2024 the best clubs in los angeles review

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PEN/FAULKER AWARD WINNER •The acclaimed author of The Swimmers and When the Emperor Was Divine tells the story of a group of young women brought from Japan to San Francisco as “picture brides” a century ago in this "understated masterpiece ... that unfolds with great emotional power" (San Francisco Chronicle).

In eight unforgettable sections, The Buddha in the Attic traces the extraordinary lives of these women, from their arduous journeys by boat, to their arrival in San Francisco and their tremulous first nights as new wives; from their experiences raising children who would later reject their culture and language, to the deracinating arrival of war.

Julie Otsuka has written a spellbinding novel about identity and loyalty, and what it means to be an American in uncertain times.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; 1st edition (March 20, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0307744426
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0307744425
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 0.4 x 8 inches
Reviewer: Patto
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Impassioned portrait of the Japanese picture brides
Review: It's fun to find an author who experiments so boldly with narrative technique and dares to reinvent the novel (or at least try).This book is more prose poem or verbal painting than novel - but with the novelistic appeal of fast and furious storytelling. The writing is rhythmic, impassioned, captivating. Julie Otsuka has found a totally original way to tell the tale of the Japanese picture brides, the women who crossed the Pacific in the early 1900s to marry Japanese immigrants in America.She doesn't focus on this one or that one. She speaks for absolutely all of these women - plain and beautiful, squat and slender, ignorant and accomplished, shy and lascivious, rustic and citified - by writing in the first person plural."We spoke seldom. We ate little. We were gentle. We were good." She reveals their origins, their motives, their accomplishments, their naïveté, their sexual indiscretions, their shock at finding their husbands to be fruit pickers rather than bankers or silk merchants as represented in their letters.I'm not giving away the plot, because there is no plot. This book is all momentum, all dazzling flow of language and unforgettable images, like Otsuka's wild evocation of the wedding nights of the picture brides!Otsuka follows her heroines to the early days of World War II when entire Japanese-American communities disappeared, the surviving picture brides among them, relocated en masse to remote desert camps.This forced internment of the Japanese was the subject of Otsuka's first novel (another amazing book) When the Emperor Was Divine. My interest flagged a bit at finding the same material here. I felt I'd wandered back into the earlier book somehow. But aside from this slight reservation, I was delighted with The Buddha in the Attic.

Reviewer: 2Gr8KidsMom
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Unique, but compelling, writing style...good book
Review: I'm not sure where the old saying "Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes" originated, but I can tell you that there is no advice better suited to describe Julie Otsuka's The Buddha in the Attic than those time-honored words of wisdom.Written in first person plural, The Buddha in the Attic is easily one of the most unique books I've ever read. It tells the story of a generation of Japanese women as they come to America to pursue better lives with husbands they've never met.The entire book contains not a single line of dialogue, and there is no main character. Rather, the main character is a collective population of first generation Japanese Americans as they discover that the "better life" they sought in the United States simply was not available to them.Rather than reading like a traditional novel with plenty of rich characters and a clearly defined plot, story climax and resolution, The Buddha in the Attic reads more like a long essay illustrating the collective experiences and lack of equality of the Japanese immigrants in America. And yet, in spite of (or maybe because of) the writing style, I found the book strangely compelling and absolutely fascinating.Though there was no one main character, the collective cast of transient characters is so richly described that the reader has no difficulty being drawn into the story and identifying with every single one of the faces whose lives and experiences are described within the pages.The Buddha in the Attic is a very short read and would be a great choice for book clubs, as the story lends itself well to thought and discussion.

