So Far from the Bamboo Grove

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Summary: Good-bye Korea, hello Japan!
Review: "The army wants to kill you especially," was the warning Captain Matsumura gave the frightened Kawashima family. Yoko, her mother, her sister Ko, and her brother Hideyo are forced to flee from their home during the life threatening World War 2. Unfortunately, Hideyo goes to an army factory to work before they run.
Frightened, the Japanese family takes a train to a faraway city, with no choice but to leave Hideyo behind. The 3 risk being shot by Korean soldiers on their journey of escape towards Japan. Suiside and blood flood the story with action and horrifying moments. Will the 3 survive the escape? Will they meet their father and Hideyo?
This book unfolds a true story of Yoko's life dodging Korean soldiers and making her way toward safety. In So Far From the Bamboo Grove, Yoko Kawashima tells her own life story. Flip through the pages to discover what happens to the Japanese family. But be careful; this book is a cruel and sorrow filled tale. Read it at your own risk.

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Summary: A Wonderful book, but sometimes a bit too violent
Review: After reading this book. I had to stop and think: did the events described in this book this really happen? I found out later that they were real, and I was greatly surprised by this, due to their horribly violent nature. Which is why I would not recommend it for children under 14. But these graphic events, in a way, help make the book much more interesting, as it portrays the events from the point of view of someone opposite the US during the war and therefore, showing events which people from the Allied factions would not mention or would cover up. Anyone who thinks that war is all victorious glory should read this book too. It shines light on the true horrors of war and death without softening the blow.
Overall, I think it is a wonderful book, and would make a good read for anyone, except possibly some people who feel very strongly biased towards any side of the Japanese-Korean conflict during that period because of its content.
Anyone who thinks that war is all victorious glory should read this book too. It shines light on the true horrors of war and death without softening the blow.

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Summary: Vendredi avril 11 2003
Review: I loved the book, so far from the bamboo grove, it completely enriched and enlightened me about what was happening in 1945, and i hate history books, the text books you can't get into, it just facts... i don't learn that way but reading this book made me want to learn more about history and world war II, Yoko Kawashima had put her heart and soul into this book and it was amazing to feel so much for such a wonderful book. I was so sad half the time and then i was so proud as well, thinking of Yoko as myself or my little sister. It was a terrific read and i hope everyone enjoys it as much as i did. thank you.

Rating:
Summary: Good-bye Korea, hello Japan!
Review: So Far From the Bamboo Grove
By: Yoko Kawashima Watkins
Reviewed by: J Fujii
Period: P.5
The book So Far From the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawaahima Watkins is an autobiography of the author's journey to Japan during World War II. Yoko, her mother, her honorable sister Ko, and her honorable brother Hideyo, who were living in Korea had to return to Japan because during the war, the Koreans set up a Communist Army against the Japnese. The Korean's did this to kick out the Japanese and even kill them because the Japanese had invaded Korea. . THerefore when mother, Ko and Yoko decided to escape to Seoul. However, since thwy had lived in Korea for a long time, Hideyo wanted to join the Korean army. He didn't pass the test for the army so instead he went to work for an ammunition building. Yoko, Ko, and mother were able to get on a train to Seoul, but got off when the train was attacked by airplanes. Around the same time when the train was attacked, Hideyo's ammunition building was also attacked by the communist army. Some of the boys tried to attack the army, but ended up dying. Hideyo hid behind some boxes and acted dead. Once the army left, Hideyo found his friends Shoichi, Makoto, and Shinzo alive. The four boys then go on a journey to Seoul. Afterawhile, the boys split up and Hideyo is now on the journey alone. Around the same time, Ko, mother, and Yoko were almost caught, but a bomb fell and killed the soldiers who were trying to catch them. The women took the soldier's clothes. The women then safely rode the train to Seoul. They then boarded a boat to Japan. For awhile they lived at the dock until mother enrolled Yoko and Ko in school. Soon after, mother died and then Ko and Yoko lived with a women named, Mrs. Masuda. They lives there until the ed of the book. Meanwhile, Hideyo was now traveling by foot in the cold winter. Afamily found him on their doorsteps, unconscious. The family was able to revive him and made hideyo part of his family until he left. At the end of the book, Hideyo found Yoko and Ko back in Japan.
I liked the book because it talks about journey of a Japanese family headinf for Japan and leaving behind memories of Korea, during World War II. The following quote comes from the part when Yoko, mother, and Ko are on the train to Seoul and see their house go by: "The train passed by them. I twisted my head to the right to watch. The red roof, the willow tree, and the radio antenna drew farther away. Soon they were out of m sight."
i also disliked because there was a lot of death. The saddest part was when mother died. Right before she died she said, "I wish Ko would come." Then minutes later mother died. I also disliked the book because it had alot of blood. For example, Hideyo had to use someone else's blood so he could act dead when the soldiers came through the ammunition building.
My favorite part of the book is when Hideyo finds Yoko and Ko. That scene is the only happiness in the book. It means that the love of the family kept them hoping that the other members of the family were still alive. The book tells you to never give up hope.

