So Far from the Bamboo Grove (Paperback)

by Yoko Kawashima Watkins (Author) "IT WAS ALMOST MIDNIGHT ON JULY 29, 1945, when my mother, my elder sister Ko, and I, carrying as many of our belongings as we..." (more)
Key Phrases: honorable sister, honorable brother, wrapping cloth, Little One, Corporal Matsumura, Korean Communist (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This riveting novel, based on the author's own experiences, describes a Japanese family forced to flee their home in Korea at the end of WW II. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up A true account that is filled with violence and death, yet one that is ultimately a story of family love and life. Eleven-year-old Yoko Kawashima had led a peaceful and secure life as the daughter of a Japanese government official stationed in North Korea near the end of World War II. Abruptly, all is changed as she, her older sister Ko, and their mother flee the vengeance-seeking North Korean Communists and eventually make their way to an unwelcoming and war-ravaged Japan. Yoko's story is spellbinding. She often escapes death by mere chance; her brother, Hideyo, separated from the family, has an equally harrowing escape. The longed-for arrival in Japan proves to be an almost greater trial, as their mother, defeated by the discovery that all their Japanese relatives are dead, dies. Together, Yoko and Ko create a home in which to await the return of Hideyo. Watkins writes clearly and movingly, with a straightforward style through which the story unfolds quickly. She skillfully alternates her account of the girls' journey with that of their brother, maintaining readers' interest in both. Watkins is able to describe scenes of death, rape, and other atrocities with a simple directness which has no trace of sensationalism yet in no way diminishes their horror. Readers will be riveted by the events of the escape and struggle for survival, and enriched and inspired by the personalities of the family. Especially well drawn is Yoko's gradual emergence from a frightened, whining child to a strong and courageous young girl. Parallels can be drawn to Holocaust survival stories such as Aranka Siegal's Upon the Head of the Goat (Farrar, 1981) and Esther Hautzig's The Endless Steppe (Crowell, 1968). So Far from the Bamboo Grove should have a place among the finest of them. Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, N.J.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st Beech Tree ed edition (May 24, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688131158
• ISBN-13: 978-0688131159
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #62,431 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

113 of 124 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Critical thinking is required when reading this book, October 23, 1997

By A Customer

No conventional rating should apply to this book, but the book is certainly worthy of comments.

"So Far from the Bamboo Grove", published in 1986, is the Japanese-American author's retelling of the harrowing experiences of her escape as a child from Korea at the end of World War II. The eleven year-old child was driven from her delightful life and home in northern Korea. The events of the story ring true as the author spins her tale of war-induced woe; the book reaffirms that WAR IS HELL.

The alert reader of these comments will immediately take note of the characterization of an "escape" of a Japanese from Korea in 1945, and the reading of this book should provide a basic exercise on critical thinking. For every reader, the question that begs to be asked should be, "Why was her family in northern Korea?" or, more pointedly, "What did her father do?" It turns out that her father was an important Japanese government official who was "working" in nearby Manchuria. The publisher at the end of the book notes that the father eventually returned to Japan after serving six years in a Siberian prison.

So the author's father was a World War II war criminal, and the family's home in northern Korea was the result of an imperialist's occupation. No wonder the patriotic Koreans were not too eager to provide the author's family a safe and comfortable passage out of their country!

Now, isn't it remarkable that this book exists? The author has had decades to reflect on her experiences and proves incapable of viewing them in the larger historical context. Political correctness is not the issue here; this book demonstrates an egregious omission of a righteous moral stand.

Furthermore, doesn't the uncritical manner of the presentation of this book cause one to ponder the role of racism? The publisher makes a tepid attempt to include some notes on Korean history that only serve to further obfuscate the historical significance of this story. The book's forward and the blurbs uniformly praise the book without exercising critical thinking. The suggestion of racism should not be made lightly, but would it be possible to publish a book retelling the travails of a young girl from a Nazi German family "escaping" from Holland at the end of the Second World War?

40 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I am simply confused by these comments by "kid's review" and "a reader", April 21, 2007

By	Hyungmin S. Moon "Confused" (Alameda, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This might be a "well written" book, but it is completely distorting the truth about the Japanese WW2 aggressions and atrocies. It makes as if atrocies were committed by the victims rather than the aggressor. If you knew even a bit of history, you would have some misgivings and the second thoughts about why the author wrote this book and why she is trying so hard for this book to be adopted by the elementary schools around the U.S. Depiction of mindless rapes and atrocies committed by the Koreans and Russians in this book could have happened, however what does she say about those close to half million comfort girls and women who were forcefully removed from their homes and brutally raped by Japanese soliders day after day and had to live as sex slaves for the duration of the war. Most of these women were never compensated for the crimes committed by Japanese government and people to this day. On top of that, Japanese government continually denies the atrocities by their soliders and civilians during the war (although it's partially due to lawsuits which may result from their admissions). You might say that this is a story about a Japanese girl and writing her memoir about WW2 although I seriously question whether this book is suitable for the elementary school kids considering the level of violence depicted in this book.


If Anne Frank were a German and she were still alive to this day and if she wrote about the mindless rapes committed by Jewish resistance fighters and Jewish American soliders after WW2 and no mention was made about the Holocaust during WW2. Wouldn't you think that is a DISTORTION of history?

If they were going to adopt this book as the textbook for the elementary school kids, they should at least adopt another book written by a Chinese or Korean author talking about a girl who was amidst of Nanking Massacre or a girl kidnapped by Japanese soldiers during WW2 to serve as sex slaves. That should give a balanced view of what really happened during WW2 and should mitigate unfounded stereotypes about certain ethnicities or racial groups.

And who are these "kid's review" and "a reader"? They are writing unanimous praise of this book. Somehow, the same person is writing two dozen reviews and trying to promote this book. Do you smell something fishy here?

27 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A misleading book!!!, January 22, 2007

By	S. Baik (phoenix) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: So Far from the Bamboo Grove (Hardcover)

This is a bad fiction based entirely on fabricated history. The book is so biased and inundated with historical inaccuracies that even the publishers in Japan refuse to publish this book in Japanese.

The bottom line is that the author was a daughter of a war criminal, high Japenese official stationed at a northern Korean province during the Japanese occupation of Korea, and had led a comfortable life at the expense of the suffering of the Korean people until she and her family got kicked out of Korea at the end of the WWII. She's a disgruntled former beneficiary of the Japanese imperialism and this book is a poor attempt to mislead the public and further her hidden agenda.

It's not too hard to google this book and find many inaccuracies claimed by the author. It is especially appalling that this book is a children's novel aimed at American children who are not familiar with what Japanese imperialism did to other Asians during the first half of the last century. If you are buying books for your children or students, stay clear of this one, it will give your children one bad history lesson.