When the Emperor Was Divine

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When the Emperor Was Divine
When the Emperor Was Divine.jpg
Anchor Books cover
Author Julie Otsuka
Cover artistIris Weinstein
LanguageEnglish
Genre Historical fiction
Set in1940's Arizona
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf (US)
Viking Press (UK)
Publication date
September 10, 2002 (US)
January 30, 2003 (UK)
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (paperback, hardcover)
Pages148
ISBN 9780375414299
(1st ed)
OCLC 1345471933
LC Class PS3615.T88 W48 2002

When the Emperor Was Divine is a historical fiction novel written by American author Julie Otsuka about a Japanese American family sent to an internment camp in the Utah desert during World War II. The novel, loosely based on the wartime experiences of Otsuka's mother's family, [1] is written through the perspective of four family members, detailing their eviction from California and their time in camp. It is Otsuka's debut novel, and was published in the United States in 2002 by Alfred A. Knopf.

Contents

Plot

The story follows a Japanese American family; a father, a mother, a son, and a daughter. The family members remain nameless, thus giving their story a universal quality. The novel is divided into 5 sections, each told from a different family member's perspective. The first chapter, the mother's perspective, follows the family's preparations for leaving for the camp. The second chapter, from the girl's perspective, takes place on the train as the family is transported to their internment location. The third chapter, from the boy's perspective, chronicles the three years the family spends at the internment camp in Topaz, Utah. The fourth chapter, told from the combined perspectives of the boy and girl, tells of the family's return home and their efforts at rebuilding their lives as well as their experience in the post war milieu of anti-Japanese discrimination. The final chapter is a confession, told from the father's perspective and structured as a direct address to the reader.

Characters

Reception and awards

The book was met with a generally positive reception. Writing for The New York Times , literary critic Michiko Kakutani stated "though the book is flawed by a bluntly didactic conclusion, the earlier pages testify to the author's lyric gifts and narrative poise". [2] Sylvia Santiago of Herizons magazine described Otsuka's writing style as "scrupulously unsentimental", thus "creating a contrast to the sensitive subject matter". [3] O: The Oprah Magazine said the novel was "a meditation on what it means to be loyal to one's country and to one's self, and on the cost and the necessity of remaining brave and human". [4]

When the Emperor Was Divine won the American Library Association's Alex Award in 2003 and also won an Asian American Literary Award. [5] [6]

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References

  1. Niiya, Brian. "When the Emperor Was Divine" Densho Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  2. Kakutani, Michiko (September 10, 2002). "Books of the Times; War's Outcasts Dream of Small Pleasures". The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  3. Santiago, Sylvia (January 1, 2004). "When the emperor was divine". Herizons Magazine. Retrieved June 15, 2012.(subscription required)
  4. "Family, interrupted: potent, spare, crystalline–Julie Otsuka's new novel, When the Emperor Was Divine, is an exquisite debut". O: The Oprah Magazine. September 1, 2002. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2012.(subscription required)
  5. "2003 Alex Awards". American Library Association. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  6. "'When the Emperor Was Divine'... and When Japanese Americans Were Rounded Up". Asia Society. Retrieved June 15, 2012.

[1]

  1. "About the Characters".