Right to the nitty gritty, “When the Emperor was Divine”, by Julie Otsuka (Anchor Books, ISBN 978-0-385-72181-3), was a unique and entertaining perspective of Japanese-American internment during WWII in the U.S. The detail and imagery is compelling and vivid. The material is inviting, easy-to-read, and condensed into a novel that can be read in only a few hours.
The novel follows a Japanese-American family who receives notice that they must travel from their home in California to an internment camp due to open war with Japan. This imprisonment has been one of the most controversial subjects in American history due to the subjugation and overt policy of removal.
The novel records and portrays the lifestyle of internment and later the return of internees to their homes. That is, if their homes were still there. Ms. Otsuka’s depiction is deep and shows the ostracization of an entire people. The remarkability of the event is how arguments can honestly be made that the subjugation was brutal and unethical, but that it may also have been justified due to spying and the possibility of violence without intervention. However others want to call it or tell themselves so they can sleep at night, Japanese-Americans were imprisoned due to their heritage. There is no ifs ands or buts about it.
At times the structure of the novel is somewhat unfamiliar and lacking. The flow of the plot through different characters is innovative, but also interruptive; especially when some characters are given a much greater amount of attention.
The lack of names for the family was at times distracting, but did not detract from the purpose or depth of Otsuka’s writing. This novel is a true glimpse into the life of a Japanese-American internee and the uncertainty felt when freedom and livelihood depends on the outcome of conflict thousands of miles away.
“When the Emperor was Divine” is a must read for those who enjoy contemplating the themes of morality and justice or simply to enlighten oneself concerning a forgotten aspect to American history.
