No-No Boy

Rating:
Summary: If there was any justice in the world
Review: ...it would be this book and not Catcher in the Rye that was standard in junior year high school english classes everywhere. Alongside Salinger and Bellow's Adventures of Augie March, this is one of the definitive coming of age books of the 1950s, perhaps more immediate and deeper to us now than the aforementioned authors because its issues of race and cultural identity create a more ambiguous version of America that reflects Generation Y's coming to terms with the idea of America as an idea (in addition, of course, tan often unheard voice that should not be forgotten). I'm rather befuddled, though, about the complaints here about his writing: I found Okada's Hemingway-esque simplicity with the pen gave the novel its chilling and emotional tone, and he shows quite a deft touch when he switches to stream-of-conscious to show the turbulence in Ichiro's mind. I would have personally chopped the last chapter from the book-chapter 10's poetic, full-circle ending would have closed the novel better-but then if I were Okada's editor at the time I would have been more flabbergasted at the total lack of attention this book received; it didn't even sell out it's initial printing run of 1000 copies. A moving and affecting novel, this is what I'd consider an absolutely essential work for high school students first discovering a personal affiliation with literature-it may not change the world, but it will change the way you see it.

Rating:
Summary: Great Insight Into Complicated Issue
Review: A tremendously powerful and personal exploration of the cost and consequence of the internment of Japanese Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor, as told through the experience of a Japanese American who was jailed for refusing the draft. This books addresses immigration, patriotism, morality, family, and culture through the eyes of Japanese Americans living on the west coast during WWII. Engrossing but providing no simple answers, this book' sneaks up on you to provide a serious intellectual and emotional wallup. A great addition to the body of literature examining the Japanese American experience during WWII.

Rating:
Summary: Touched my heart deeply
Review: I have never been so affected by a book before. It amazes me that all the issues brought up in the book still pertains to today's Asian Americans. I found the writing to be honest and refreshing. It shows what happened to the Japanese Americans after the camps and how each were affected differently. I wish Mr. Okada would have received more recognition for his work. Maybe we can change that now.

Rating:
Summary: A must-read if you're interested in U.S. society and history
Review: I think the historical signifigance of this novel is enormous. It's a 'first-'hand' account of being Japanese-American during WWII. As an Asian-American and avid student of American history and politics, I found Okada's description of the time to be invaluable. Deconstructing his novel from a modern perspective, however, I do have one big gripe. The tone of the novel is restrained. I can sense the anger and somtimes read allusions into the rage, resentment, and sadness the protaganist Ichiro feels about the situation he is in. He also seems to give a lot of excuses and almost apologize for his unhappiness at times. Considering the time and racial climate in which Okada wrote, it's understandable that he tailored his work to be acceptable to a wide audience. And I'm also not surprised that Okada was reluctant to fully vent his anger at a country that still held so much power over, and animosity towards, him. However, those are not the only reasons. I think this is a real problem in Asian-American literature even today. Instead of self-censoring, mitigating, prettifying, or even apologizing for very natural and necessary feelings and sentiments (like Okada does in 'No-No Boy'), minority authors should fully unleash their voices. Otherwise the integrity of the work suffers and the work is does not completely realize its potential. There is a critical element missing. Having said that, I would still strongly recommend 'No-No Boy' to anyone who is interested in America: it's history, it's government, and it's people.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Look At Life For Japanese-Americans after WWII
Review: Ichiro, the main character in John Okada's novel, "The No-No Boy", is put an a very unusual situation - because of his past decisions a lot of his peers do not accept him as Japanese or American.

John Okada does a brilliant job of getting the reader to empathize with the Ichiro's struggle to find direction after being held in an internment camp (jail) for two years. His mother is happy he made the decision to refuse service in the United States Army, his brother believes him a coward, and his father has turned to whiskey for comfort from the constant tug-o-war created by war. He has friends who have sacificed more than he, but are satisfied with his decision to not go to war, and he has friends who never tasted true battle but despise him for not doing so.

At times, I was getting bored with Ichiro's constant whining about his predicament, but Okada did a good job of easing up the saga when it was almost too much and then bringing it back when necessary.

It must have been difficult to try and live in a country that believed you had to prove your loyalty because people who looked like you had attacked your nation of birth. This novel does a good job of making one think about the struggles Japanese-American went through before, during, and after the war.

Okada manages to create dialogue that is not so predictable it becomes a too easy of a read. He keeps the characters in this novel above the routine writing style of most authors.

This book is easy to read, thought-provoking, and contains enough fictional and non-fictional information to make for an entertaining novel.

See ya next review!

Rating:
Summary: Good subject, bad writing
Review: In John Okada's No-no Boy, the protaganist is a whinny Japanese-American, more American than Japanese, who has spent some years in prison for refusing to fight in WW II. This character is poorly drawn by a less than talented writer. The protagonist blames his mother for his woes, and does so for half the book. The inner world of these characters, especially Ichiro's, the protagonist, is so poorly wrought, that at times I almost could not finish the book. This is a preachy book in which the characters only exists so that the author can intrude, get on his soapbox, and yell at the reader about the plight of the Japanese-American. This authorial intrusion is not for the modern reader. In one aspect I believe the book important because it does expose the consequences of the horrible treatment undergone by J-Americans, on the other hand this is not good "literature."

