Buddha In The Attic Review

The challenge is always that the truth is so incendiary that an average writer s instinct is to fan the flames.

Buddha in the attic review.

Lyrical and empathetic the buddha in the attic is a slender book of real haunting power. It tells an important story that is not well enough known in the united states. Part two explores life as a distinct minority group and the challenges of segregation and discrimination. The buddha in the attic was well received and honored and deservedly so.

Thematically the buddha in the attic is a novel in two distinct parts. A well researched historical fictional account otsuka depicts life for japanese american immigrants to california over a span of thirty years in the early 20th century. The buddha in the attic. The buddha in the attic is in a sense a prelude to otsuka s previous book revealing the often rough acclimatization of a generation of farm laborers and maids laundry workers and shop clerks.

The buddha in the attic challenges shibboleths about the american immigrant experience illuminating some of its most troubling strands. Part one is a story of immigration from the first arrival in a new land to the difficulties of adapting to a new culture and language. Fri 27 jan 2012 04 00 est first published on fri 27 jan 2012 04 00 est. A novel by julie otuska knopf but no story in the conventional sense ever develops and no individuals emerge for more than a paragraph.

Jul 7 2 min read the buddha in the attic is a unique book there is no single perspective or central cast of characters. The buddha in the attic is an understated masterpiece about our treatment of the other the distillation of a national tragedy that unfolds with great emotional power. Instead we get to experience the lives of japanese mail order brides.