Description:
This powerful, passionate, and highly acclaimed novel tells, through the eyes of a child, the moving story of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. Naomi is a sheltered and beloved 5-year-old when Pearl Harbor changes her life.
Separated from her mother, she watches as she and her family become enemy aliens, persecuted and despised in their own land. Surrounded by hardship and pain, Naomi is protected by the resolute endurance of her aunt, Obasan, and the silence of those around her. Only after Naomi grow up does he return to question that haunting silence.
Brief description: Joy Kogawa was born in Vancouver in 1935. Like other Japanese Canadians, she and her family were interned and persecuted during the Second World War. Obasan is based on Kogawa's own experiences and on letters and documents of the time. Kogawa is a member of the Order of Canada and has authored four books of poetry, a book for children, and two other novels. Obasan won the 1981 Books in Canada First Novel Award and the 1982 CAA Book of the Year Award.
Review Quotes: "Obasan's power comes from the beauty of the writing, the stark imagery and vivid symbolism, and from the calm recitation of events that destroyed families, a culture and a way of life." - Globe and Mail - 20130109