pearl
writer: Shirley L. Smith
artist: Christine Norris
Publisher: graphics
Graphic novels are told from the perspective of Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during World War II, but few offer the opposite perspective—Japanese Americans caught in the crosshairs of the war and drafted into the military. Shirley L. Smith and Christine Norris Be brave enough to discuss the topic pearlthe result is a haunting yet uplifting story about identity and survival.
inspired by Lana Reiko Rizzuto’s memoir, Morning in HiroshimaThe story initially takes place in Waimea, Hawaii, and then moves to Hiroshima. Thirteen-year-old Amy is a typical American prepubescent girl who idolizes American starlets even as she ignores her peers who mock her with their “Asian eyes.” Amy’s isolated world is shattered when the family receives news of her great-grandmother’s illness. Amy travels to Hiroshima alone to help care for Sosobo, a young pearl diver.
Amy was like a fish out of water, but she was able to adapt and thrive. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent U.S. declaration of war on Japan put Amy in a difficult position geographically and culturally. Both want to benefit from Amy’s knowledge of their respective languages, but neither wants to admit her loyalty to Nisei, a first-generation American born to Japanese parents. And the only person who understands Amy is the person she comes to comfort.
pearl The story is told with sparse dialogue and a limited palette of alternating blue and black-and-white sketches. Quieter, smaller scenes of life contrast with more emotionally charged events, like the astonishing spiritual image of Amy rising from the ashes, like a pearl diver bursting out of the water with her treasure.
Although marketed for tween sets, pearl Might be more suitable for older readers, as the historical context connecting events is not always clear. I would like to see more detailed information about family status in the United States. Readers get a glimpse of Amy’s pain as the story flashes forward in the pages devoted to detention. This is a small omission since there are graphic novels like this Ju Hughes Displacement Covers this aspect of American history in more detail. The brilliance of this story is its emphasis on the foreign perspective and the difficult choices forced upon us in the name of war and survival.
Smith and Norris address a sensitive and often forgotten moment in American history with delicacy and tenderness. There are many in pearl As world history plays out in the coming year, we have something to think about.
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