Tolog Review: The Buddha in the Attic

The Buddha in the Attic
Julie Otsuka
reviewed by Marika Munday, class of 2015

The Buddha in the Attic, a national bestseller written by Julie Otsuka, is a story about Japanese mail order wives immigrating to America in the early 1900s. The novel follows the women through their journey to San Francisco and the hardships they face once they arrive. Otsuka divided the book into eight sections (chapters) about the women’s lives once they depart from their homeland. By Otsuka breaking the book up into eight different sections resulted in a clear, chronological style. The writing style of the novel, as opposed to other books broken up into many chapters, is favorable to me because the information in each section was specific to the title of it, which allowed for a straightforward recitation of the women’s experiences.

Another unusual characteristic of her writing in The Buddha in the Attic is that the main character is a cast of many nameless Japanese women. The story is told in a first-person plural voice, a collective “we.” This allows the reader to see the various types of people within a group, including their similarities and differences. Keeping the main character(s) nameless permits the reader to identify more closely with the collective “we.” Ultimately the reader can see their self in the women’s stories because a named character doesn’t occupy them. In some cases it was challenging for me to relate to the women’s stories because I haven’t had to deal with marrying a strange man, delivering a child, or moving to a foreign land. Despite having not had similar experiences I was still able to take the broad idea of the women’s suffering and utilize it in my own life. For example, no I have not moved to a new country with different customs, but I have switched schools mid semester and felt like the outcast in a school of strong friendships stemming from first grade.

Differing from other novels, Julie Otsuka’s prose is similar to poetry. I found the writing to be extremely beautiful even when speaking about some not so beautiful topics such as the rape of the women by their newly met husbands. Otsuka’s poetic diction lessens the dramatic tension because it shows that the women accept their struggles as every day occurrences.

Overall I did enjoy this novel, however the relentless style of the book was annoying. There was much repetition of ideas and phrases, and the style stayed constant. On a different note, the overall ideas of the book are what won me over. I have never read anything like this book and it was a nice cultural change. I would recommend this book to anyone who lacks knowledge of cultures and wants to become more aware of the hardships others had to face while traveling to America. 

Even though this novel is specifically about Japanese mail-order brides this book would appeal to all women because the predicaments that the brides face are relatable to all women.