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6th out of 36 books
—
20 voters
No-No Boy
by
John Okada
John Okada was born in Seattle, Washington in 1923. He attended the University of Washington and Columbia University. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II, wrote one novel and was dead of a heart attack at the age of 47. John Okada died in obscurity believing that Asian America had rejected his work."Asian American readers will appreciate the sensitivity and integrit...more
Paperback, 176 pages
Published
January 1st 1979
by University of Washington Press
(first published 1957)
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While John Okada’s novel could be read for its historical perspective on the internment of Japanese-Americans and their experiences post-WWII, it was not written as a historical novel. No-No Boy was published just over a decade after the end of the war and is a vibrant, fresh exploration of the complex issues of identity (ethnic/cultural/racial/national).
With his cast of characters Okada is able to get at the reality and illusion of identity. Not only does he portray Ichiro’s struggle, but each...more
With his cast of characters Okada is able to get at the reality and illusion of identity. Not only does he portray Ichiro’s struggle, but each...more
Mar 29, 2008
sdw
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone
Shelves:
asianamericanstudies,
fiction
I read this book while doing “ground-support” for a tree-sit. That means, I was basically sitting under some trees that people were living in (to stop logging) in case they needed help from the ground. Reading this book was the first time I saw my citizenship and the privileges they come with it as unnatural. I had never really thought about them before. But here I was with folks engaging in an action that depended upon our citizenship being recognized and respected. It may very well have been a...more
At the end of WWII, Japanese American Ichiro makes his way home not from the battlefield, but from prison. He's a "No-No" boy, having refused the draft in mixed protest against his family's internment during the war. But as Ichiro faces the challenges of having turned down service in a patriotic country which mistrusts his heritage in the extreme, Ichiro questions his true motivations for saying no, as well as his place in American society. As he rambles around Seattle, he meets slowly dying sol...more
No-No Boy is a novel by John Okada. Okada is a Seattle-ite who wrote one novel and died at the age of 47. He couldn’t find publication for it in America, but it was published by Charles Tuttle in Japan. I think this must mostly have to do with the content of the novel about a young second generation Japanese American named Ichiro who refused to sign a loyalty oath and refused to join the armed forces; hence “no” twice. I think publishers were reluctant to publish it since it highlights one of Am...more
Read this book around a year ago, and actually have been aching to reread it lately. As others have mentioned I do think that No-No Boy provides interesting historical perspective in regards to the Japanese internment during WWII, and how the Japanese American community responded to No-No Boys (Japanese men who refused to fight in the war) within itself.
Still, what I would like to make clear is that 'historical perspective' isn't the reason you should read the book -- rather a somewhat educatio...more
Still, what I would like to make clear is that 'historical perspective' isn't the reason you should read the book -- rather a somewhat educatio...more
I found The No-No Boy on K.P. Kollenborn's Blog after I had read her novel Eyes Behind Belligerence. Since Eyes Behind Belligerence and No-No Boy had protagonists dealing with being Japanese American during and after World War II, it seemed natural to compare them. Both Kollenborn’s Jim Yoshimura and Okada’s Ichiro Yamada are what was known as “No-No Boys”. This means that after they had been interned, they refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the United States, and they refused to serve in...more
I really enjoyed Okada's narrative style. It balances finely between a feeling of first person while maintaining a grammatical style of third. I started reading this book for my Asian American Memoirs class at Hunter, and as soon as I finished it I went and started at the beginning. The emotional torment the main character, Ichiro, faces is the main drive and theme of this book. Racial tensions, Japanese culture, and the blend into American ways of life are also important. There's a lot of trage...more
A lot of so-called "socially conscious" literature, while it may have had a long-lasting impact and helped to push the world in a positive direction, kind of fails as literature. Uncle Tom's Cabin is a perfect example. No-No Boy isn't quite like that, but it's not too far from that.
I really appreciated Ichiro as a character. Cagey, cynical, and self-loathing, I wouldn't be surprised if his attitudes were amazingly similar to a lot of Nisei at the time. And when I see the old Northwest-accented J...more
I really appreciated Ichiro as a character. Cagey, cynical, and self-loathing, I wouldn't be surprised if his attitudes were amazingly similar to a lot of Nisei at the time. And when I see the old Northwest-accented J...more
Read it for a thesis committee I'm on and grateful for the opportunity to be introduced to a one-time novelist who died much too young (47) but if one were to write one novel, this would be it. The setting is a post-WWII America most white Americans don't know about--the complex and conflicted positioning of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor. Okada builds a West Coast world of nightclubs, dire poverty, and urban grittiness to explore how Japanese Americans can or cannot ever be American. The...more
This first novel by an Asian American to be published in the U.S.
