Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury
As in his highly acclaimed Under the Blood-Red Sun, Salisbury takes us to Hawaii at
the start of World War II. Eddie Okubo is a 16 year-old nissei (American-born son
of Japanese immigrants). Very bright and earnest Eddie has skipped grades in
school and so his best friends are 2 years older. As the Nazis begin to march
across Europe and U.S. relations with Japan fall apart, Eddie's pals, Chik and
Cobra, are drafted into the army. Eddie' father considers himself Japanese and has
plans to send his sons to college in Japan. Eddie is an American and has no
interest is going to what is for him a foreign country. He defies his father and
lies about his age to enlist in the army, widening the generational and cultural
gap between the two.
Less than two months after Eddie enlists the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Mr. Okubo
is shamed by his native country's sneak attack and he tells Eddie to return to duty
and serve with honor. He tells him to die before bringing more shame on the
family. Eddie understands and respects his father's wishes and, like his fellow
nissei soldiers, only wants to prove he is a good, loyal American and to help
defend his home. But the Japanese-American soldiers soon find that many people in
the army and the government see them as enemies. They are segregated and treated
with suspicion and hostility. Eddie and 2 dozen others are chosen for a secret
mission that is both dangerous and humiliating. Their loyalty and perseverance are
tested again and again by their racist superiors and anti-Japanese hysteria.
The events and many of the characters are based on historical fact. Salisbury uses
Hawaiian and Japanese slang to make the dialog sound very authentic and he provides
a glossary for readers unfamiliar with terms like haole, moshimoshi, and issei.
The author allows readers walk in the shoes of a victim hysterical racism in a time
of national crisis. He proves that historical fiction can be instructive and
timely. This is an excellent companion or alternative to the classic Farewall to
Manzanar.
Highly recommended for grades 7 through 12.
This review is also available on the LHS Reading Blog:
http://lhsblog.edublogs.org <http://lhsblog.edublogs.org>
Anthony Doyle, Librarian
Livingston High School
Livingston, CA
tdoyle@MUHSD.K12.CA.US
Http://www.lhswolves.org/library/index.htm
"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture; you just have to get people to
stop reading them."
Ray Bradbury
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