Budhha In The Attic

Written by polly barbour.

Budhha in the attic.

A well researched historical fictional account otsuka depicts life for japanese american immigrants to california over a span of thirty years in the early 20th century. The buddha in the attic by japanese american author julie otsuka is a fictional novel about japanese brides emigrating to the united states in the first decades of the twentieth century. All are hoping for a better life. The buddha in the attic is a 2011 novel written by american author julie otsuka about japanese picture brides immigrating to america in the early 1900s.

The image of a laughing buddha left behind in an attic symbolizes the experiences of several japanese women and their families in early twentieth century america. In her second novel julie otsuka explores the lives of japanese picture brides who make the overseas voyage from japan to america in the early 1900s. By its end otsuka s book has become emblematic of the brides themselves. The buddha in the attic moves forward in waves of experiences like movements in a musical composition.

The novel the buddha in the attic by julie otsuka follows the lives of a group of young women as they travel by boat to america. The buddha in the attic is julie otsuka s seminal work. Slender and serene on the outside tough weathered and full of secrets on the inside. I read the buddha in the attic by julie otsuka as part of my women s history month lineup.

The novel was published in the united states in august 2011 by the publishing house knopf publishing group. With the buddha in the attic julie otsuka has developed a literary style that is half poetry half narration short phrases sparse description so that the current of emotion running through. She tells the oft unspoken stories of an entire generation of nearly anonymous japanese woman who agreed to marry japanese american men and move to california without ever having met them. Written in the first person plural narrative.

The buddha in the attic her exquisitely written second novel follows a group of so called picture brides who sail to san francisco bay in the early 1900s to marry men they have never met.