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Brazil-Maru
by
Karen Tei Yamashita
3.64 · Rating details · 107 ratings · 11 reviews
From Japanese-American writer Yamashita: a story of Japanese emigration set, like her first novel (Through the Arc of the Rain Forest, 1990), in Brazil. A range of characters, male and female, tell about a particular group of Japanese who emigrated to Brazil in the first decades of this century. Christian, well-educated, and reasonably affluent, they sought to establish communities where Christian and Japanese values could flourish. The group prospered, though not without cost, and it is this cost that's a major theme here. A secondary theme, suggested by the quotes from the philosopher Rousseau that precede each section, is the nature of education in a new world where emigrants' children often have only 'natural and purely physical knowledge.' Young Emile begins with his recollections of his 1925 arrival in Brazil as a small child; the uncomfortable journey to the settlement where families already there helped them clear land; and the hard work required to become self-sufficient. But even the most idealistic communities have problems, and, successively, Emile, Haru, Kantaro, and Genji, over the years, record the events and personalities that threatened the group: Kantaro, the visionary and dilettante, whose enterprises from baseball to chicken-farming had unforeseen consequences; the bitter divisions caused by WW I that led to the murder of an original founder; the effects of the enduring passion of Yergo for Haru; and the increased assimilation with neighboring Brazilians. Paradoxically, assimilated Guillerme notes in an epilogue that thousands of unemployed Japanese-Brazilians are currently working in Japan as menial labor. Though often seeming more a work of reportage than a novel, Yamashita's characters are vital, full-bodied creations offering sufficient balance, as well as answers to the questions raised. Informative and timely.-Kirkus (less)
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Paperback, 248 pages
Published September 1st 1993 by Coffee House Press (first published January 1st 1992)
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Brazil-Maru Kindle Edition
by Karen Tei Yamashita (Author), Susan Straight (Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition
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An “immensely entertaining” historical novel about Japanese immigrants and their struggle to make a home in a Brazilian rainforest (Newsday).
In 1925, a band of Japanese immigrants arrive in Brazil to carve a utopia out of the jungle. Yamashita conjures “an intricate and fascinating epoch” (San Diego Review) where the dream of creating a new world, the cost of idealism, the symbiotic tie between a people and the land they settle, and the changes demanded by a new generation all collide in a “splendid multi-generational novel . . . rich in history and character” (San Francisco Chronicle).
“Warm, compassionate, engaging, and thought-provoking.” —The Washington Post
“Yamashita’s heightened sense of passion and absurdity, and respect for inevitability and personality, infuse this engrossing multigenerational immigrant saga with energy, affection, and humor.” —Booklist
“Poignant and remarkable.” —Philadelphia Inquirer
“With a subtle ominousness, Yamashita sets up her hopeful, prideful characters—and, in the process, the entire genre of pioneer lit—for a fall.” —Village Voice
“Full of sad and poignant scenes and some hilarious ones, too.”—Star Tribune
“Historically informative and emotionally complex.” —Bloomsbury Review
“Unique and entertaining.” —International Examiner
“Particularly insightful.” —Library Journal
“Informative and timely.” —Kirkus Reviews
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Sep 21, 2017Aubrey rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: antidote-think-twice-all, person-of-everything, person-of-reality, 1-read-on-hand, antidote-think-twice-read, r-2017, r-goodreads, reviewed, 4-star, reality-check
I've been having a lot of thoughts about social novels, the artificial demarcations of advertised "modern classic" in relation to works that have actually withstood the test of time, the determinations of which corresponding works should be granted to which youth, and how all that, incremental by increment, has made people in the US believe that they are untouched by any form of socialism. Public schools, public libraries, public bathrooms, nonprofits ranging from the actual to the implied (hospitals) to the jokes (the NFL): now make the admissions to all of credible ones a set price à la theme parks rather than life sustaining institutions and see what you get. Not a very friendly picture, is it. And yet the mainstream conclusion is that, since we don't know what comes after capitalism in the vein of how capitalism succeeded feudalism, we shouldn't bother with the transitions, as if fools running headlong into the latest capitalistic scheme (take Bitcoin as merely one small recent example) hadn't compromised millions of others with their faith in the most insidious cult since the rule of those who viewed themselves as the embodiment of their god(s) on earth. Yamashita's work is nearly as old as I am, but as that is far younger than meditations on capitalistic social systems that have been deemed acceptable without relying on sensationalized dystopian forms such as, say, 'Elmer Gantry' (typing this out I realized that Wizard of the Crow also fits the bill, but that wonderful work deserves its own review, so I'll leave my critique compromise), I take it as the 'modern' in the 'modern classic' ads keep spouting forth these days. It's certainly earned it more than whatever keeps flashing across my dash these days.
