The Buddha in the Attic: Book summary and reviews of The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

The Buddha in the Attic Summary

A tour de force about a group of women brought from Japan to San Francisco in the early 1900s as mail-order brides.

In six sections, the novel traces their new lives as "picture brides": the arduous voyage by boat, where the girls trade photos of their husbands and imagine uncertain futures in an unknown land... their arrival in San Francisco and the tremulous first nights with their new husbands... backbreaking toil as migrant workers in the fields and in the homes of white women... the struggle to learn a new language and culture... giving birth and raising children who come to reject their heritage... and, finally, the arrival of war, and the agonizing prospect of their internment.

Once again Julie Otsuka has written a spellbinding novel about identity and loyalty, and what it means to be an American in uncertain times.

The Buddha in the Attic Reviews

"A lovely prose poem that gives a bitter history lesson." - Kirkus Reviews

"Starred Review. Each section is beautifully rendered, a delicate amalgam of contrasting and complementary experiences.... Otsuka's prose is precise and rich with imagery." - Publishers Weekly

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The Buddha in the Attic Reader Reviews

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Rated of 5 by Louise J
Stunning Novel
This wonderful, captivating novel reads almost like a documentary and would, in fact, make for great t.v. viewing...An excellent novel!!

Rated of 5 by Sheryl Royer
Beautifully conceived and written
This book grabbed me within the first few sentences and will not let me go! It is unique in every way, from the first person plural perspective from which it is written, to the subject on which it is based, to the beautifully poetically crafted sentences of which it is comprised. It is the story of Japanese women brought to the US before WW II to be brides to Japanese immigrant men they did not know. It is not one story, but dozens. Yet it is succinct, easy to read, and compelling. It always amazes me when a writer finds yet another unique way to tell a unique story and Julie Otsuka certainly has in this book. I've not read her books before, but I will now eagerly seek them out.

Rated of 5 by Dorothy T.
A novel approach
This book is called a novel, but seems like a documentary. It has no main character, yet it feels like there is one. There is no plot, but it is a story that moves to a climax and a conclusion, and moves the reader's emotions with it. I know this review may seem enigmatic, but I encourage you to give this little book a try as the author seeks to give a voice to an unsung group of women in California history.

Julie Otsuka Author Biography

Julie Otsuka was born and raised in California. She is a graduate of Yale University and received her M.F.A. from Columbia. She is the author of the novels When the Emperor was Divine and The Buddha in the Attic 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.

Author Interview

Other books by Julie Otsuka at BookBrowse