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Julie Otsuka’s second novel is a quiet and disquieting story of the Issei. Written in the first-person plural from the point of view of the picture brides who become wives and then mothers, The Buddha in the Attic begins with the uneasy journey across the ocean. We follow the women and girls (as young as the early teens) as they experience disappointment and heartbreak with only flashes of satisfaction and hope. All the time there is a sense of impending doom that will snatch all of them away — and of course it happens. The narrative structure allows for multiple and sometimes contrary impressions while providing a uniform voice. Consider the experience of the women on their first night with their husbands. The tied us up and took us facedown on threadbare carpets that smelled of mouse droppings and mold. They took us frenziedly, on top of yellow-stained sheets. They took us easily, and with a minimum of fuss, for some of us had been taken many times before. They took us drunkenly. They took us roughly, recklessly, and with no mind for our pain. The voice is most effective when capturing the paranoid time after Pearl Harbor was bombed and men are being rounded up and taken away after possibly having their name on a list. The list was written in indelible red ink. The list was typewritten on index cards. The list did not exist. The list existed, but only in the mind of the director of military intelligence, who was known for his perfect recall. The list was a figment of our imaginations. The Buddha in the Attic is a short book that also happens to be a quick read — Otsuka has chosen her words her words with care and the text is tight enough to repel rain. It is among the best fictional renderings of the stories of early Asian Americans who were allowed to exist in this country but never truly live.
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Finally, an article that talks about Queen frontman, Freddie Mercury’s ethnicity. Yes, he was Persian, but Indian, and Asian. His father was born in India and he grew up with Indian music, but bottom line, it did factor into his life. He was proud of it, and now his family will receive an award on his behalf, The Asian Awards in London. You seldom hear about it or read about this side of him, but it’s loud in this article. (Telegraph UK – Freddie Asian)
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We’re not sure if this is a list of mostly almosts, but Kurt Suzuki is a full blooded Asian American in the big leagues. For the most part, the full blooded Asian Americans get fairly close and some have tasted the jewels of the Majors but are often in the minors trying to get back. It’s not a happy list of players, but there are the half Asian players like Tim Lincecum who continue to impress. (AsianWeek – BB2)
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This is a fun photo set by a person named Adrian Fisk, who with the support of the United Nations is doing a photo project that puts a single message on a board to the youths of China and now India. He’s been working on the project for a few years and it’s growing steadily. Adrian Fisk’s site is filled with great work. He’s a National Geographic photographer as well. The image below used at (BusinessInsider – Adrian Fisk) who reports on his is stunning. The dude below reveals one universal situation.
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Radium was found in two bottles. It’s not Fukushima, but perhaps this is worse. Radium is commonly used in medical fields, but the 90 year old who once lived there moved in February. She and her daughter have no idea where it came from or how it got under the floor boards. This is a mystery. This brings up issues of public safety. Who’s to say this hasn’t been a problem for her or her neighbors for weeks, months or years. How safe is your neighborhood from something like this? (Businessweek – Radium)
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