Home / Arts and Entertainment / Novelist Unearths WWII Camp Secrets
Novelist Unearths WWII Camp Secrets
8 May
Summary
- Novel is inspired by a large archive of WWII Japanese American incarceration camp records.
- The archive contains 335 boxes detailing the controversial JERS research project.
- The book explores themes of loyalty and national identity under unjust imprisonment.
Novelist Karen Tei Yamashita has penned "Questions 27 & 28," her first novel in 16 years, inspired by a significant archive detailing the Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Study (JERS).
This extensive collection, comprising 335 boxes, documents a controversial World War II research project conducted within Japanese American incarceration camps. The JERS study, led by sociologist Dorothy Swaine Thomas, enlisted incarcerated students to report on their fellow prisoners.
Yamashita's novel probes themes of loyalty and the complexities of demonstrating allegiance to a nation that unjustly imprisoned its citizens. The book draws on the experiences of historical figures like Yone Noguchi and Yuri Kochiyama.
Despite its historical roots, Yamashita emphasizes the novel's imaginative elements, including fictionalized dialogues and unique narrative perspectives, such as a social scientist's story told by his trombone.
The novel's title refers to the wartime loyalty questionnaire that categorized individuals, with "no-no boys" being those who refused to answer both questions unqualifiedly.
"Questions 27 & 28" is seen as a companion to John Okada's seminal 1957 novel "No-No Boy," which also explored the experiences of draft resisters within the Japanese American community.
Yamashita's work, lauded for its depth and comprehensiveness, is recognized for capturing the full arc of the Japanese American experience, from immigration to resettlement.
