The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 10 December 2007
by Joy Kogawa
It is a matter of record that during World War 2, the United States interred people of Japanese descent, including American citizens, who lived within a certain distance of the west coast of the country. They were sent to camps in remote and sometimes fiercely inhospitable locations throughout the country. (Other "enemy aliens" had other restrictions on their movements, such as Italian-American farmers who lost access to their own land along the California coastline). Many Japanese Nisei and Issei lost their livelihoods, their homes and their position in society, such as it was during a time of xenophobia. In this country, it is less well-known that a similar detention was ordered for Canadian residents of Japanese descent, including Canadian citizens. That two supposedly civilized nations should treat their own citizens as resident enemies is a blot upon the history of both these countries. Japanese-Canadians, arguably, were treated with greater disdain than their American counterparts. This intense little novel sets out to record the fictional (though probably largely autobiographical) story of one sprawling Japanese family forced into camps and broken apart by an indifferent and cruel national policy of isolation. It is 1973, and Naomi Na Kane, born of Japanese parents in Vancouver, comes to the home of her aunt, Obasan, to take care of her after the recent death of Naomi's beloved uncle. This tale opens up to include the long complex retelling of the family's treatment at the hands of the Canadian government in a time of war. It isn't a pretty picture, though, as seen through the eyes of a child, there is much beauty and wonder at the chaotic world around her. Aunt Emily, a sort of keeper of memory for the family, has records of the internment and the correspondence and diaries that tell the story of that time. Naomi is a reluctant student, but ultimately exposes some of her own dark past, as well as discovers much of what happened to her own parents. The result is bleak, as the workings of world history have little interest in the needs of individuals or families. Kogawa, who is a poet, writes in a lyrical style full of beautiful metaphorical imagery. Much of the book, also, is highly political. It has the specific goal of telling us of a historical injustice. The fictional story suffers, a little, at the hands of so much factual history. But this reader learned a great deal about the lives of Japanese internees. It is an imperfect but compelling book.