A short novel told mostly from the perspective of a young boy of 8 but also his older sister and mother. All remain nameless (perhaps reflecting the anonymity with which they were regarded by the U.S. government - just a number). The story chronicles the last days of freedom of a Japanese-American family, the mother's and children's internment in a camp in Utah for 3 years during work War II (the father was taken away by the FBI the day Pearl Harbor was bombed) and the eventual reunification of the family at war's end. All of this unfolds gently, sadly, indirectly, through childlike perceptions and observations and dialogue. The final chapter, Confessions, is an angry and poignant denouement told from the father's point of view that stands in stark contrast to the mother's resignation and the book's overall tone. This book covers a shameful chapter of American history in which fear and ignorance caused the State to strip its citizens of rights, property and dignity. Published a year after 911 it's a stark and timely warning to us all of the continuing poison of prejudice (now directed more at Muslim-Anericans) and the precariousness of the freedoms we hold dear.

Utah 1942. Internment Camp. Isolation. Deprivation. And the unceasing boredom. The author’s masterful writing says it best. “Who was winning the war? Who was losing? His mother no longer wanted to know. She stopped keeping track of the days. She no longer read the paper or listened to the bulletins on the radio. “Tell me when it’s over,” she said” ...”Sometimes I don’t know if I’m awake or asleep.” “You’re awake,” the boy would tell her.

After 3 years and 4 months, the family do return home and post-war America for Japanese-Americans is portrayed showing the distrust and the guilt of former friends, who no longer wave hello or meet their neighbor’s eyes. “Sometimes one of us would suddenly stop on the sidewalk and point to a neighbors front window. Wasn’t that our mother’s Electrolux Mrs. Leahy was pushing back and forth her living room floor? Didn’t the Gilroy’s mohair sofa look awfully familiar?”

A shameful, painful time which feels destined to be repeated. “I’m the one you see everywhere - we’re taking over your neighbourhood. I’m the stranger at the gate. I’m the traitor in your own backyard. So go ahead. And lock me up. Take my children. Take my wife. Freeze my assets. Seize my crops. Search my office. Ransack my house. Cancel my insurance. Assign me a number. Inform me of my crime. Too short. Too dark. Too ugly. Too proud. Put it down in writing - is nervous in conversation, always laughs at the wrong time, never laughs at all - and I’ll sign on the dotted line. Is treacherous and cunning, is ruthless, is cruel. And if they ask you someday what it was I most wanted to say, please tell them, if you would, it was this: I’m sorry. There. That’s it. I’ve said it. Now can I go?

Thanks, Pat, for the recommending this powerful novel.

I'm conflicted about how to rate this, but I'm settling on a solid three. The prose is straightforward but powerful, concise yet revealing. The final chapter is especially impactful. However, I feel like there's a barrier between me and the characters, one that I can't quite break past. I don't know who this family is, aside from contextual information about their troubles. I'm looking at their experience from a distance, rather than being fully pulled into their mindsets. I feel like I was in the wrong mindset while reading this, so maybe I'll give it a reread or close analysis in a couple of years.

A heartbreaking story of one Japanese American family’s experience of a terrible, shameful time in US history. I wanted to change everything for this family, stop their suffering, let them have their lives back, let their neighbors not be so horrible, let America not be so horrible to them. The broken father is a character I will never forget, but actually all of them - mother, son, daughter - are well-drawn characters that you cannot help but feel for, deeply. Such thoughtful, telling details, really great writing. An excellent book.

Using spare, powerful prose, Julie Otsaka tells the heartbreaking story of a Japanese family that is sent to internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The father is taken in the middle of the night, wearing just his pajamas, bathrobe and slippers. The mother and her two children must travel to two different camps, the last one being in the Utah desert. The story is told from the perspectives of each family member in separate chapters. When the war with Japan ends, they are released back home, but to a world they no longer recognize or feel a part of. They are each traumatized by their experiences in ways that they cannot begin to understand.

As the reader, you are fully immersed in their plight. You live it with them. The internment of the Japanese during WWII, along with the enslavement of the Black population before the Civil War, is a stain on American history.

This book is an absolute must read.

An excellent book about the Japanese-American experience following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, told through the experiences of one unnamed family--from the father being taken away in the middle of the night for questioning by the FBI, to the mother and children's internment in a camp in Utah, and finally their return to their home in Berkeley, CA, after three years and five months, and the reception they received in the community. The last chapter is the father's 'confession.'

The writing is simple, almost terse, which perfectly expresses the bleakness of their experiences.

