Barnes & NobleWhen the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

Quiet, Heartbreaking Story of Life in Internment

Over night, Japanese Americans went from citizens to “enemy aliens”, regardless of whether they were born in America. World War ll was a horrific period, marked by violence, prejudice, and genocide. Although we tend to focus on the placement of Jews in concentration camps, history should never forget the more than one hundred thousand Japanese sent to internment camps right here in the U.S. And neither should we. When the Emperor was Divine takes an unflinching look at history through the eyes of an average family surviving extraordinary times. From the newly-posted guidelines following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, to the removal of the family patriarch, the story is viewed from five perspectives, each with a unique voice. The journey from home to the unknown. Writers have a saying, “the bigger the subject, the smaller you write it”. Otsuka runs with this idea. Simple scenes and gestures make up the story, creating vivid but sparing imagery. Minimalist prose gives the reader just enough to grasp the meaning. It is the children’s limited understanding and flexible mind that conveys the larger metaphors at play. The novel is dystopian, a surreal experience. However, despite being written with multiple perspectives, the continuous use of third person never allows readers to grow too close to the characters on a personal level. It can be distant and cold at times with confusing time jumps. “The boy” describes the people in the internment camp as “inscrutable”, meaning they are impossible to know. And that is exactly what the book is because we will never fully know or understand the experiences of these people and the profound racism that lost an entire generation.