The novel "When the Emperor Was Divine" tells the
story of a Japanese-American family separated and incarcerated after the
outbreak of World War II. The novel begins in Berkeley, California in the days
leading up to the forced relocation and follows the family until their return
after the war. The first chapter comes from the perspective of the mother. She
has been packing for nine days after first seeing announcements requiring all
people of Japanese descent to report for relocation. She completes the majority
of her work while the children, a girl, and a boy, are in school. Some of the
tasks she completes would upset the children, so she does these while the
children are away. She must complete these tasks alone because her husband is
away, having been arrested immediately after the Japanese bombing of Pearl
Harbor.
The second chapter comes from the perspective of the eleven-year-old
daughter while three of the family members are on an eastbound train. The
family has been confined at a horseracing track for the past four and a half
months, and now they are on their way to a relocation camp in Utah. The girl
observes events on and off the train as if she is on an adventure rather than
on her way too long confinement. The third chapter takes place inside the Topaz
War Relocation Center in Central Utah. It comes from the perspective of an
eight-year-old boy. He understands things as an eight-year-old, but the reader
will gather far more than the boy. In addition to witnessing events and
conditions inside the camp, the narrative from the boy's perspective tells a
great deal about his love for his family and his intense longing for his father
who is imprisoned at a camp in New Mexico.
The fourth chapter of the novel is
set back in Berkeley and begins immediately after the family returns to their
home. It comes from a first-person plural perspective, and it is a collective
perspective of both children. The children are wiser and perhaps a bit cynical
as they observe how conditions and attitudes have changed during their absence.
While they had been wealthy before being relocated, they now have no financial
assets beyond owning their empty and ransacked home. Employment prospects for
Japanese-Americans are few, and the family must work hard just to survive. The
father is finally released and joins the family at home in Berkeley. The
children struggle to try to understand how their father, though still caring,
has changed such a great deal in their years apart. The fifth and final chapter
is distinct from the previous four chapters in that it comes from a singular
first-person narrator, the father. This short but powerful chapter illustrates
the father's views on having been accused of being a dangerous "enemy
alien" and taken from his family and his livelihood. The chapter could
narrowly address those who made him suffer, or it could address all who allow
themselves to think in stereotypes. The final chapter also serves as a sort of
epilogue for all those who were wrongly incarcerated based on national origin.
I loved the book. It was great for people who went through
the challenges of immigrating from their home country to better their lives.
Whoever went through immigration, reading this book will make them feel not
being alone, that many people went through it and still are. It is also great
for people who didn't experience the difficulties of immigration to understand
how hard it is and support those immigrants and not be disrespectful to them.
This booked really showed how families would go through many difficulties to
better their lives and brighten their children's future.
Reviewed by GH, Grade 8
Central Library
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