Julie Otsuka
Born: 01-01-1962
Julie Otsuka is an acclaimed American author known for her poignant novels exploring the Japanese American experience. Born in 1962 in California, she studied art at Yale University before turning to writing. Her debut novel, "When the Emperor Was Divine," and the follow-up, "The Buddha in the Attic," have both received critical acclaim for their lyrical prose and insightful historical narratives. Otsuka's work often delves into themes of identity and displacement.
Book summaries for books written by Julie Otsuka
Quotes
On the boat we were mostly virgins.
Some of us on the boat were from Kyoto, and were delicate and fair, and had lived our entire lives in darkened rooms at the back of the house.
Some of us on the boat were from Nara, and prayed to our ancestors three times a day, and swore that we could still hear the temple bells ringing.
Some of us on the boat liked to eat, and so would be forever on diets, and some of us were already losing our looks.
Some of us had been in the service industry before we came to America, and were now going to be maids.
We would do anything to get out of there.
And so we began to dream.
We were raised to be married.
We did not know how to cook anything except rice and we did not care, and we were very hungry.
And then it was over.
We were no longer children.
We began to notice that the men who saw us on the street, and who stood next to us on the bus and sat across from us on the trolley, did not look at us or smile or speak.