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abusive, book review, Book Reviews, books, disheartening, Evil, fiction, Japanese, labor, less than, minority, non-fiction, Relationships, Suburbia, thriller, troubled, Witchcraft
Hello everyone! Welcome to the Book Nook. Today we are going to be doing two reviews; The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka and My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood. Both of these books were short and I was able to get through them quickly; hence the 2-n-1 review post. Before we get started, I encourage you all to comment down below and tell me your thoughts. Also, make sure you are following the Book Nook on WordPress, Instagram and YouTube; that way you don’t miss any of my reviews in the future. So, without further ado, lets get into it.
The Buddha in the Attic follows the real stories of Japanese women who immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. The book is told from the POV of said women. Otsuka uses the term “we” as a way of personalizing them. Essentially these women were mail order brides who were brought to the US to do menial and cheap labor. The book mentions how these women were physically, mentally and spiritually abused; not just by their husbands but by Americans as well. What I found interesting is that the lives of these women started out the same but didn’t necessarily progress the same way. Some women were always dirt poor while others became wealthy. Some had horrid and extremely abusive husbands while others had tender and loving spouses. Some women were forced to work in fields for the rest of their lives while others were able to find work as maids. Despite the differences in their livelihoods everyone was eventually sent away to interment camps; leaving the neighborhood empty of Japanese individuals.
I mentioned before that book is from the POV of the immigrants. However, in the last section, “Disappearance,” it seems as though the POV shifts to that of the Americans. It’s crazy that some individuals were upset to see the Japanese go; not necessarily because they liked their Japanese neighbors but because they needed to find others (minorities specifically) to do their labor. Crazy, but not surprising.
In conclusion, it was a short read at 130 pages. So you can get through this in one sitting. Otsuka does mention that she used many historical sources for her book. With that being said, although the book is technically considered fiction, I’m not going to give this book a rating. But it was still an eye-opening read.
My Evil Mother is a short story about a young woman living in 1950s Suburbia with her witch mother. I don’t have much to say about this book except that it was cute and very thorough for how short it is. It takes us on a journey through this young woman’s life and how she endured living with her kooky mother. Towards the end, the main character asks her mother, on her death bed, whether or not any of it was real. I thought the answer was somewhat open-ended.
Overall, I give it a 5/5.
Until next time!
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