Vackert och avskalat om tragiska händelser. Japan ger sig in i andra världskriget genom att bomba Pearl Harbour och i en familj med japansk bakgrund i Kalifornien interneras först fadern och sedan hustrun och barnen. Vi får aldrig heta vad de heter och vad som fört dem till USA, och det känns lite som en del av poängen med berättelsen. Fint upplysta detaljer i deras liv, sparsmakat men exakt berättat. När kejsaren var gudomlig känns mer som en lång novell än som den korta roman den egentligen är, mycket på grund av det koncentrerade berättandet och detaljerna som återkommer. Jag tyckte mycket om den, men inte riktigt lika mycket som Vi kom över havet som jag läste för ett par somrar sedan och som golvade mig totalt. Möjligen hade det varit bättre att läsa böckerna i omvänd ordning, så som de skrivits, trots att de inte handlar om samma personer.

Honestamente este libro no fue exactamente lo que me esperaba, sin embargo ha sido una buena lectura.

Cuando Estados Unidos se embarca en la Guerra contra Japón durante la II Guerra Mundial, decide también tomar prisioneros a todos los japoneses que estaban en su territorio, considerándolos a todos como posibles espías.

Eso es un hecho conocido, demasiado poco conocido para mi sorpresa, sin embargo sucedió, este libro novela a través de los ojos de dos niños de ascendencia japonesa, la detención de su padre, el largo viaje a campos de concentración, su vida durante los años que estuvieron detenidos y luego su vida una vez que los liberan.

Por un lado, la narrativa no es tan fluida como me podría haber esperado, es como haber estado leyendo pensamientos sueltos sobre lo que estos personajes iban viviendo, solamente algunos datos recogidos aquí y allá sobre lo que sentían, comían y vivian, como si estuviera contado en telegrama, frases sueltas, no hay precisamente una historia con un seguimiento claro y eso hace que este libro no sea tan fácil de seguir.

Lo que sí logra es transmitir cada sentimiento de miedo, de hambre, de calor, de frío de incertidumbre, el sentimiento de injusticia y sobre todo el miedo que se siente al no querer volver a enojar al buen Sam, sin embargo, al mismo tiempo se siente la rabia de la impotencia y el sentimiento de querer negar su propia naturaleza y envidiando lo que ellos nunca serán.

Personalmente creo que el pueblo norteamericano es el más hipócrita que puede haber, rápido para juzgar y criticar lo que se hace en otros países y absolutamente ciego en lo que sucede en su propia casa, son los más bélicos, son los más racistas, son los más abusivos y sin embargo pretender arreglar el mundo que está fuera de su territorio nacional.

Una lectura esclarecedora pero me imagino que sobre este tema habrá otros que reflejen con más claridad lo vivido por los japoneses en esa época en Estados Unidos.

Debo admitir que la primera novela que leí de la autora, "Buda en el ático", me gustó más, e incluso la parte que más me ha gustado es la contada con el narrador en plural de la primera persona, como en esa novela, pero aún así es un libro muy interesante.

Habla del internamiento de ciudadanos japoneses (o ascendentes de japoneses, porque también encerraron niños) en campos de concentración estadounidenses durante la Segunda Guerra mundial. La autora utiliza varios narradores distintos y con una prosa más tirando a lírica, escueta pero evocadora, describe ese tiempo. La sensación de estar encerrado sin saber muy bien por qué, sin saber qué hacer, dejando pasar el tiempo en medio de la incertidumbre, porque todo dependía de quién ganara la guerra, ¿y quién quería que ganara, el país en el que residían y del que eran ciudadanos y los había detenido, o el imperio que se suponía era su lugar de origen pero del que eran extraños? Ese lugar de nadie, ese desarraigo, está muy bien plasmado en el libro.

Es además una novela muy corta, con lo que se lee muy rápido. Tal vez no me haya dejado tanto poso como "Buda en el ático", pero creo que ha merecido la pena.

After reading "The Buddha in the Attic" by Julie Otsuka, I was interested in reading this book. As in the first book, "When the Emperor Was Divine" is prose that reads like poetry. It is so delicately expressed that it feels like a pen and ink brush painting. Nevertheless, the book deals with a subject rarely discussed - the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. While "The Buddha in the Attic" deals with the whole Japanese immigrant experience leading up to the internment, "When the Emperor Was Divine" deals with the internment itself. This book is a must read about a subject probably deliberately ignored - a shameful period in our history that we have yet to collectively acknowledge and apologize for.

Thought-provoking novel about a Japanese family living in Berkeley when Pearl Harbor is bombed. The father is arrested that evening and taken to an "enemy alien" camp. When the evacuation order is issued by the US government, the rest of the family - mother, son, and daughter - pack up and are sent to an internment camp in Utah. Each chapter is told from a different point of view of the mother, the son, the daughter, the family, and the father. It follows their experiences pre-, during, and post-internment, and highlights their struggles, emotions, and how they are viewed by others. The author uses an inventive technique in never naming the family members. It speaks to the obvious of the impact of not being seen or recognized as neighbors, friends, or people deserving of basic respect. Powerful themes, beautifully written. Impressive for a debut novel.

4,5 Stars.
Otsuka is one of the most gifted writers I've encountered so far. The final third of this book is nothing less than elite writing.