Customer Reviews

Beyond Words: Images from America's Concentration Camps

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"Beyond Words" provides a rare insight into the lives of the Japanese Americans who were incarcerated (for up to four years) in various concentration camps in the USA during WWII.

The strength of this book is that it lets the subjects tell the story in their own voice - through anecdote, in depth interview and paintings (some that were completed during internment).

I don't know much about (and don't even have a particular interest in) war history or american/japanese politics but I found this book really fascinating because it didn't get bogged down in too much background/historical detail (although it provides enough to enable you to understand the context of the situation).

Rather it is very much about the personal experience of feeling alienated in a country you thought was your home, and the day to day trials and emotions of suddenly finding yourself in a concentration camp. It is also about how, under those circumstances, the artists managed to keep painting and find inspiration.

As suggested by the subtitle, on almost every page there is a colour reproduction of a painting/drawing by both more/lesser known artists depicting some aspect life in the camps. The styles vary widely and the paintings aren't as depressing as one might expect. A lot of them have a kind of haunting beauty and showed more than anything, that even in those conditions, individuals still find beauty in their surroundings. I found the accounts of what it was like trying to be an artist in a camp particularly interesting and I think anyone interested in a different perspective on the "artist's struggle" would get a lot out of this.

The combination of the visuals with the individual's narratives made for a very compelling insight into an event that could otherwise be easily overlooked. While alot of books based heavily on personal interviews/anecdotes might risk ending up overly sentimental and somewhat "flabby" in content, the interviews here are insightful and vivid and are the real strength of the book.

One of my favorite books ever. 2 students came across all these watercolors in a University attic. They were done by Japanese Americans when they were at the internment camps. As they were not allowed to bring in cameras and such they used watercolors to paint life in the camps. These portraits and the accompanying stories are so remarkably touching, really showing the strength and dignity that these people in the camps had.

A remarkable book-buy it-you won't be sorry.