I'm a sucker for a memoir, and I devoured this gem of a novel over Christmas break.
It's the beautiful and heartbreaking story of the Wakatsuki family, and the hundreds of thousands of other Japanese Americans, who were thrown into internment camps after Pearl Harbor.
Jeanne Wakatsuki-Houston develops her story with grace and speaks honestly about the terrible conditions her family faced at Manzanar. More importantly, Wakatsuki-Houston uses part of the novel to focus on the family leaving Manzanar and the difficulties they had reentering a society that three years earlier had shunned them.
It's a fascinating tale of a girl trying to figure out who she is and where she belongs and who she belongs with. An brilliant look into a young woman trying to find a balance between being the Japanese girl her heritage begs her to be and the American girl she needs to be to fit in.
I loved the descriptions of her time in the camp and how honestly she discusses her trials and triumphs there. Equally I loved how she explained her reintegration into society and her trials and triumphs there, too.
In Farewell to Manzanar, the reader is given a peak into American history that is generally left out of our textbooks and World War II lessons, and I loved every word of it.
If you pick up a copy, I'd suggest the one with the new afterword by the authors.
Happy reading,
No comments:
Post a Comment