I read this a while ago and was happy to find another copy at a recent church fair. It seems to be on several wishlists, so I'd like to offer it as a bookray.

Here is the link to the other copy:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13122646/

Traveling as a bookray. See
www.bookcrossing.com/forum/20/530606/


On its way to BeckyLizz to start off the ray.

Many thanks! So happy to receive this book. I'll try to be as quick as possible so that it can get on its merry way to the next reader, hopefully before Christmas.

A very interesting read! Sending it on to the next person. Hope you enjoy!

Whoooooooosh!! Off it goes to its next destination. Where will it end up?

I delayed the posting of this book due to the Christmas rush incase it got lost. The recipient said they were in no rush to recieve it so it's now on its merry way.

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Arrived today.

Thanks very much.

A quick and easy read. Being narrated from a collective perspective rather than an individual perspective made it more interesting for me to read.

On its way to China.

The book arrived today. Thanks for sharing!

A fascinating read. Being partially a daugther of immigrants, and in a way, being an immigrant myself, it is always interesting to learn about these stories and experiences. Thanks for sharing!

The book is travelling again, although his trip should be quicker than the one of the Japanese women mentionned in the book (at least I hope so).

This was a close call- this came in as a registered letter (thanks!) but I was out of town. Fortunately as this is a small village, because of the holiday weekend they did not send it back on the day noted on the slip - so I was able to pick it up this morning. A few other rings came in while I was away, so I'll try to get to this as soon as I can. Thanks so much for sending and for making this available. I'm not quite sure where this goes next, but I'll sort that out later.

This is indeed an interesting book, from several points of view. The story of the women brought over from the home country to be wives for the new immigrants in America has been told before, and initially this reminded me a great deal of Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See, and Honolulu, by Alan Brennert, among others. All definitely worth a read and although in many ways similar, neither of those were about the Japanese, and the terrible fate reserved for them with the outbreak of WWII. Again, other books, such as Farewell to Manzanar, are well-worth reading about that, but it was fascinating to have all of this here in such a compact book.
The images are very strong and very moving. Also interesting was the author's choice of first person plural to recount so much of the story. I am still on the fence as to how I feel about it. On the one hand, it meant that the author could combine so many different fates and experiences, so the throng took personality. On the other hand, as a reader, I often felt a breathlessness which grew irritating. The shift, at the end, from the Japanese experience to that of the non-Japanese left behind in the towns evacuated was also initially off-putting. If the idea was to destabilize and disturb, it was successful. Often, however, I simply found it annoying. Despite this, the writing is often beautiful and the images are powerful.
I have the next address and will try to parcel and send it on soon. Thank you so much for making this available.

Somehow this got bogged down here in the Swiss alps, but it has now left and is on its way to Austria. Enjoy, and thanks so much for making this available.

I just got home after a tour with my orchestra to find two bookrings waiting in my mailbox - one of them was this! Thanks a lot for sending it to me, I look forward to reading it!

Edit 26.05.2017:
Otsuka draws the reader in by offering up a kaleidoscope of experiences by a flock of Japanese women clustered in the ship's steerage bound for California as mail-order brides.
There were several things I liked a lot, and some I disliked:

+ Otsuka clearly has researched, read her history of Japanese emigration, interviewed obsessively to come up with detail, words put in the women's mouths, etc.

+ By writing the book as she did with "Some of us....", "We...", etc. the reader can't help identify with this large group of women; therefore, offering the reader some scope of how much and how many of these women suffered.
- The method described above was great for the first chapter but then started sounding like a list being read. I began to yearn to know what happened in just 3-4 of the ladies lives, not a short sentence or two for each one particularly when there were so many people to tell about.
- What I really disliked and what confused me was the change in the last chapter, where "we" were suddenly not the Japanese anymore, but the Americans.

+ Otsuka does a wonderful job of spanning the extremes of the women's experience on the boat, in California as new brides to men they didn't know, working for White folks, having children and ultimately imprisoned in interment camps during World War II. The reader can't help gleaning the fact that each experienced these events differently.

