When the Emperor Was Divine question

I read it this summer- complex and a little jarring with the narrator shifts, the ending was very sad. It is such a little book that it can stand rereading like a poem to get the full flavor. Being a greedy reader I wanted more of each person in the family especially the mother.

I have read both her books, The Buddha In The Attic being the other. She writes in staccato incantational style that is fluid and detached. She covers a lot of emotion this way, but also leaves you wanting more. I think to enjoy this book one must know some history of the Japanese Internment during WWII, and be sensitive to this issue. She puts this injustice on a personal level with the story. I also think she coalesces experiences from many and applies it to her characters. I enjoyed her other book better. But, I like her work.

I have recently finished reading When the Emperor Was Divine and I'm looking forward to reading The Buddha in the Attic. Here is an audio link to an interview the author, Julie Otsuka, recently did with Eleanor Wachtel: http://www.cbc.ca/writersandcompany/e...

Absolutely recommend.
Beautifully, sparely written; packs a wallop.
A keeper for your library.
(Do agree with reader James - some knowledge of our history re: internment camps will enrich readers' experience.)

Both books are beautiful. The Buddha in the Attic is unusual because it's written in first person plural. Although the experience is foreign to most of us, the author is able to draw us in so that we join with the "we" in the book and walk in their shoes.
http://www.planetbookgroupie.com

Brillant

I found her writing lacking in depth and she uses lists of items too much. In fact I would say her The Buddha is the Attic is little more than a list.

I just finished reading this. I never felt connected to any of the characters and the narration shift was difficult to follow at times, especially when there was dialogue between the characters.

I just finished reading this book for an English class- I think that Otsuka's style is very interesting for being concise but still descriptive. It's kind of too detached for me to really like it to a full extent, but it's not a bad read. I may have to try her other novel to see how it matches up.

I have read both her books, The Butta In The Attic being the other. She writes in staccato incantational style that is fluid and detached. She covers a lot of emotion this way, but also leaves you wanting more. I think to enjoy this book one must know some history of the Japanese Internment during WWII, and be sensitive to this issue. She puts this injustice on a personal level with the story. I also think she coalesces experiences from many and applies it to her characters. I enjoyed her other book better. But, I like her work.