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Obasan
Some families don't lie. They just never say it. Obasan is about the day the silence finally breaks. 🕊️
Who it's for
Naomi Nakane is a quiet, guarded schoolteacher whose whole childhood was organised around things no one would say: why her family was removed from Vancouver, why her mother went to Japan and never returned.
Feelings it meets
What it is
A 1981 novel by Japanese Canadian author Joy Kogawa. Naomi Nakane, a schoolteacher, returns to care for her elderly aunt Obasan after her uncle's death, and the visit draws her back into childhood memories of the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. Letters from her Aunt Emily gradually reveal what happened to Naomi's mother during the war, reshaping Naomi's understanding of her past.
Where to find it
In print (Penguin Canada; Anchor in the US), in libraries (Libby/Hoopla). Not public domain. A children's version, Naomi's Road, also exists.
Before you start
Heads up: Child sexual abuse and atomic-bomb deaths.
Age: Ages 16+
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina, Part 1, Chapter 1 (tr. Constance Garnett)
