The Buddha in the Attic [Paperback]

Julie Otsuka (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 20, 2012

Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award For Fiction
National Book Award and Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
A New York Times Notable Book

A gorgeous novel by the celebrated author of When the Emperor Was Divine that tells the story of a group of young women brought from Japan to San Francisco as “picture brides” nearly a century ago. 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. Once again, Julie Otsuka has written a spellbinding novel about identity and loyalty, and what it means to be an American in uncertain times.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Exquisitely written. . . . An understated masterpiece…that unfolds with great emotional power. . . . Destined to endure.” —The San Francisco Chronicle

“Arresting and alluring. . . . A novel that feels expansive yet is a magical act of compression.” —Chicago Tribune

“A stunning feat of empathetic imagination and emotional compression, capturing the experience of thousands of women.” —Vogue
 
“Otsuka’s incantatory style pulls her prose close to poetry. . . . Filled with evocative descriptive sketches…and hesitantly revelatory confessions.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A fascinating paradox: brief in span yet symphonic in scope, all-encompassing yet vivid in its specifics. Like a pointillist painting, it’s composed of bright spots of color: vignettes that bring whole lives to light in a line or two, adding up to a vibrant group portrait.” —The Seattle Times
 
“Mesmerizing. . . . Told in a first-person plural voice that feels haunting and intimate, the novel traces the fates of these nameless women in America. . . . Otsuka extracts the grace and strength at the core of immigrant (and female) survival and, with exquisite care, makes us rethink the heartbreak of eternal hope. Though the women vanish, their words linger.” —More
 
“Spare and stunning. . . . By using the collective ‘we’ to convey a constantly shifting, strongly held group identity within which distinct individuals occasionally emerge and recede, Otsuka has created a tableau as intricate as the pen strokes her humble immigrant girls learned to use in letters to loved ones they’d never see again.” —O, The Oprah Magazine
 
“With great daring and spectacular success, she has woven countless stories gleaned from her research into a chorus of the women’s voices, speaking their collective experience in a plural ‘we,’ while incorporating the wide range of their individual lives. . . . The Buddha in the Attic moves forward in waves of experiences, like movements in a musical composition. . . . By its end, Otsuka’s book has become emblematic of the brides themselves: slender and serene on the outside, tough, weathered and full of secrets on the inside.” —Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
 
“A gorgeous mosaic of the hopes and dreams that propelled so many immigrants across an ocean to an unknown country. . . . Otsuka illuminates the challenges, suffering and occasional joy that they found in their new homeland. . . . Wrought in exquisite poetry, each sentence spare in words, precise in meaning and eloquently evocative, like a tanka poem, this book is a rare, unique treat. . . . Rapturous detail. . . . A history lesson in heartbreak.” —Washington Independent Review of Books
 
“[Otsuka] brazenly writes in hundreds of voices that rise up into one collective cry of sorrow, loneliness and confusion. . . . The sentences are lean, and the material reflects a shameful time in our nation’s past. . . . Otsuka winds a thread of despair throughout the book, haunting the reader at every chapter. . . . Otsuka masterfully creates a chorus of the unforgettable voices that echo throughout the chambers of this slim but commanding novel, speaking of a time that no American should ever forget.” —Minneapolis Star-Tribune
 
“Daring. . . . Frequently mesmerizing. . . . Otsuka has the moves of cinematographer, zooming in for close-ups, then pulling back for wide lens group shots. . . . [Otsuka is] a master of understatement and apt detail. . . . Her stories seem rooted in curiosity and a desire to understand.” —Bookpage
 
“Precise, focused. . . . Penetrating. . . . See it and you’ll want to pick it up. Start reading it and you won’t want to put it down. . . . A boldly imagined work that takes a stylistic risk more daring and exciting than many brawnier books five times its size. Even the subject matter is daring. . . . Specific, clear, multitudinous in its grasp and subtly emotional.” —The Huffington Post

About the Author

Julie Otsuka was born and raised in California. She is the author of the novel When the Emperor Was Divine and a recipient of the Asian American Literary Award, the American Library Association Alex Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She lives in New York City.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; 2012-03-20 edition (March 20, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780307744425
• ISBN-13: 978-0307744425
• ASIN: 0307744426
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.4 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (425 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

194 of 209 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite, illuminating, surprising August 25, 2011

By Susanna Sonnenberg

Format:Hardcover

Julie Otsuka works magic, inventing an unwavering plural voice to illuminate the hidden experience of second-class women, Japanese mail-order brides in 1920s California. The device seems too ambitious at first but quickly yields a textured atmosphere, a sort of immense and important existence unlike anything you've ever read. Then you can't stop reading, greedily absorbing her every precise and haunting observation. And don't be fooled: Otsuka is as fierce and desperate a commentator on America's paradoxes and cruelties as the best of them.

85 of 92 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning. August 29, 2011

By Bookbird

Format:Audio CD

Two recent issues of "Granta, The Magazine of New Writing" featured chapters of Julie Otsuka's forthcoming novel "The Buddha in the Attic." The first chapter, featured in Granta 114, and titled "Come, Japanese!" left me completely floored and I had to pause and think quite some time before continuing with the rest of the issue. The style of writing in the third person was extremely effective in my opinion. The subject matter was so intense, and so ultimately sad, unjust and horrifying, that a less dispassionate style of telling this story would have rendered it sensationalist. It is powerful enough to just "list the facts." Once one "gets" what is being told in the stories of these very different Japanese women with a common future, you hurt for them and wish retroactively, that you could have done anything to make some of their lives better. Then in the most recent issue of Granta (115) I was thrilled another chapter of Ms. Otsuka's forthcoming book had been featured: "The Children". Same effect. I had already determined to purchase this book, or several copies as soon as it was published, after reading the first excerpt. I am not a reviewer, but am a reader of serious literature and a human rights activist and advocate. I loved this book. It is part of American history. The writing is spectacular.

170 of 194 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Book Group - Collective Voice October 2, 2011

By Julie Carpenter

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

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 Stars

The marketing consultant couldn't get past page pp. 19 to 21 and tried three times. "The book lacked character development." 1 Star

One 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 Stars

Une 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 Star

The 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 Stars

The 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 Star

One 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 Stars

The 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 Star

The 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 Stars

The 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 Stars

The 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 Stars

The 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