Nearly a century ago, Japanese women set sail on boats to America as "picture brides". The only information they had to go on about their future spouse was a photograph which more often than not was a less than honest portrait of the actual man. Otsuka's descriptions of the womens' experiences upon entering the American culture are matter-of-fact and yet poetic; like reading an extended haiku. Beautiful and sorrowful. Also read "When the Emperor Was Divine" in which Otsuka tells the story of a San Francisco family sent to a Japanese Internment camp during WWII.
-Amy O.-