If the description for this work had contained a variation on the theme of "three generations in a country not the US do a thing and blah de blah de blah", I probably wouldn't read it. The works of those beyond the demographical pale are plagued with such simplifications, and it doesn't help me determine whether there will be characters I care about, or a testing of theories of politics and other social spectrums, or a touching upon of a history that had either not been spoken of in mainstream venues or had been claimed by a white author for the sake of money, not inheritance. Fortunately, "multi-generational saga" wasn't enough to scare me off of the great Yamashita, and while this isn't a favorite like I Hotel, I always find it thrilling to read about people coming together to circumvent the cold individualistic hellscape of capitalism, even if it doesn't work out because of said cold individualistic hellscape of capitalism. If Gatsby had survived and ran off to Brazil to escape his creditors and either got suckered into by or suckered Kantaro into some moneymaking scheme, here's the fallout. Less heartbreaking and masculinity-reinforcing than the the canonical end, perhaps, but no one lives forever, not even the most successful parasites that the bootstrap mentality working in tandem with the free market are capable of breeding. Add in the history of Japanese immigration as determined by white Brazilian's greed and white US' hate (there are far more Japanese Brazilians than there are Japanese Americans), and you have a necessary story in the making.
I could've used more individual narratives of the women, but as I understand the necessity of including the characters Yamashita did, this would've made for a much longer book, and I don't think the collective House of Usher narrative needed more space than it did. It's also nice to be rewarded for picking up a book by a woman of color simply on the strength of past readings, and this work, one of Yamashita's less popular ones, was so good that I'll be picking up more, poor ratings be damned. The negative reputation is more likely than not the result of readers being trained to adore the sort of character that this novel reviles, the work choosing instead to lift up the collective as the hero of the story. The fact the hero fails at the end doesn't invalidate their story, much as the end of 'Beowulf' doesn't compromise the titular character's triumphant fate, whatever the propaganda of contemporary times may feed you.
The bank is not in the business of great human experiments.(less)
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Jun 16, 2021Daniel rated it liked it · review of another edition
Un peu déçu. Après l’explosion formelle et narrative de I HOTEL, je m’attendais à quelque chose de similaire. Ce court (long) roman documentaire à 5 voix sur l’immigration japonaise au Brésil est étrangement et étonnamment ennuyant. J’y ai appris beaucoup, certes, sur la colonisation de la forêt paulista, sur l’implantation et le fonctionnement des coopératives utopistes, sur le passage des traditions entre les générations et le refus de s’intégrer, mais je n’ai pas ressenti grand chose. Ça manquait d’éclat, de quelque chose, de jeito. (less)
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Mar 31, 2019Sukey Waldenberger rated it it was ok
Just not my kind of book. The social novel is so diffuse I have a hard time maintaining interest. And I found the main character infuriating.
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Feb 09, 2019Gen rated it it was ok
The premise of the book initially excited me bc the Japanese diaspora in Brazil isn’t a topic that gets a lot of attention. But this book was so dry and dull. It followed and had too many characters to keep up with. I was bored from all the technical talk of the commune life/business aspect. I hoped for more insights into their personal lives, reflections. I also hated how the main protagonists were men. This just sucked ass and i forced myself to finish it.
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Jan 19, 2021Yanique Gillana rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: owned-books, 2021-january
4.3 Stars
A people and a history that are often overlooked.
Brazil has the highest population of Japanese (enthnic) people outside of Japan, and I have seldom seen mention of these people in literature. As someone who loves anthropology and history, this story was perfect, and it's written by the author of one of my favourite books The Tropic of Orange. I didn't know what to expect when I picked this one up, but I'm happy that I did.
This story speaks about the transition to life in a new country that is worlds different from Japan. From the beginning we understand the different kinds of people and reasons that drove the migration of these large numbers of people, and how this directly influenced the type of community established in Brazil. The author really expands on how building a new community isn't just about infrastructure and food, but a sense of social belonging through arts, sports, and commerce are also necessary.
It's also fascinating how the country of Brazil itself feels like a character in this story. By virtue of the terrain and time this book is set in we get a very atmospheric story that provides the perfect backdrop for this truly dramatic story. So much happens in this story, and there are so many threads to follow that this never gets boring. We get to see how living in these closed communities really affects every aspect of these people's lives from relationships to hopes and desires.
I really enjoyed this story, and I recommend it to fans of cultural stories and literary fiction. (less)
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Mar 14, 2017Kanani rated it it was amazing
Amazing and readable.
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Nov 22, 2009Doug rated it liked it · review of another edition
Recommends it for: Anyone planning on starting a new society in the jungles of Brazil.
This book had an interesting premise - a multi-generational story of Japanese immigrants as they settle and colonize Brazil. It follows one family led by a their leader Kantaro - a flawed character who attempts to build a society according to his ideals in what was then virgin forest. The portions that described the initial society-building in the jungle were very interesting and I think probably accurate. Anyone who has ever seen the the red mud houses in Brazil will appreciate this part of the book.
The biggest flaw of this book is that it followed too many characters which made the whole thing confusing at times. Maybe it would have been better to read it in one sitting. (less)
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Oct 10, 2011Ke rated it really liked it
Shelves: grad-reading
Like with Tropic of Orange, Yamashita again plays with form to tell a multi-charactered story. I really liked the setting, but found some characters too stereotypical.
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Apr 20, 2021Heralu rated it really liked it
This story is actually great.
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May 04, 2008Cherie rated it really liked it
Shelves: fiction
A Great!
My former teacher!
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May 01, 2009Heather rated it really liked it
It's been ages since I read it. 1995 in fact, but I read it right before I visited Brazil and remember enjoying it. (less)
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