Pennie Clark Ianniciello, Costco's book buyer, has chosen When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka (Anchor, $12.95, 9780385721813), originally published in 2003, as her pick of the month for April. In Costco Connection, which goes to many of the warehouse club's members, she wrote:
"It's often said that less is more, and Julie Otsuka's debut novel, When the Emperor Was Divine is a moving example of the power of simple yet well-chosen words.
"In five chapters--and five points of view--Otsuka tells the story of one family's journey to and return from a World War II Japanese internment camp. Otsuka's sparse prose shines a light on the family's experience, from the train ride there to the return of the father four years after the rest of the family is released. Despite the reunion, the family can never find the happiness they once knew.
"You can't tell the history of the Pacific Coast without revisiting the Japanese internment camps. This book takes me back to my childhood in Seattle and all of the different nationalities represented in my neighborhood. It's like traveling back in time to hear their stories--firsthand."
Otsuka's The Buddha in the Attic, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, has just appeared in paperback.