When the Emperor Was Divine

What an amazingly moving book. I've heard about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and wondered how it was like for these poor people. Well, I know now. The beginning of the book was pretty haunting. It's a typical day for a woman. The reader is not given anything about her background, but you know something is off. She's getting ready for a trip. But what trip? She's busy preparing food for her family. And then, without warning, the peace is brutally shattered.
The novel's economy of words is admirable. There's no long winded conversations, unnecessary scenes .. everything is just right. Times like these I wonder why more authors write like this - short, compact yet “full” books that tell so much. That's a skill I truly admire in Otsuka. Beautiful.

A Japanese American family is
ordered to leave their home and
is sent to a detention camp during
World War II. The writing has a
powerful immediacy that kept me
turning pages to the end.
Recommended.