When the Emperor Was Divine

Julie Otsuka


Rated: 3.77 of 5 stars
3.77 · 26 ratings · 162 pages · Published: 04 Apr 2002

When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Julie Otsuka's commanding and passionate debut novel explores unfamiliar history - that of Japanese Americans in World War II. With crystalline intensity and precision, Otsuka uses a single family to evoke the deracination of a generation who find themselves interned in their own country. With each chapter flawlessly executed from a different point of view - the mother; the daughter; the son; the family's return to their home; and the bitter release of their father - she has created a novel of unrelenting economy and suppressed emotion. "When The Emperor Was Divine" is a haunting evocation of a family in wartime and an unmistakably resonant lesson for our times. It heralds the arrival of a singularly gifted new novelist.

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