Genre: Young Adult, Realistic
Fiction
Source: I received a copy from
the publisher in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed here are
my own.
From Amazon
From his deathbed, 81-year-old Jack O’Brien reveals to his grandson the
existence of a long-forgotten story he wrote as a teenager years earlier while
living in Japan. The 16-year-old grandson finds the story in an old footlocker
in his grandfather’s attic, and spends days pouring over the real-life account.
Set at a U.S. military base in rural Japan in 1948, and playing out against a
backdrop of swirling post-War social change, Jack’s Voices of the Locusts tells
the story of three families—one black, one white, one Asian. The story also
recounts Jack’s love for a Japanese girl, Fujiko Kobaysi, who has been promised
in marriage by her parents to an older man. Told in vivid and sometimes
haunting detail, Jack and Fujiko are frustrated in their romantic quest by
story characters coming to terms (often violently) with the emotional scars of
World War II.
My Thoughts
I wasn’t sure what to think about this book in the beginning. However, as I got into Jack’s story I was
drawn in. This is not your common coming
of age story. This is a story that takes
place after World War II. Imagine being
an American and living in Japan with your military father, after the war. Jack is a very studious kid who loves
learning about all kinds of new things.
He is thrilled to learn so much about Japan. When he meets Fujiko it is love at first
sight. He learns about prejudice from
all sides. He sees a teacher constantly berating
a fellow student because he is the only black student. He finds that a lot of the adults on both
sides have very strong opinions. The most important lesson I think he learned
is what sacrifice is. He finds it coming
from the one place he never expected.
This book ended completely different than I thought it would. I read it in about three hours. Once I started it I found I couldn’t stop reading.
I had to find out what was going to happen to each of the characters. There is some course language and a rape, so
I would not recommend this to anyone under high school age. But I would recommend it. I look forward to finding out what else this
author has. The book was well written
and the plot flowed smoothly. I am glad
I read this book and look forward to telling others about it.
