When the Emperor Was Divine

Highly Recommended - Very interesting!

"When the Emperor Was Divine" by Julie Otsuka is a non-fiction story about a Japenese family during WW2 whose father was taken from their California home and they were sent to an internment camp in Utah. It is a story of their struggles and everything they had to endure. A huge message through out the book is being postive and finding the good in things even when times are hard. Having and learning acceptance and tolerence toward everyone is the main theme through out this book. Although the family is stuck in an internment camp they still try to be postive and make the best of it. The only thing in the book I did not like was that the characters did not have names. I really enjoyed reading "When the Emperor Was Divine" because I learned a lot and it was extremly interesting. If you are interested in the World War 2 time period you should definetly read this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Powerful

A very troubling look at a time in our past. You will carry this around inside for a good while.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

fambulous

how the you can feel like the mother, sister, brother, and father. the details paint a vivid picture.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Easy read

This book follows the hardships forced upon Japanese Americans without excessively ridiculing or shaming. Nice read.

Good Short Story

I wouldn't say it's a book, short story really. Interesting, no real plot to it, but it was an easy read.

This Book Wasn't Divine; It was Good

The story is told from four people's perspectives. This book opened my eyes to a part of history that I knew little about. I liked it. However, it was too short. If you don't enjoy different points of views in stories then, this isn't the book for you. Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is better than this book.

Powerful

Well written. The last chapter was very powerful. Educational--ard to believe this happened in America. This period of shame should never be forgotten.

A must read

Very well written; interesting characters; moving story based on historical truth.

Learn about the Japanese experience during WWII

I highly recommend this book. It was very informative on the Japanese experience in California during WWII. The main characters were very well developed. The book was very touching and intellectually stimulating. It is a very good book for book groups. The book lead to stimulating conversation.

Moving short book

The tragedy of the US government's interment policy during WWII has been a horrible stain on the nation. This book intensifies and personalizes the event so that all Americans can be familiar with the horror which was perpetrated on our shores, so we can be vigilant to prevent a re-occurence.

not much story

reading this book was an assignment and since i dont like the library i kinda had to buy this...
the cover was really interesting so i hoped the book was too
it was just okay...i could easy retell in five minutes:family of japanese are relocated to a "refuge" camp in the desert during a war between japan and the US.they had to leave behind a ton of friends and their home.they were also separated from the father.after years of hot dusty life, the war ended.but when they returned things were very different; their friends no longer said hi, the house wasnt the same warm home, and when father returned he was no longer the young fun-loving dad as before.gradually they are re-accepted.
maybe it's cuz i'm young, i cant really understand this book...but i liked the ending...u have to buy it to see it ;)

by the way, the other book i'm recommending is the other book i had to read...if you're gifting to a kid, this is a story they might enjoy more :)

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

one shell of a book

I was incrediblly disappointed in this book. To me this book was a skeleton, or better yet a shell. A beautiful shell that could have been filled with so much more. I wanted the book to delve deeper into the lives of this family in the internment camps. What stories did they hear, who was the girl hanging around with and why? Stories like how she scraped her knee or what did the neighbors fight about? But the most disappointing part of this is that the author had a wonderful chance to have a second part of the book. What the father went through. But the book just ends on his confession. What a misses opportunity! It would have made for a compelling part two.

A compelling story

When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka is a compelling novel. To me, it is a long poem written in a book form. she is an excellent novel but, i am quite disapointed because there seems to be so litte backgroound information on her. i think this story is great and anyone so says opposite should be ashamed

Heart breaking and intriguing

This novel shows a great side to the Japanese internment camps during World War Two while following the story of one family. The Japanese Americans were sent to camps because of fear of spies after Pearl Harbor, The story will follow you and it certainly will stay with me. There are several unsettling moments in the book, like the scene with White Dog on page 11. The family is sent to a barracks in the Utah desert and has to suffer through their life their. This book enlightened me to a different side of the war and it¿s an eye-opening book. The only thing that surprised me was the second to last chapter which starts on page 140 where the entire tone of the book flip flops and becomes much more direct. I never really knew much about the Japanese internment camps and we didn¿t cover much of that subject in history, this book allowed me to see what actually happened to the Japanese-Americans. With the help of this book and photos we looked at in class, I found myself becoming more and more angry at how we acted so irrationally during a time of panic. A great book for anyone who would like a new insight on the internment camps.

Disappointing

This book started out with intrigue that kept me reading, but as I read on, I found myself drifting. The story line is so disconnected that it was hard to stay focused. My book club recommended this because they heard great things, but we all agreed that is was a slow read. I wasn't able to finish, and that's a first for me. This author seems to be more of a poet than an author of novels.

An excellent historical novel

I borrowed this book from a co-worker who highly recommended it to me, and I was not sure if I even wanted to read it. I started it on a plane ride and could not put it down! I never learned much about these events in American history because they aren't mentioned much. This book gave such powerful insights into the emotions that were involved when these wonderful people were treated so horribly. I became so attached as I followed this family through their trials. The author does an excellent job of writing from multiple perspectives. My heart broke as I saw each member of the family slowly fall apart. This book is superbly written, and I have already told every reader I know to take time to read this novel.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Such a Powerful Book!

This little book is one of the most powerful I have ever read. There is not an extraneous word in it. I felt like I held my breath through the first four chapters -- and when I started into the fifth, I cried through every word. I am buying this book for each of my adult children. I am not sure they were ever taught anything in school about this dreadful, shameful episode in our history. They need to know, and this book will show them.

A Must Read

A beautifully written, lovely story about a very sad episode in our history. Read it in one evening, and it has become my choice for Christmas gifts this year. Looking forward to new books from Julie Otsuka.

Absolutely "Divine"

The haunting story of a Japanese-American family caught in the ripple effects of WWII America. The father is sent to camp in New Mexico under suspicion of political treason while the mother and children are forced to leave their comfortable life in Berkeley for the harsh Nevada desert. One of the "lucky" family to come home and still find their house standing eventhough life will be forever marked by these events. Written in the third person, the story becomes very familiar and sometimes disturbingly personal. A beautifull book that will stay with you long after you have read the last chapter!

Finally, Great Fiction on this Subject

I remember that I dearly loved two different Japanese-American families who were our good friends right after the end of WWII. I was just beginning to become aware of family and friends, and I was always told that these particular people from California had lived with us "during the war" (a time before I was born). Later I learned that it had something to do with keeping them out of "camps," but it was many years before I realized that my parents had employed and sheltered Japanese- Americans so that they wouldn't be confined in some awful barracks out in the Utah desert. Eventually, I learned the historical context of this personal memory and came to understand the enormity and irrationality of the hysteria that caused it. More and more writing about it has recently appeared, but the quality of the writing, particularly of fictional treatments has been mixed, to say the least. Finally, there is a really truthful and beautiful book about it and I am so grateful that my children and grandchildren will have this excellent account of what happened and how it felt to so many innocent people. Also, because of this book they will be able to appreciate that their grandparents (or great-grandparents) objected at the time and actually tried to do something about it. Heartfelt congratulations and thanks to Julie Otsuka for this luminous work of art.