"When the Emperor Was Divine" Story aired: Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Julie Otsuka's first novel "When the Emperor Was Divine" was published in 2002 to glowing reviews. The book told of a family uprooted by President Roosevelt's order to evacuate Japanese Americans from the West Coast following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Some 120,000 Japanese Americans, the majority of them U.S citizens, were forced to leave their homes and stay in hastily erected internment camps in barren isolated areas. Julie's family were among those uprooted, her grandfather was arrested by the U.S. government shortly after the attack and her grandmother, mother and uncle were interned.
"Emperor" could have had the fate of many first novels, lots of praise but no sales. But in a world post 9/11, the book has found a home in scholastic reading lists, as many teachers find parallels between Otsuka's story and the climate of modern-day America.
Guests:
Julie Otsuka, author of "When the Emperor Was Divine"