Reviewer: Julie Carpenter
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Book Group - Collective Voice
Review: We are a book group of 12 and have been together for 12 years. We are mothers and wives. Some work - some don't. We gather once a month to talk about the book, but mostly talk about our kids. We are like most women in most book groups - opinionated, sometimes intellectual, sometimes irreverent. We always have fun. We are good friends.This is our first official book review. We chose "Buddha" before it was released - it was not yet on any top ten or top 100 list, bucket list, or best-seller list - lists we often choose from. There were no reviews. We entered our reading with no pre-existing sway. Some loved "Buddha" - others not so much. The book provoked great debate. It was a book we actually discussed at length. Together we share, in a less-than-perfect attempt at "collective voice":The happy hausfrau cum MSW, LCSW loved this work of poetry. "The form punched the story beautifully: basic humanity crumbles in the face of fear, war sucks, three pages of rape is a drop in ocean of what women have suffered in and out war time. Each paragraph (stanza?) told a hundred stories. This one small book told volumes of tales in plain, rhythmic language; like the breath and beating hearts of each individual she describes, but collectively! And what about the title of the book? And the single sentence in the text that refers to it?? Is the Buddha just a little piece of identity hidden but preserved, watching over the house? Or a representation "self/spirt" hidden away, denied, stifled in the dusty attic with with other ghosts? Identity and self quietly preserved and celebrated? Or a God demoted, obsolete and even dangerous to recognize in a new land?" 4 StarsThe marketing consultant couldn't get past page pp. 19 to 21 and tried three times. "The book lacked character development." 1 StarOne rockin' housewife found the book to be stylistically superior in its deviation from a traditional narrative form. "Through her use of first person plural the author captures `a people' rather than individual characters; she powerfully and effectively illustrates the Japanese migration to America culminating in the war's effect on the culture. Otsuka's stylistic use of contrary statements creates a denser, richer and ultimately cleaner and more concise work." 5 StarsUne femme de moyenne age thought that the book failed to connect with the reader in a meaningful emotional way due to the use of the multiple character list format. "At the beginning of the book the novelty of this writing device seemed interesting but by the end of the book it seemed like it was a grocery list of people and activities that served to minimize, instead of enhance, the development of empathy and understanding with the characters. I simply lost interest in reading the lists." 1 StarThe diabetes doctor, chocolate loving mother thought the book an exquisite piece of prose that effectively described the collective experience of female Japanese immigrants in the U.S. "The book described the hopes and dreams and illuminated the suffering, challenges and sometimes the happiness they discover in their new homeland."5 StarsThe desperate housewife found the book piquing her interest in the first chapter. "The varied snippets of the many Japanese wives' thoughts set the stage for what promised to be an interesting book. Little did I realize that the author's use of multiple voices would go on (and on and on . . .) throughout the book. I soon found myself losing interest and becoming frustrated at not knowing even one person's entire story. The promise of the first chapter never came to fruition -- disappointing." 1 StarOne member, an avid reader and former expatriate, found the narrative quite compelling. "I likened the style of prose to a conversation between friends, or documentation of an oral history project." 4 StarsThe crazy professor, but mostly sane mother said: "The book was composed of many quick and beautiful brush strokes that painted a picture of Japanese women's experiences as they tried to navigate a new life during a very difficult time in US history; however, I yearned for the author to slow down and depict the events more purposefully and with greater detail."1 StarThe teacher of many found the book to be very thought provoking and relevant. "The multiple nameless characters brought home the sheer magnitude of the injustices endured by this entire community. I also found the historical parallels interesting. Buddha in the Attic reminds us that fear and ignorance have spurred the mistreatment of entire races and cultural groups throughout history, and it is sadly still happening in modern day America. Many important reminders and lessons in this book." 4 StarsThe cynical realist said that at the risk of being skewered by the aforementioned intellectuals; found this book to be an enjoyable read despite the serious subject matter. "Though it is narrated in an atypical style, I found the snippets of many nameless people's lives provided a collective glimpse into one of our nation's `dirty little secrets'. The book is easy to read whether you do it in a few minutes at a time or in one sitting. At completion, this beautiful little book also looks lovely on a coffee table!" 4 StarsThe multi-tasking mom thought the book started out very enjoyable and is poetically written, but after a few chapters became boring and annoying. "Everything was `listed' and nothing had any depth. I would have rather followed the lives of 5 women instead of 50 stories never followed through. At least the author kept the story short because with any more pages I don't think I would have finished it." 1.5 StarsThe one who recommended the book, and main-stream-reader in the group had hoped her recommendation would be a good read for all but because of the non-traditional literary style, worried about the group's response. "I thought the subject matter might make the book a `page-turner' but as I made my way through the first chapter, quickly determined that the writing would lend to a discussion more on style and less on content. Though I too, struggled with the `lists', I appreciated the author's research efforts and respect her daring experimentation in style. I believe that in the end, Otsuka's choice to write in a collective voice imparted an eloquence and poignancy in her story telling. I was thrilled that the book provided our group a vibrant discussion." 3.5 Stars

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Little American Japanese history. An eye opener for hat I happening in the world ow. So heart touching of immigrants women's life story. Their dreams, realities and future generation.

Reviewer: Pavan kumar
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is the book of Japanese immigrants life in U.S. in 1900s. More about woman and their thoughts and conversations...

Reviewer: Cliente Amazon
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Libro per la scuola

Reviewer: Sandra Heft
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Told in the voice of a collective experience of Japanese mail order brides between the two world wars. A must read.

Reviewer: jr
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Perfecto estado y rápido el producto. La historia no me gusta