Julie Otsuka

Julie Otsuka talks about her new novel, The Buddha in the Attic . It tells the story of a group of young women brought over from Japan to San Francisco as “picture brides” nearly a century ago. She traces their extraordinary lives from journey by boat to San Francisco, to their tremulous first nights as new wives. Once they arrive in this country, they struggle to master a new language and adapt to a new culture, and it looks at their challenges as mothers raising children, who will ultimately reject their heritage and their history.

Hear Jane Kaczmarek reading from The Buddha in the Attic on WNYC's Selected Shorts