came out in 1957 but was virtually unnoticed until, as it happened,
about the time the author died at the age of 47 in 1970. Found in a
San Francisco bookstore by a Chinese American man, it was brought to
the attention of other Asian American writers, themselves becoming
well known. Stunned by its power and the fact of its neglect, those
writers arranged to publish a paperback edition in 1976, and a second
printing the next year w...more
came out in 1957 but was virtually unnoticed until, as it happened,
about the time the author died at the age of 47 in 1970. Found in a
San Francisco bookstore by a Chinese American man, it was brought to
the attention of other Asian American writers, themselves becoming
well known. Stunned by its power and the fact of its neglect, those
writers arranged to publish a paperback edition in 1976, and a second
printing the next year w...more
Oct 12, 2007
Jenny
added it
I read No-No Boy for a class I'm taking. I don't think I would have enjoyed it much if I didn't understand it as one of the very first Japanese-American novels to be written. It was written in 1957 and takes place in 1946 and is all about the experience of those Japanese-Americans who refused to fight in WWII after being incarcerated in internment camps.
This is one of my favorite books, I've read it many times in high school and college. And that's maybe the best time of life to read it, when emotions and passions and disillusionment with "the man" are in full spin all around you.
Though the book focuses on Ichiro, a no-no boy returning home to post-WWII Seattle, it successfully paints fleshed-out portraits of a variety of Japanese Americans at this time: a war hero, a widow, stubborn first-generation parents who still cling proudly to Japan, gr...more
Though the book focuses on Ichiro, a no-no boy returning home to post-WWII Seattle, it successfully paints fleshed-out portraits of a variety of Japanese Americans at this time: a war hero, a widow, stubborn first-generation parents who still cling proudly to Japan, gr...more
I feel as though the story told in this novel is extremely important, and that Japanese internment camps are a part of American history often overlooked. This novel offers a great prospective on how various Japanese individuals dealt with the after effects of WWII, and how their reactions in turn effected their families and their communities. I loved how the author offered numerous prospectives on the war through various characters, and was able to create great emotional depth in a short number...more
I read this in high school and was not mature enough to understand what it was about. I remember it was set in an internment camp during WWII and focused a lot on cultural and peer pressures. A No-No Boy, by the way, was a Japanese-American who refused to enter military service for the U.S.
The late John Okada was a man ahead of his time. In the 1950's he crisply defined the pivotal struggle of 2013. Government policy mistakenly adopted the passions of the majority during WW2 in it's treatment of Japanese Americans, and the American political process is still in need of reform. UCLA's internalized racism was responsible for the destruction of his subsequent book, and violence against the working class remains endemic in American institutions of higher education. Today, good people...more
This book took me an entire month to read. It's not long or difficult, I was just swamped and also I wouldn't consider this a page-turner. It's definitely important, though. I read this for my Major American Writers II class, and as we were looking at the syllabus before the semester my boyfriend and I were confused to see this novel. "Uh, why is this book on a syllabus for Major American Writers?" we asked because we are pompous assholes. "I've never heard of the book or even the author."
Becau...more
Becau...more
okay this was a very dramatic novel. I think this is packed with overly dramatic scenes and characterizations but ... it could be justified. I enjoyed the character development of Ichiro (protagonist) and i think there is a very interesting role of death throughout this novel. one of the biggest issue i did have was how the novel was a bit misogynistic... with the role the female characters played and the male's action towards/view of women in the novel was a bit problematic. the writing isn't t...more
No-No Boy is an impressive first effort. Through a sometimes likeable, sometimes disagreeable protagonist facing a unique set of circumstances from the macro view (the plight of relatively few young men in a relatively small ethnic population), John Okada addressed insecurities and issues that we all face as individuals -- appreciating our own self worth, finding our own identities, and discovering where and how we fit into the bigger picture. And by creating cast of imperfect characters, each o...more
I had the opportunity to read No-No Boy back in college; it clearly left an impression on me and many others because it was chosen for a book club recently.
Ichiro has just come back from prison, having said "no" to joining the army in WWII. It's a story of amazing personal and internal struggle that results in personal growth. No-No Boy is heavy on the internal dialogue, but it proves necessary and vital to the story.
After revisiting this novel for a second time, I'm still amazed and impressed w...more
Ichiro has just come back from prison, having said "no" to joining the army in WWII. It's a story of amazing personal and internal struggle that results in personal growth. No-No Boy is heavy on the internal dialogue, but it proves necessary and vital to the story.
