Brazil-Maru - by Karen Tei Yamashita (Paperback)

About the Book

Japanese immigrants in Brazil build an isolated communal settlement in the rain forest, prey to the charisma of one man.

Book Synopsis

Japanese immigrants in Brazil build an isolated communal settlement in the rain forest, prey to the charisma of one man.

The story of a band of Japanese immigrants who arrive in Brazil in 1925 to carve a utopia out of the jungle. 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 this multigenerational saga.

Review Quotes

Praise for Brazil-Maru

"A splendid multi-generational novel . . . rich in history and character." -The 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

"Immensely entertaining." --Newsday

"Poignant and remarkable." --The Philadelphia Inquirer

"An intricate and fascinating epoch." --The San Diego Review

"With a subtle ominousness, Yamashita sets up her hopeful, prideful characters--and, in the process, the entire genre of pioneer lit--for a fall." --The Village Voice

"Full of sad and poignant scenes and some hilarious ones, too." --The Star Tribune

"Historically informative and emotionally complex." --The Bloomsbury Review

"Unique and entertaining." --The International Examiner

"Particularly insightful." --The Library Journal

"Informative and timely." --Kirkus

About the Author

Karen Tei Yamashita is the author of Letters to Memory, Through the Arc of the Rain Forest, Brazil-Maru, Tropic of Orange, Circle K Cycles, I Hotel, and Anime Wong, all published by Coffee House Press. I Hotel was selected as a finalist for the National Book Award and awarded the California Book Award, the American Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Award, and the Association for Asian American Studies Book Award. She has been a US Artists Ford Foundation Fellow and co-holder of the University of California Presidential Chair for Feminist & Critical Race & Ethnic Studies. She is currently Professor Emeritus of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz.