than usual, so too do the feelings and
the memories. People move on. It
seems cold but it is after all human
nature to let go of things that do
not continue to affect you on a daily
basis. Especially when your country
is about to become involved in the
worst war this world has ever seen.
Otsuka's novella is an attempt
to reestablish these lost stories
and assure their place within the
narrative of America's history. As
the title suggests, it’s time for it
to be taken down out of the attic,
dusted off and examined, honestly
and with an open heart and mind.
As with many novels that deal with
subjects of uncomfortable moments
in history this is not an uplifting
read. It presents us, the present day
reader, with a slice of a time gone by
told through the imagined voices of
those who experienced it. It's a tale
of belonging, of inner strength, of
cultural struggles and of real life. It's
a timely reminder of how far we have
come in this world, but also, perhaps,
how much further we have yet to go.
Kath Liu is an
avid reader and a
founding member
of the CSC Book
Club who believes
happiness is a good book, good
coffee and good friends.
Like books? Check this out:
http://kathmeista.blogspot.com/
24
february 2012 www.communitycenter.org.tw