About the book
From the bestselling, award-winning author of The Buddha in the Attic and The Swimmers, this commanding debut novel paints a portrait of the Japanese American incarceration camps that is both a haunting evocation of a family in wartime and a resonant lesson for our times.
On a sunny day in Berkeley, California, in 1942, a woman sees a sign in a post office window, returns to her home, and matter-of-factly begins to pack her family's possessions. Like thousands of other Japanese Americans they have been reclassified, virtually overnight, as enemy aliens and are about to be uprooted from their home and sent to a dusty incarceration camp in the Utah desert.
In this lean and devastatingly evocative first novel, Julie Otsuka tells their story from five flawlessly realized points of view and conveys the exact emotional texture of their experience: the thin-walled barracks and barbed-wire fences, the omnipresent fear and loneliness, the unheralded feats of heroism. When the Emperor Was Divine is a work of enormous power that makes a shameful episode of our history as immediate as today's headlines.
Editions of When the Emperor Was Divine
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9780375414299
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9780375432781
- Paperback
- ISBN 9780385721813
- EBook
- ISBN 9780307430212
- AudioStreaming
- ISBN 9780385362498
- AudioStreaming
- ISBN 9780739307922
- AudioDisc
- ISBN 9780739320969
- AudioDisc
- ISBN 9780739307915
- AudioDisc
- ISBN 9780385362481
Read an Excerpt
From the bestselling, award-winning author of The Buddha in the Attic and The Swimmers, this commanding debut novel paints a portrait of the Japanese American incarceration camps that is both a haunting evocation of a family in wartime and a resonant lesson for our times.
On a sunny day in Berkeley, California, in 1942, a woman sees a sign in a post office window, returns to her home, and matter-of-factly begins to pack her family's possessions. Like thousands of other Japanese Americans they have been reclassified, virtually overnight, as enemy aliens and are about to be uprooted from their home and sent to a dusty incarceration camp in the Utah desert.
In this lean and devastatingly evocative first novel, Julie Otsuka tells their story from five flawlessly realized points of view and conveys the exact emotional texture of their experience: the thin-walled barracks and barbed-wire fences, the omnipresent fear and loneliness, the unheralded feats of heroism. When the Emperor Was Divine is a work of enormous power that makes a shameful episode of our history as immediate as today's headlines.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is When the Emperor Was Divine about?
From the bestselling, award-winning author of The Buddha in the Attic and The Swimmers, this commanding debut novel paints a portrait of the Japanese American incarceration camps that is both a haunting evocation of a family in wartime and a resonant lesson for our times.
On a sunny day in Berkeley, California, in 1942, a woman sees a sign in a post office window, returns to her home, and matter-of-factly begins to pack her family's possessions. Like thousands of other Japanese Americans they have been reclassified, virtually overnight, as enemy aliens and are about to be uprooted from their home and sent to a dusty incarceration camp in the Utah desert.
In this lean and devastatingly evocative first novel, Julie Otsuka tells their story from five flawlessly realized points of view and conveys the exact emotional texture of their experience: the thin-walled barracks and barbed-wire fences, the omnipresent fear and loneliness, the unheralded feats of heroism. When the Emperor Was Divine is a work of enormous power that makes a shameful episode of our history as immediate as today's headlines.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in When the Emperor Was Divine?
Fiction > Adventure / action fiction > War, combat and military adventure fiction
Where can I read a sample of When the Emperor Was Divine?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780375414299
Who is/are the Author/s of the book When the Emperor Was Divine?
Julie Otsuka
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
When the Emperor Was Divine is available as hardcover(ISBN 9780375414299) and hardcover(ISBN 9780375432781) and paperback(ISBN 9780385721813) and ebook(ISBN 9780307430212) and audiostreaming(ISBN 9780385362498) and audiostreaming(ISBN 9780739307922) and audiodisc(ISBN 9780739320969) and audiodisc(ISBN 9780739307915) and audiodisc(ISBN 9780385362481)
Where can I buy When the Emperor Was Divine online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy When the Emperor Was Divine from below
Where can I buy When the Emperor Was Divine?