"No-No Boy" by John Okada : Book Review

What had happened to him and the others who faced the judge and said: You can't make me go in the army because I'm not an American or you wouldn't have plucked me and mine from a life that was good and real and meaningful and fenced me in the desert like they do the Jews in Germany and it is a puzzle why you haven't started to liquidate us though you might as well since everything else has been destroyed.

And some said: You, Mr. Judge, who supposedly represent justice, was it a just thing to ruin a hundred thousand lives and homes and farms and businesses and dreams and hopes because the hundred thousand were a hundred thousand Japanese and you couldn't have loyal Japanese when Japan is the country you're fighting and, if so, how about the Germans and Italians that must be just as questionable as the Japanese or we wouldn't be fighting Germany and Italy? Round them up. Take away their homes and cars and beer and spaghetti and throw them in a camp and what do you think they'll say when you try to draft them into your army of the country that is for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

If you think we're the same kind  of rotten Japanese that dropped the bombs on Pearl Harbor, and it's plain that you do or I wouldn't be here having to explain to you why it is that I won't go and protect sons-of-bitches like you, I say you're right and banzai three times and we'll sit the war out in a nice cell, thank you. 

pgs. 31-32 (excerpt from No-No Boy by John Okada)

I must say, after a somewhat depressing start, the 1957 novel "No-No Boy" by John Okada drew me into the peoples, places, and recovering/reconstruction era that was post-WWII Seattle. It took time to allow this story about the different effects detention center internment had on two separate generations of Japanese (Issei and Nisei) to unfold. The author did a wonderful job in putting together the main character, Ichiro, and all that he sees, feels and experiences throughout the book. 

Ichiro is a young American-born Japanese (Nisei), who after being released from serving a two-year prison term for refusing to fight for America against Japan during WWII, has matured to question everything about culture, war, nationalism, and society as a whole. He was interned at an American internment camp for Japanese two years prior to his conviction as a "traitor." But we see him after his release struggling with the shame and ostracism of returning home as a "No-No Boy." To be shunned not just by white Americans but also Japanese-Americans he grew up around in Seattle. 

The complexity of what he did and why, leaves him broken, trying to put together a reasonable understanding of it all. He tries but is unable to relate to or get answers from his parents who are Japanese Immigrants (Issei), struggling with their own misconceptions and challenges. Ichiro is a young man on the verge of losing all hope in life, a dangerous place for any young, angry and confused individual to find oneself.

As with any good fictional character in a novel, it is the impact and influence of change that brings about their thoughts and actions moving forward. To follow Ichiro through this story as it develops, plays out and concludes is to witness a post-WWII Japanese-American citizen returning to find his place in society, four years after being stripped of all freedoms and rights as a citizen.

Ichiro is no different from anyone, fictional or real. He must decide who he wants to be, where he wants to be and how he wants to live his life moving forward. His dilemma is in what his country will or won't allow him to be based on his race and being branded a "No-No Boy;" a good for nothing traitor jap. Can he make the adjustment within himself to live free.

I was surprised at not only how much I learned about the mental and emotional effects internment had on Japanese Americans, but also the divisiveness it had on Japanese-American communities. I come away from this book with great admiration and appreciation for all that author John Okada put into making this story come alive. It truly ranks as an American historical document in my eyes. It's a shame Mr. Okada, God bless his soul, died believing that Asian America had rejected his work.

The Bright Future and Long Shadow of John Okada’s No-No Boy – Asian American Writers' Workshop