Budhha In The Attic

The buddha in the attic summary these notes were contributed by members of the gradesaver community.

Budhha in the attic.

It is otsuka s second novel. The buddha in the attic moves forward in waves of experiences like movements in a musical composition. I read the buddha in the attic by julie otsuka as part of my women s history month lineup. 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 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. 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 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.

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. 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. 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. The buddha in the attic is julie otsuka s seminal work.

All are hoping for a better life. By its end otsuka s book has become emblematic of the brides themselves. 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. From their experiences raising children who would later reject their culture and language to the deracinating arrival of war.

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. Slender and serene on the outside tough weathered and full of secrets on the inside.