A history lesson in heartbreak.' - Washington Independent Review of Books Wrought in exquisite poetry, each sentence spare in words, precise in meaning and eloquently evocative, like a tanka poem, this book is a rare, unique treat.

Otsuka illuminates the challenges, suffering and occasional joy that they found in their new homeland. 'A gorgeous mosaic of the hopes and dreams that propelled so many immigrants across an ocean to an unknown country. By its end, Otsuka's book has become emblematic of the brides themselves: slender and serene on the outside, tough, weathered and full of secrets on the inside.' - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel The Buddha in the Attic moves forward in waves of experiences, like movements in a musical composition. 'With great daring and spectacular success, she has woven countless stories gleaned from her research into a chorus of the women's voices, speaking their collective experience in a plural 'we, ' while incorporating the wide range of their individual lives. By using the collective 'we' to convey a constantly shifting, strongly held group identity within which distinct individuals occasionally emerge and recede, Otsuka has created a tableau as intricate as the pen strokes her humble immigrant girls learned to use in letters to loved ones they'd never see again.' - O, The Oprah Magazine Though the women vanish, their words linger.' - More

Otsuka extracts the grace and strength at the core of immigrant (and female) survival and, with exquisite care, makes us rethink the heartbreak of eternal hope. Told in a first-person plural voice that feels haunting and intimate, the novel traces the fates of these nameless women in America.

Like a pointillist painting, it's composed of bright spots of color: vignettes that bring whole lives to light in a line or two, adding up to a vibrant group portrait.' - The Seattle Times 'A fascinating paradox: brief in span yet symphonic in scope, all-encompassing yet vivid in its specifics. Filled with evocative descriptive sketches.and hesitantly revelatory confessions.' - The New York Times Book Review 'Otsuka's incantatory style pulls her prose close to poetry. 'A stunning feat of empathetic imagination and emotional compression, capturing the experience of thousands of women.' - Vogue A novel that feels expansive yet is a magical act of compression.' - Chicago Tribune Destined to endure.' - The San Francisco Chronicle An understated masterpiece.that unfolds with great emotional power.

Review of the buddha in the attic