Rating:
Summary: A novel that should be taught in schools more often!
Review: In my AP English Literature class, I had a choice of reading any novel of "literary merit" I wanted, and to complete a 25 page analysis of the novel. Of the four books I analyzed in this way this year, No-No Boy was by far my favorite. I am caucasian, yet have always been interested in the dark side of America's role in World War II - the Japanese internment camps. This book is a vivid portrayal of one young man's suffering due to his decision not to swear loyalty to a country that had foresaken his rights as a citizen, and the consequences that result from this decision. Okada deals with a very touchy subject in this novel, for both the white and Japanese-American communities. Ichiro's self-inflicted punishment helps the reader to realize just how awful this experience was for the real No-no boys. This realistic portrayal is rather ironic, since Okada himself chose to serve the United States loyally in the army during World War II. Perhaps this novel was written from the side of him that related more to his Japanese roots than to his newfound American identity, and the guilt he himself must have carried when serving in the Pacific, telling Japanese to surrender in their own language. Okada also deals with a seemingly untouchable issue - that of the discrimination the Japanese-Americans themselves practiced toward other U.S. citizens, although they faced discrimination themselves. This adds to the truthfulness of the novel. Perhaps the only disappointing aspect to the novel is the all-American, happy ending that seems a little too contrived, although it must have been necessary for Okada to write the novel this way in order to gain any readers, because the novel's subject was so controversial at the time it was written. This novel should be taught in high schools and universities across the country, in American literature courses, and not just Asian-American literature courses. Now, multicultural education movements have succeeded in gaining the teaching of more women and African-American writers' novel, but Asian-American literature has still been neglected. The tolerance and understanding that students will gain from reading this novel should be evident immediately after one has read No-No Boy, even though the novel is enjoyable and is hardly preachy-sounding.

Rating:
Summary: A novel that should be taught in schools more often!
Review: In my AP English Literature class, I had a choice of reading any novel of "literary merit" I wanted, and to complete a 25 page analysis of the novel. Of the four books I analyzed in this way this year, No-No Boy was by far my favorite. I am caucasian, yet have always been interested in the dark side of America's role in World War II - the Japanese internment camps. This book is a vivid portrayal of one young man's suffering due to his decision not to swear loyalty to a country that had foresaken his rights as a citizen, and the consequences that result from this decision. Okada deals with a very touchy subject in this novel, for both the white and Japanese-American communities. Ichiro's self-inflicted punishment helps the reader to realize just how awful this experience was for the real No-no boys. This realistic portrayal is rather ironic, since Okada himself chose to serve the United States loyally in the army during World War II. Perhaps this novel was written from the side of him that related more to his Japanese roots than to his newfound American identity, and the guilt he himself must have carried when serving in the Pacific, telling Japanese to surrender in their own language. Okada also deals with a seemingly untouchable issue - that of the discrimination the Japanese-Americans themselves practiced toward other U.S. citizens, although they faced discrimination themselves. This adds to the truthfulness of the novel. Perhaps the only disappointing aspect to the novel is the all-American, happy ending that seems a little too contrived, although it must have been necessary for Okada to write the novel this way in order to gain any readers, because the novel's subject was so controversial at the time it was written. This novel should be taught in high schools and universities across the country, in American literature courses, and not just Asian-American literature courses. Now, multicultural education movements have succeeded in gaining the teaching of more women and African-American writers' novel, but Asian-American literature has still been neglected. The tolerance and understanding that students will gain from reading this novel should be evident immediately after one has read No-No Boy, even though the novel is enjoyable and is hardly preachy-sounding.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: In this novel,the nisei drama is sincerely depicted by J.Okada. By penetrating the characters' inner life, we readers not only witness about the conflicts and difficulties they share, but also their struggle to find a way out of this vicious circle. Within this vicious circle there are significant characters like Ichiro (the protogoinst) and Kenji. Kenji served America during WWII. He lost one of his leg in the war, but also he lost his masculinity. However, what bothers him most is the feeling of being deceived by his country. Of course, what is behind of this is the idea of racism, and Okada carefully marks this point. However, things are not same for Ichiro. He refused to fight not only for US. ,but also on behalf of Japan. So he not only rejects both of the countries, but also their cultures. Not knowing where to belong he suffers throughout the book. He suffers complete alienation and psychological confusion because he is the victim of history. Thats where the essence of the situation begins for Ichiro. I bet you are going to love this character and you are going to be Ichiro, you will feel the agony, the logical and emotional torture he's been going through. I loved Ichiro and I felt sorry for Kenji. Kenji knew his end and he is a good friend, because he is the only character which directs Ichiro to the right path. To conclude, in this book you'll also find other concepts like language, religion, culture and customs which play a great role in the book. I strongly recommend this book to everybody.

Rating:
Summary: Loyalty and Identity for Japanese Americans during WWII
Review: It is sad that John Okada wrote only one novel in his life, but it gives me great joy just to mention this book to anyone. _No-No Boy_ is a novel that deals with the high emotions of those felt by Japanese Americans during the tumulous times of the second world war. It is a time when American citizens are incarcerated into "relocation centers" without any wrong doing except that their last names were Okada, Sone, and Ikeda. However, as John Okada traces the story of Kenji, a nisei who refused to answer yes to the loyalty questionaire, we do not feel any strong bitterness about the whole situation that could be all too common in such a text. This touching novel is ultimately about one's search for a home, for loyalty, and for acceptance into society. These themes, while prevalent in many Japanese American texts written about this time period, are universal and can be shared by anyone who has ever felt the pangs of loneliness associated with being an outcast. If anyone is interested in reading more about fiction, good fiction on these issues, there is no book I could recommend more highly than this one. John Okada's book is the ultimate in Asian American literature and should be required reading for all those who want to read more about American history and American literature