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Summary: So Far From the Bamboo Grove Review
Review: So Far From the Bamboo Grove
By: Yoko Kawashima Watkins
Reviewed By: K. Huynh
Period: 1

So Far From the Bamboo Grove is an autobiography of Yoko Kawashima Watkins, who lived during the period of World War 2. The other characters in the book are: Ko, Yoko's older sister, Hideyo, Yoko's older brother, and Yoko's mother. Yoko's father was a Japanese government officials who works in Manchuria, so he wasn't living with her at that time. Yoko's brother Hideyo, one day decides to work for the army. His mother encouraged him not to go, but he insisted. Luckily, Yoko's mother found out that Hideyo didn't pass the exam so he had to work in a factory instead. But, just when Yoko's family think that everything else would go smooth, it hasn't. One night, Corporal Matsumara, a soldier fighting in the war, saved them by giving them permission to go to the train station and head to Seoul. Yoko was wondering why they have to do that, but finds out soon enough that Korean Communist armies are planning to kill them. Before they know it, they head on to the train and had no idea what lay ahead of them. All they know is that they are going to have a difficult, long, and suprising journey.
What I like about the book is how Yoko, Ko, and their mother seem to bond with each other. Ko usually was the one helping them get food, their mother makes sure that they are both safe, and Yoko following the path of her honorable sister. I like the book because it is exciting and the events that happen are in order. It wasn't a made-up story and I experience how it's like to live during a war. "The other Korean Communist soldier was walking among the patients, poking at them with the tip of his gun. My teeth were chattering, my heart thumping. The soldier poke at my side." That shows exactly how it's like living in a war where anything can happen. You could be attacked at anytime. It is a terrific story, full of action.
What I dislike about the book is how they barely talk much about their father. They only say that he works in Manchuria, but no info on whether he is still alive or not. The book had too little characters, and there was only two main characters: Ko and Yoko. The ending of the book was too fast. It didn't explain what they did after their reunion. It also didn't have a lot of incidents that happen when Hideyo was working at the factory. I didn't know all of his classmates when he was working there. "None of the four young men could sleep for thinking of this, their last night together." Hideyo and his friends were going to separate and weren't going to see each other for time being, making Hideyo lonesome.
My favorite part of the book is when Ko and Yoko finally arrived in Japan. They both went to school there, but the kids keep teasing Yoko. For supper, Ko would usually find food in the garbage cans or buy food from the money she earned. Yoko's shoes were torn and she tried working to earn money to buy new ones. But, she never did. She would usually have many chances, but she keeps changing her mind. Yoko still had many challenges ahead of her. She had went through an adventure that she'll never forget. She went through a bitter, difficult, and rough life, but overcame them all.

Rating:
Summary: Very touching and moving book
Review: This book is a rare type of work which you do not find often. Usually a book is about a Korean family who tries to escape from the North, but this is a Japanese family who had to go through the same type of hardship to escape the escalating power of the Korean Communists. Watkins did an incredible job of portraying the situation of that time through the eyes of a young person.

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Summary: Very Moving
Review: This book, So Far from the Bamboo Grove, was a very touching and inspiring story. It really showed you a different perspective of life. Being a student at a good private school, I think that my life is much like what Yoko's life was before she fled Nanam. I can not imagine what it would be like to have my life torn away from me and suddenly be digging through garbage cans to survive. It also showed you a very different view towards World War II. Being an American, I have always believed that the Americans should win all wars, and the wartime stories I have read all have characters who want America and their allies to win. This story, about a Japanese girl, told of the struggles of being on the losing side of the war, something I had not read about before.

This emotional story tells the true story of Yoko Kawashima, an eleven-year-old Japanese girl living in Korea during the end of World War II. As danger creeps ever closer to her hometown of Nanam, she and her mother and honorable sister Ko must flee their home in the bamboo grove, without Yoko's father or honorable brother Hideyo. The story is a first-hand account of what it was like to escape the horrible war. The things that she had to survive through are so terrible, I thought there was death lurking around every corner. This story is true, and Yoko survives to this very day, making the story all the more inspirational. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to experience World War II from a young girl's eyes.

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Summary: Good, but read Year of Impossible Goodbyes with it
Review: Watkins story is powerful and moving, but disturbing in that many who read it understand this as "the other side" of WWII. When Americans read about the Holocaust, we do not read about or sympathize with Nazi soldiers or their families who occupied Russia, Poland, France, etc. Watkins was a child caught in a horrible, violent conflict, but her family were part of an OCCUPYING army. Japan's reign of terror throughout Korea (and Asia) was brutal, genocidal and racially motivated. Read Choi's Year of Impossible Goodbyes for a Korean child's view of the Japanese occupation. For adult readers, an even more eye-opening view of the Japanese invasion of China read Chang's The Rape of Nanking. MILLIONS of Asian people were brutalized under the Japanese occupation of Asian countries in WWII. It is a sad fact that most people in the US are unaware of.

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Summary: A young girl's horrifying past that haunts her memory....
Review: well, its not that horrifying...i think she wrote this book just to get everything out of her. she probably wants to let it out (like writing in a diary about your day) and also just tell others of her life. to tell others that life can be better than digging in garbage cans, watching your mother die, suffering, getting injured, being seperated with your family members, etc. to tell us that we should be glad with the lives we have now and we must love and care while we can, while we live. her book is a lesson to all of us out here. we should appreciate our lives and what we have! I'll stop now. i sound like a preacher.<