Rating: 
Summary: Don't miss out
Review: The day I received this book I read the first few pages, canceled my plans for the night and allowed myself to be taken by this book without any effort. "When the Emperor Was Divine" follows a Japanese-American family in 1942 as they are taken from their California stucco house to an internment camp in Topaz, Utah. Having months earlier watched their father be sent away to a camp ''for dangerous enemy aliens'', the mother, daughter and son are left to speculate their own fate. Plunged in to a world where mess halls are to be called "dining halls" evacuees are to be called "residents" and the word freedom exists only outside the barbed-wire fence, each spends their time fantasizing over the reunion with their father. Although you never learn the names of any of the main characters you learn their grief and you will value the impact of the line "now he'll always be thirsty" and how it took my breath away. Even if up until that point you are not as convinced, the last three pages alone are enough to guarantee that you will be suggesting this book as soon as you close it.
Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking.
Review: The imprisonment of American citizens of Japanese descent, post Pearl Harbor, remains one of those open, gaping wounds of despicable behavior in our country's history. Most of the historical tomes and novels of WWII fail to address the country's overreaction to the Japanese Empire's aggression and terrorism. And, indeed, our government's "protection" of these citizens may have saved some of the Japanese populace from civilian attacks. Still, the actions of the government, and the silent response of the American people closely parallel the rise of McCarthyism in the next decade, and also harken some of the less-publicized aspects of today's Patriot Act.Otsuka has chosen a more delicate approach to her tale than that of nonfiction writiers. "When the Emperor Was Divine" tells its story from the viewpoints of a family of four, torn apart by Evacuation Order #19. A young Japanes mother in Berkeley, left alone with an 11 year-old girl and an 8 year-old son begins to pack and to close her house as soon as she sees the order posted. Saddest of her tasks is how she must deal with the family's pets, all the while maintaining an air of normalcy for her children that masks her fear. The children's father has been spirited away by the FBI in his bathrobe and slippers in the middle of the night, questioned endlessly, and imprisoned in Texas. Otsuka's tale focuses on the journey of the mother and the children; an intermediate holding facility at the Tanforan race track in California is couched in memory as the family is transported by train to the deserts of Utah. In stark passages - poetry in the form of prose, Otsuka conveys the pain and hopelessness of the three and a half years the family spends imprisoned. From the third person she writes primarily from the viewpoint of each child as the mother retreats into herself. Long days without hope mingle with cruel weather conditions in the desert... " Summer was a long hot dream. Every morning, as soon as the sun rose, the temperature began to soar. By noon the floors were sagging. The sky was bleached white from the heat and the wind was hot and dry. Yellow dust devils whirled across the sand. The black roofs baked in the sun. The air shimmered..." Their days are punctuated with memories of the father, small incidents of camp life, endless waiting for the war to be over, with cold and shortages, and with the endless alkaline wind and dust of their surroundings. Desolate in the summer, frigid in the winter, it seems that the desert mirror their souls as their hope for the future dies. Otsuka uses the writer's convention of never naming her protagonists ("the girl", "the boy", "the mother", "his father"). In using this language she is able to convey the dehumanization effort they have undergone in a way that mere words cannot usually describe. It is with a sense of wonder and letdown that the reader observes their return to Berkeley, their reunification with the father, and the semblance of life that remains to them after America has stolen their souls. Otsuka, in her first novel, astonishes you with her ability to capture not only the hearts and minds of her characters, but also that of her readers. A marvelous debut that will break your heart.
Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking.
