What We're Listening To: Abby

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka. Unabridged, Random House Audio, 2011, 3 hrs 55 mins. Read by Samantha Quan & Carrington MacDuffie.

This is a very unique novel. It is the story of a group of young Japanese women beginning their voyage to America to find their new husbands. They have already been promised and have the photos of their husbands but now the reality of their experience is palpable. How these new husbands treat them, how hard they have to work, the struggles of having children, and all of the many challenges and hurdles are described. The voice in this book is both singular and plural. It talks of all of them and at the same time describes individuals. It is beautifully written and haunting throughout the book but especially with the last chapter when these women and their families are rounded up and taken to internment camps where they remain until the war is over. What it really means is that all of the hard work, everything they have accomplished over many years, has to be left behind. In fact all evidence of them disappears and they are forgotten by the people who remained behind. It is quite striking and heartwrenching.