I'm not sure why this book isn't read alongside Anne Frank in school, particularly in Canadian education. I didn't know the extent of Canadian interment camps for those who were Japanese/those born in Canada that have Japanese heritage. The atrocities committed during World War II and after it in Canada, is abhorrent.

At the end of the book, there's an excerpt from the Memorandum sent by the Co-operative Committee of Japanese Canadians to the House and the Senate of Canada that says:
"The orders are directly in contradiction of the language and spirit of the United Nations Charter, subscribed to by Canada as well as the other nations if the world and are an adoption of the methods of Nazism.".
When you read this book, and you should, you will agree with that point to no end. Canada is not a blameless country, as we well know, and it shows in the way it continues to try and veil this human rights violation from our schools and history books and common knowledge.

It's so easy for Canadians to be smug, sometimes. We're internationally known for our politeness! So this is an excellent read to help us remember our human rights record is far from spotless. Kogawa takes us through the life of a Japanese family ripped apart by internment during the Second World War.

But I'm not suggesting we all just need to be lectured. This is a semi-autobiographical, poetic novel, and a lovely exploration of what it means to be a child during times of loss and upheaval. It's about family, and what happens when love and grief become inextricable. It's also an exploration of what it means to be an other, all your life.

If you want know more about Japanese Internment in Canada, read this book. If you are reading your way through the Canadian canon, don't leave this out. And if you like books about how family is forged through adversity, this is definitely worth your time.

The second half of the book is definitely better than the first half, and there are moments of touching insight. However, the constant movement from a naive young narrator to political activism to poetic abstraction is distracting.

Very good subject that should be explored, but I found the writing to be a little random and confusing.

3.5

while i wish this work had engaged more critically with ideas of citizenship, nation-state, settler colonialism, and the intimacies between japanese canadians and indigenous canadians in this period, i appreciate that this work was likely one of the first to ever confront this history. its prose is arresting and gorgeous and the portrayal of obasan in particular will stay with me for a very long time.

thank you to steph for the recommendation!

When I was taking a graduate exam, I felt hopeless because I was unfamiliar with any of the assigned excerpts. But then I find the one titled Obasan and guessed that must be about Japanese immigrants. Who could write about them better than I do? So that saved my MA degree, and I determined to read the book some time later.
It took me 3 years to finally get to read the book, and all I can say is ”Depressing.” Grief seeps through every line. I didn't know that Canada inhumanly discriminated and oppressed Japanese Canadians during the war. Everyone should read the book and listen to its repressed voice of history.

One of the worst books I have ever read.

The pace is unbearably slow. Chapter 14, comprised solely of letters, made me want to throw the book out the window. Unfortunately, I was forced to read this for my English class and could not do so. The author was entirely focused on attempted symbolism and metaphor that was dull and did not aid in the plot whatsoever.

The topic could have been presented in a way that was emotional and touching, however, the author has caused me nothing but irritation.

This book details the experiences of Naomi Nakane, a Japanese woman who lived in Canada during a time of discrimination against the Japanese. It was beautifully written, and I genuinely enjoyed reading it.
I adored Kogawa's poetic and vulnerable style of writing. Naomi's feelings are openly expressed to the reader. It makes the reader feel like they're inside the character's head. For example, Kogawa uses metaphors throughout the book to help the reader grasp Naomi's emotions. These are a few of my favorite examples:
"The words are not made flesh. Trains do not carry us home. Ships do not return again. All my prayers disappear into space." (Kogawa 226)
"All the oil in my joints has drained out and I have been invaded by dust and grit from the fields and mud in my bone marrow. I can't move anymore. My fingernails are black from scratching the scorching day and there is no escape." (Kogawa 232)
"The clouds are the shape of our new prison walls-untouchable, impersonal, random." (Kogawa 235)
I also appreciated that Naomi's environment was always described. The nature, objects, and people surrounding her were elaborated on. For instance, after moving into a new house, Naomi states that the boxes they brought from their previous house weren't unpacked, this helps the reader picture how bland and unfriendly Naomi's new house was.
When I first opened this book, I didn't expect to enjoy it. It was uneventful and boring to me in the beginning. However, I soon became immersed in it. It made me reflect on the experiences immigrants face and some of my own experiences as an Asian American. I believe that any older teenager or adult who wants to read something immersive and personal would love this book. I'd recommend this title to anyone looking for a realistic, slow-paced, thoughtful, and melancholic book.

I read this when I was in elementary school, probably around grade 3 or 4. I'm Canadian and had never heard this side of Canadian history before. It blew me away. I don't remember all the details but I did feel the sadness, guilt at what we Canadians were doing to Japanese people, and the importance of people reading this book. It has stayed with me as a book that shaped my enjoyment of reading as a kid and brought to light a horrible part of our heritage.

Not the best, not the worst. I wasn't able to be truly engaged, maybe it's the style, content, or being a mandatory reading. Either way, I wouldn't either recommend it or discourage reading it. It's useful to have a view on Japanese-Canadian experience during WWII and its consequences for generations.
I wasn't able to be affected, and I'm almost sure it's because we've already read too many heart-shattering stories in the span of 3 months (Indian Horse, The Break...). I'm not proud of this desensitisation, but neither can I do anything about it.

Obasan is an autobiographical novel about the author's experience in a Japanese internment camp during the 1940's in Canada. Kogawa was a child when her family was relocated from a large city to a rural community.

The family was Canadian born of Japanese descent, and their experience was fascinating to me as a contrast to how the same ethnic families suffered under U.S. relocation policies. In Canada, not only were the families interned in camps, but their cars were confiscated from them as well. I was under the impression that they did not have to forfeit their homes or other belongings, but as in America, leaving homes and possessions behind often meant finding squatters in them and their furniture missing upon their return.

What's more, in 1944 President Roosevelt ordered the internment camps closed in the United States, but Kogawa's family and other Japanese interned in Canada were not allowed to leave their camps until 1949.

I had mixed feelings about this novel. The content was worthy of 5 stars. I really enjoyed learning about the fate of Canadians of Japanese descent during World War II. From family letters, newspaper clippings and other research, Kogawa presents a clear picture of this part of Canadian history. I did feel that the outspokenness of the female characters felt more in line with the year the book was written, rather than the 1940's.. Also, from a literary standpoint, the novel often felt disjointed and the characters distant. Because of the latter problems, I can only give this book 3 1/2 stars. Even so, it is definitely worth reading.