Requiem
by Frances Itani
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Pub Date Aug 07 2012 | Archive Date Sep 01 2012
Grove/Atlantic, Inc. | Atlantic Monthly Press
Description
An extraordinary researcher and scholar of detail, Frances Itani—author of the best-selling novel Deafening—excels at weaving breathtaking fiction from true-life events. In her new novel, she traces the lives, loves, and secrets in one Japanese-Canadian family during and after their internment in the 1940s.
In 1942, in retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Canadian government removed Bin Okuma’s family from their home on British Columbia’s west coast and forced them into internment camps. They were allowed to take only the possessions they could carry, and Bin, as a young boy, was forced to watch neighbors raid his family’s home before the transport boats even undocked. One hundred miles from the “Protected Zone,” they had to form new makeshift communities without direct access to electricity, plumbing, or food—for five years.
Fifty years later, after his wife’s sudden death, Bin travels across Canada to find the biological father who has been lost to him. Both running from grief and driving straight toward it, Bin must ask himself whether he truly wants to find First Father, the man who made a fateful decision that almost destroyed his family all those years ago. With his wife’s persuasive voice in his head and the echo of their love in his heart, Bin embarks on an unforgettable journey into his past that will throw light on a dark time in history.
Advance Praise
"In Requiem, Frances Itani is at the height of her powers. . . . The
Japanese-Canadian story has never been told with such passion, insight and
telling detail. . . . Itani has told this story in amazing, cinematic detail. .
. . [Requiem] is surely Itani’s greatest novel, although calling
Requiem a novel does not do it justice. Requiem is a great
work of literature from a determined author at the peak of her powers. It is
also a sobering history lesson for all those Canadians who belittle other
countries for their racism but are too smug and too blind to examine their own
nation’s transgressions."—The Ottawa Citizen
“Itani is an accomplished stylist; her prose is lyrical yet clear, her pace
unhurried. . . . Itani’s empathy and understanding of human nature enliven her
characters. . . . In this finely written, reflective novel, Bin’s physical
journey and mindful recollections lead him to a place where he can choose to
either hold onto his anger or make peace with his ghosts.”—Kim Moritsugu,
The Globe and Mail
"Beautifully rendered . . . Both tribute and
a wail of grief . . . Lyrical and undulating, Requiem rages
too."—Rebecca Higgins, Telegraph-Journal
"An evocative and cinematic tale . . . Poignantly, the story's determined
brush strokes speak of quiet perseverance, underscoring the sense of loss, of
talent suspended. . . . With a precise, elegant style Itani avoids the maudlin,
and delivers a taut novel."—Jane Christmas, Maclean's
"A
beautiful, slow, meandering read that explores the past of Japanese Canadians in
a particularly resonant way."—Sally Ito, The Globe and Mail (Favorite
Book of the Year)
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9780802120229 |
| PRICE | $24.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 336 |
