The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka This is a very small book-a little over 100 pages- that tells the story of a group of young women brought over from Japan to San Francisco as ‘picture brides’ nearly a century ago. In eight sections, the book traces their extraordinary lives, from their arduous journey by boat, where they exchange photographs of their husbands, imagining uncertain futures in an unknown land; to their arrival in San Francisco and their tremulous first nights as new wives; to their backbreaking work picking fruit in the fields and scrubbing the floors of white women; to their struggles to master a new language and a new culture; to their experiences in childbirth, and then as mothers, raising children who will ultimately reject their heritage and their history; to the arrival of war. In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed a bill that authorized the United States to commit one of the greatest violations of human rights in its history. Approximately 110,000 people of Japanese descent living along the Pacific coast were relocated to War Relocation Camps. Sixty two percent were born in the United States. This book tells part of their story.
THE BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC by Julie Otsuka 129 pages published by Alfred A. Knopf on August 23, 2011 ISBN-10: 0307700003
This is a very beautiful book, often closer to poetry than prose, and was voted one of the best books of 2011 by The New York Times and the readers of Amazon.com. The author writes in a minimalist style. There is also no "I" in the book; almost everything is written in the plural "we"; the main character is composed of an entire community of families. The voice that speaks to us here is the “we” of the Japanese women who arrived in California in the aftermath of World War I, most of them young and inexperienced, most bearing photographs of men they had agreed to marry, sight unseen: picture brides. At the end of the book, there are questions for a reading group but I have my own questions. There are so many similarities with the migrant workers now. Also, the practice of sending for "picture brides" was very common for the Eastern European immigrants before World War I. My own grandmother was a "picture bride".
This is a very beautiful book, often closer to poetry than prose, and was voted one of the best books of 2011 by The New York Times and the readers of Amazon.com. The author writes in a minimalist style. There is also no "I" in the book; almost everything is written in the plural "we"; the main character is composed of an entire community of families. The voice that speaks to us here is the “we” of the Japanese women who arrived in California in the aftermath of World War I, most of them young and inexperienced, most bearing photographs of men they had agreed to marry, sight unseen: picture brides. At the end of the book, there are questions for a reading group but I have my own questions. There are so many similarities with the migrant workers now. Also, the practice of sending for "picture brides" was very common for the Eastern European immigrants before World War I. My own grandmother was a "picture bride".
ACTIVITY After reading the book, can you see any similarities between the Japanese immigrants and the Mexican immigrants?
Learning vocabulary in context is the best way to learn new words or expressions. Phrasal verbs are no different. Phrasal verbs almost always have a second meaning that is...well...not so nice. "To be taken" has many meanings: attracted to, transported, conveyed, etc. etc. After reading the book, you now know another meaning. Can you list some synonyms for "we were taken"?
Why do you think the author chose the title? Is there a significant meaning behind it? Do you think the setting, both time and location, played a large role in this novel? Could it have happened anywhere, at anytime? If so, how would the novel have changed?
Learning vocabulary in context is the best way to learn new words or expressions. Phrasal verbs are no different. Phrasal verbs almost always have a second meaning that is...well...not so nice. "To be taken" has many meanings: attracted to, transported, conveyed, etc. etc. After reading the book, you now know another meaning. Can you list some synonyms for "we were taken"?
Why do you think the author chose the title? Is there a significant meaning behind it? Do you think the setting, both time and location, played a large role in this novel? Could it have happened anywhere, at anytime? If so, how would the novel have changed?
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