This brings me to my conclusion. I think if Otsuka would have stuck to her original chapter narrated as it is, it would have been doubly powerful because the style loses steam as it goes. I think this is why it is such a short book, but it is still too long to maintain the method used. If the remaining chapters could have been devoted to 3-4 ladies' stories and then concluded with a short chapter in the same style as the first chapter from the outsiders view, it would have been even better, for my taste.

The book travels on to the next reader - to Greece!

The book arrived safely today. Thank you everyone for moving it around and eponine38 for sharing it.

This book wasn't very long, so I read it in one afternoon. It's a not very original story told in a very original way. Due to the writting style it got a bit long-winded/repetitive in parts, but it held my attention from start to the end and I'm very glad I read it.

Me too I think that the last chapter could have been different, staying with the Japanese narrators/perspective. Or maybe it could stay as it is, but adding a final chapter about Japanese people's experiences on the concentration camps and what became of them latter.

After all, the book starts with Japanese brides who crossed the ocean to meet their husbands while been aged anything from 12 to 37 years old and there are hints this happened around 1920. Sure some survived and lived long after WW2. So I think this was a story left unfinished somehow.

The book will soon be on its way to Arvores.

Off to Portugal! Enjoy!

Arrived safely today.
I hope it won't take me too long to read it, as I'm catching up with my readings (been without glasses for almost two months)

Thank you so much for sharing :-)

I'll start reading it today.
Thank you so much for your patience.

Very good reading experience.
It will go to VintageVanguard as soon as I have their address.

Thank you so much for sharing (and for waiting).

Sent to VintageVanguard today.
Happy readings :-)

Arrived last saturday, thank you so much for sending it.

Started to read it today and it is great so far!

Is now travelling to chocbrownie

Came in the post 3 days ago - many thanks to VintageVanguard for sending with a very fitting postcard :-) and to eponine38 for organising.

Fascinated by the subject matter and certainly a subject that should be aired. I do, however, agree about the writing style - it became tiresome with the 'lists' and was frustrating that two or three of the women's lives were not focused on.

Still really glad I signed up for this bookray and have enjoyed reading everyone's comments.

The book arrived in Sweden, just in time to take it with me on holidays. Thanks Chocbrownie!

I'm not sure about this book. In the beginning I thought the narrative was interesting and original. However, after a few chapters it got a bit too much of just endless lists, which sometimes felt like the author wanted to show off the amount of research she had done to write this story. When reading the book, you feel like you get a look inside 100s of women's lives and it would have been nice to actually go a bit deeper into some of their stories, in stead of just 1 sentence and then the next one, the next one, the next one...

On the positive side, it was a quick read and because the book covers quite a time span it was interesting to read how their lives evolved, especially in a historical context.

-- Bookray info: I'm traveling at the moment, so I will send this book off next week. --

Sent this book off to Switzerland.

The book had safely arrived in Zurich, Switzerland. Looking forward to reading it!:)

The book is on the way to its new temporary home in Malaysia.

It was sometimes not easy to read this book... It has invoked some deeply buried feelings from many years ago when I myself went for the first time to live in a foreign country. Although I haven't experienced what these Japanese women been through, some issues I could relate to ( finding out that the "dream country" is not what you expected, being treated as a foreigner despite living in the country for many years, never fully integrating).

Those countless women, each of them having her own untold story.... when I think of them, words such as " hero", "invisible", "victim" come up in my mind. The book is a tribute to the ones, who had hopes, who dared, who suffered and sacrificed. They are not to be forgotten.

I had another lovely surprise today. Received this book in the mail. Very happy. Tq Mankyi for sending it to me. :)

I have finally finished reading this book. My first book by this author and it was an emotional journey for me reading this book.

Mcsar has not received this book and no shipping information was given by last reader, so I am declaring it stalled/lost. I've acquired another copy which will be sent to mcsar to continue the ray.