LETTER TO THE AUTHOR (11th grade students - 1L, LVA)

Extracts from letters written by 11^th graders:( 1L)

“…for me the most beautiful part of the story was the beginning. By the way you wrote the novel, you made things really sad, emotional and universal. The lives of these women weren’t really explained before but we can imagine the suffering and the pain they felt when they had to leave their country……. To my eyes, your novel is a tribute to all these women who wanted a better life…” Carla T.

“…you gave us a real history lesson through these women, bur when we read your book it was more than that. We have emotions, we imagine the situations and we understand by all the details you give us. I wanted to know: in what state of mind were you when you were writing your novel? Léa B

 “The first impression I got when I read your novel was ‘how can a woman be so brave?’ They were so young when they left their country and it broke my heart because they lost everything to come to a new land…” Léa S. 

 “In class, we worked on extracts from you book and we read them with different voices to recreate the illusion of different points of view. We saw a map to try and recreate the path that some of these women took…” Coline L.

 “Your book gave me another look at my life and made me see what some women have to do to have a better life.” Imane K.

 “… We even tried to put ourselves in the shoes of some characters in your novel  by staging some scenes and doing oral presentations” . “Kenza A.

 “ I really like that fact that there is no main character. I think it’s an original and interesting way of writing.” Jade T.

 “ I found it heartbreaking when their own children rejected their mothers and the Japanese culture… I think it’s this passage that struck me the most in your novel. Some of these Japanese women were probably consumed by sadness and sorrow…” Alexia R

 “As far as I’m concerned, I’ve never heard a lot about Japanese immigrants and I think your novel did open our eyes. … I find the “we” voice so interesting. I felt included with all these women…” Adeline L. 

 “You are an amazing writer and I love your book and I hope you write another one soon”. Clémentine L. 

 “… It almost me cry, the way they were treated… it kind of reminds me of segregation with the Jim Crow Law. I’m saying this because they had to ask “Do you serve Japanese people?’ “Do you cut Japanese hair?” Fleur I.

“What reaction did you expect from the readers? Are the stories that you tell in the book real? Lounseny S. 

 “What was your biggest challenge when you wrote your novel? Laura A.

 “It was so striking when I read it. It was just like we were traveling into this period and it struck me. It’s human, funny and sad…”  Morgan C.

 “To me it reads a bit like a song, with short sentences, with a particular sonority.” Laetitia B.  

 ‘’ I enjoyed your book for I am interested in world history and culture… I want to thank you for teaching me what I have never learnt in school and also about your ancestors. “ Antoine A.

 

“Your characters wanted the American Dream, they found hell instead…”  Florian A. 

“Thank you Ms Otsuka for giving us this story, which is unknown to so many people. I wish you lots of beautiful things in your future work.”  Léa R.

 

“Is everything you talk about in the novel true?” Lou D

“ What will your next novel be about?” Marie-Emma C