RaveThe Cleveland Plain DealerKnowing what will come, plot is not what urges the reader on. Rather, it is the details of the women's lives that fascinate as they spread throughout California like fireflies released from a jar … The moments that lead toward internment read like a catastrophic incantation, although the book's title — reflecting one of those moments — suggests that history can't girdle a people forever. Still, Otsuka's evocation of the time when ordinary Japanese could be regarded as traitors can't help but remind us of today's fevered suspicions of Muslims in America. Be careful, this novel seems to warn us; be careful of how we apprehend people with names, accents and religions unlike the majority's.
