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Obasan

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Obasan

Written by: Joy Kogawa
Narrated by: Mary Ito
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$8.99/mo. after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends July 15, 2026 at 11:59pm PT.

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A powerful and passionate novel, Obasan tells, through the eyes of a child, the moving story of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. Naomi is a sheltered and beloved five-year-old when Pearl Harbor changes her life. Separated from her mother, she watches bewildered as she and her family become enemy aliens, persecuted and despised in their own land. Surrounded by hardship and pain, Naomi is protected by the resolute endurance of her aunt Obasan and the silence of those around her. Only after Naomi grows up does she return to question the haunting silence. Asian Creators Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature

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What the critics say

“An internationally acclaimed, widely studied novel firmly entrenched in the Canadian literary canon.” — Kerri Sakamoto
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I’m ashamed I didn’t know this history about Canada. I’m so glad to have found this book. It was such an intimate first hand story of one families experience of the Japanese internment and displacement in Canada during the Second World War. Read this book!!! Your heart will be touched by the thoughtful detail and first hand experiences.

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it made me sad to know how bad your own country can turn on you at any time

it made me feel some type of way

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loved that it explored about how some Japanese were treated during the war. Her description of the Hiroshima bomb was accurate and sad. but her going into how she felt broke up the flow and made you wonder what is going on. overall not bad

hard read but hits some great historical truths

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