Review: The imprisonment of American citizens of Japanese descent, post Pearl Harbor, remains one of those open, gaping wounds of despicable behavior in our country's history. Most of the historical tomes and novels of WWII fail to address the country's overreaction to the Japanese Empire's aggression and terrorism. And, indeed, our government's "protection" of these citizens may have saved some of the Japanese populace from civilian attacks. Still, the actions of the government, and the silent response of the American people closely parallel the rise of McCarthyism in the next decade, and also harken some of the less-publicized aspects of today's Patriot Act. Otsuka has chosen a more delicate approach to her tale than that of nonfiction writiers. "When the Emperor Was Divine" tells its story from the viewpoints of a family of four, torn apart by Evacuation Order #19. A young Japanes mother in Berkeley, left alone with an 11 year-old girl and an 8 year-old son begins to pack and to close her house as soon as she sees the order posted. Saddest of her tasks is how she must deal with the family's pets, all the while maintaining an air of normalcy for her children that masks her fear. The children's father has been spirited away by the FBI in his bathrobe and slippers in the middle of the night, questioned endlessly, and imprisoned in Texas. Otsuka's tale focuses on the journey of the mother and the children; an intermediate holding facility at the Tanforan race track in California is couched in memory as the family is transported by train to the deserts of Utah. In stark passages - poetry in the form of prose, Otsuka conveys the pain and hopelessness of the three and a half years the family spends imprisoned. From the third person she writes primarily from the viewpoint of each child as the mother retreats into herself. Long days without hope mingle with cruel weather conditions in the desert... " Summer was a long hot dream. Every morning, as soon as the sun rose, the temperature began to soar. By noon the floors were sagging. The sky was bleached white from the heat and the wind was hot and dry. Yellow dust devils whirled across the sand. The black roofs baked in the sun. The air shimmered..." Their days are punctuated with memories of the father, small incidents of camp life, endless waiting for the war to be over, with cold and shortages, and with the endless alkaline wind and dust of their surroundings. Desolate in the summer, frigid in the winter, it seems that the desert mirror their souls as their hope for the future dies. Otsuka uses the writer's convention of never naming her protagonists ("the girl", "the boy", "the mother", "his father"). In using this language she is able to convey the dehumanization effort they have undergone in a way that mere words cannot usually describe. It is with a sense of wonder and letdown that the reader observes their return to Berkeley, their reunification with the father, and the semblance of life that remains to them after America has stolen their souls. Otsuka, in her first novel, astonishes you with her ability to capture not only the hearts and minds of her characters, but also that of her readers. A marvelous debut that will break your heart.
Rating: 
Summary: Diaphanous
Review: This book was so understated that it almost ceased to exist. I had no solid impression of any of the characters; the information given is too scattered and impressionistic for anything to stick. The writing was very precise, at times flashy in its self-consciousness. Having each chapter narrated by a different character is a gimmick so old I wonder why it's still considered trendy. The subject matter is indeed interesting, but don't count on learning much.
Rating: 
Summary: Back to the WWII
Review: This is a great book. "When the EMPEROR Was Divine" by Julie Otsuka written in the year 2002. This book is divided in five different chapters. Each chapter is mainly focuses on one of the main character's perspective. The whole story in this book is about the "Japanese Internment camps", a.k.a "Relocation" or "Concentration camps". Therefore, I DO recommend YOU to read this !!.. It's a very good historical story during World War II. If you like history, definitely read this book because it's very to understand. Don't need to think about it, just read it when you have time. It IS time to go back to WWII ...
Rating:
Summary: Back to the WWII
Review: This is a great book. "When the EMPEROR Was Divine" by Julie Otsuka written in the year 2002. This book is divided in five different chapters. Each chapter is mainly focuses on one of the main character's perspective. The whole story in this book is about the "Japanese Internment camps", a.k.a "Relocation" or "Concentration camps". Therefore, I DO recommend YOU to read this !!.. It's a very good historical story during World War II. If you like history, definitely read this book because it's very to understand. Don't need to think about it, just read it when you have time. It IS time to go back to WWII ...
Rating:
Summary: A Gem
Review: This little book is a gem! Beautifully, sparely written, haunting. A Japanese family's story, about being seperated and sent to internment camps. The author writes with such elegance about the everyday life of the family members, and their simple wishes for being back together again, for water, for cleanliness. Not gloomy as you would expect, but insightful and immediate. Don't miss this beautiful little book.
I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: outstanding.
Review: This novel was marvelous. Written cleanly and precisely, I was completely taken from the first chapter and remained devoted until the end. One of the best books I've read in a very long time, and it is more than deserving of the excellent acclaim it has received. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is reserved, yet emotional, moving and stirring. Pay no attention to negative reviews. This book deserves your attention and your time, honestly. It's a wonderful read.
Rating:
Summary: It could be any Japanese American Family...
Review: This rather short novel tells one of one Japanese American family's story of internment in a Utah camp during World War II. Each chapter is told from a different character's point of view. The fact that we never really learn any names or other characteristics that would set these characters apart makes it seem that the story could be ANY family. It is interesting to see how the mother, young son and daughter, and father who is taken away from his family all react to being treated as the enemy. This is a sad time in the United States' history, and the writer's sparse writing makes you feel every emotion.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book
Review: This slim book about one family's experience during the internment of Japanese Americans should not be missed. Julie Otsuka used the viewpoint of a different family member in each chapter and it was both stunning and seamless. I loved this book. It is sad and at times painful, and inasmuch as it was difficult to read about the family being uprooted, the father taken away in his robe and slippers, I found their return home even more poignant. Who were the people who lived in their home while this family was interned? Who touched their belongings and where is the rosebush that was in the yard? This is a wonderful book, and it's hard to believe that is a debut novel.
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