Book guide
The Buddha in the Attic
A chorus of Japanese picture brides crosses the ocean toward promised husbands and an uncertain America.
GenresHistoricalLiterary
Genre and trope pairingsHistoricalMarriage of convenienceLiteraryFragmented narrativeLiterarySocial commentary
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About The Buddha in the Attic
The novel follows a group of young women brought from Japan to San Francisco as picture brides in the early twentieth century. In collective voice, it traces their ocean crossing, marriages, labour, children, and the dislocation that intensifies with war.
Reading signals
- Spice
- None
- Darkness
- Dark
- Pacing
- Slow
Content warnings
- racism
- racial slurs
- sexual assault
- sexual violence
- rape
- domestic abuse
- xenophobia
- child death
- confinement
- trafficking
- slavery
- war
- suicide
