“Obasan” Book Review

"Obasan", was written by Joy Kogawa. She is a gifted poet and writer. She leads the readers through the events of Japanese Canadians Internment during World War Two based on her personal experiences. The reason is the relationship between Japan, US and Canada, so the life was very hard for the people who are Japanese Canadians live in Canada. The novel tells the story about Naomi, she remembering the struggle to grow up as a third generation Japanese Canadian in the World War Two. During the World War Two, the Japanese Canadians were very horribly. They live in the darkness in that part of history.
Naomi is narrator and main character of the novel. The story takes readers into the narrative voice of Naomi, a Sansei and her experiences of the horrible times and treatment of the Japanese Canadians. Being so young when the internment began, she did not understand what was happening, such as the Canada government takes their furniture without payment, but nobody tried to explain it to her. She loses her mother as a result, she thinks, of her sexual abuse by a neighbor. Then she loses her father when all Japanese must go to the interior or to work in camps. Readers can through a child’s eyes to know about that part of the history. As a child of five years old, she lived through the effects and changes it had on her life surrounded by a kind of protective silence from the adults around her. As a woman, she studies the history of those times; she has made her own way in the world, and tells people the true events of the Canada in War World Two. Finally, the story is a deeply detailed book that sends the reader on a journey through actual events. Author used the family’s story to show the readers the true events in every Japanese Canadian’s family. Readers can through the novel to know the part of that history.