After revisiting this novel for a second time, I'm still amazed and impressed w...more
Really terrific read. Not a lot of popular literature published that illustrate the trauma Japanese-Americans faced during WWII with the West Coast population rounded up in concentration camps and the racism they experienced. People must read this book. It is a trail blazer as no book before it had addressed the social issues it talks about, as evident in the forging of a preliminary vocabulary (prior to the publishing, there was no expression for Asian-American--one was either Asian or American...more
Read it for a lit. class. It was decent, but not great. The narrative was a bit odd, it switched between characters and from an omnipresent narrator to first person. Also, there were points in the book where the language was beautiful and there were some well worded descriptions, but that wasn't consistent throughout. Furthermore, some parts were "told" to the reader instead of "shown" and I can't decide if I liked that or not. It could be thought of as getting inside the mind of the character,...more
This book is actually fiction. But I think it is a very truthful depiction of what life would have been like for someone in Ishiro's position - post-war Seattle for an Japanese-American who has spent two years in prison for refusing to be drafted. I was very impressed with the depth of the exploration of his feelings along with the characterization of his parents and friends. A look at a young man's inner psyche and struggle to be who he is. This novel also deals with prejudice, belonging and pa...more
This book is very powerful when you understand the context. It is one of the first Japanese-American novels written on the subject of how the camps and the war further separated second-generation Japanese-Americans from their peers and their parents. It also raises some issues that force you to ask what you would have done in such situations, as a politician or a citizen. I read it for an Asian-American studies class, and the instructor told us about how much of the Japanese-American population...more
Mar 05, 2008
Kiersten
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to Kiersten by:
Dr. Daynes--Pl Sci 320
I loved this book about Japanese American citizens during World War II who, while imprisoned in internment camps around the nation, refused to serve in the American military. (The name of the book, "No-No Boy," was given to internment camp prisoners who answered "No" to poorly-worded questions on a form that was intended to prove their loyalty to the United States. The questions presented a catch-22--they asked if the prisoners were willing to forgo their past allegiance to Japan and swear alleg...more
John Okada published only one book in his lifetime. He died at the age of fourty seven believing that America did not accept his book.
His book is highly recommended for people who are in or have Asian culture. When you read this book you are opened to the Asian American perspective from those that have entered in World War II. They come to speculate their identity, drawing to the question whether you understand who you are either as an American or an Asian American.
The character Ichiro went to p...more
His book is highly recommended for people who are in or have Asian culture. When you read this book you are opened to the Asian American perspective from those that have entered in World War II. They come to speculate their identity, drawing to the question whether you understand who you are either as an American or an Asian American.
The character Ichiro went to p...more
No-no boys refer to the Japanese American men and Japanese Nationals who answered "no" to two specific questions on a survey conducted by the US government while they were interned in camps during WWII.
1. Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty wherever ordered?
2. Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States of America and faithfully defend the United States from any or all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and forswear any form of alleg...more
1. Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty wherever ordered?
2. Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States of America and faithfully defend the United States from any or all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and forswear any form of alleg...more
The professor of my English grammar class at Nihon University was telling us last class that he had been to a conference and heard a presentation about this book. It had been on my bookshelf for ages, so I finally read it. It is a really candid look at what it means to be American in light of the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. What struck me most about this book that was written in 1952 was how candid the author was about the complexities of race in the US.
No-No Boy is a good book. It's a Fifties novel, full of maternal strife and bitterness and philosophical harangues, and sometimes the style seems dated. But the characters and ideas don't, and Ichiro, the protagonist, is entitled to his bitterness. In addition to the racism this country is built on and the anti-Japanese sentiment following WWII, Ichiro also faces the censure of Japanese-Americans who served in the US Army. The book addresses racism, what it means to possess a hyphenated identity...more
A compelling portrayal of a Japanese-American man attempting to regain control of his life after two years in prison for refusing to fight for the US during WWII and Japanese-American internment. Ichiro - the protagonist - reminds me of a slightly more mature Holden Caulfield, and the novel was very grounded in the realities of racism, yet with hints of MLK-esque hope. Okada's prose is fluid and winding, occasionally funny, and often beautiful and perceptive.
I picked up this book because it was mentioned in the Smith Alumnae magazine in an article about a class on the Japanese American experience after WWII. I tracked it down at the library but found it was checked out fr the next few months. I finally found a copy on my neighbor's bookshelf and I am really glad I did.
It is the first and only novel by the author. It took me a little while to get into the rhythm of this book and to start really caring about the characters but very soon I did and quic...more
It is the first and only novel by the author. It took me a little while to get into the rhythm of this book and to start really caring about the characters but very soon I did and quic...more
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“There is a period between each night and day when one dies for a few hours, neither dreaming nor thinking nor tossing nor hating nor loving, but dying for a little while because life progresses in just such a way.”
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Nov 26, 2012 04:51am