LOUD

The monotone feel is throughout the book the way Otsuka describes the days, food and the family. It gave off a sense of stillness even though time was passing by everyday was the same. Otsuka wanted the reader to feel alone and trapped just like the family.

Otsuka was repetitious when describing the day in the life of the characters, a routine of waking up, looking into the distance, and going to bed. As the reader you get lost in time just like the family did, not knowing what day it is.

Even the description of the weather and characters were very stale either it was hot or cold, windy or rainy. The characters were described as if they were one person, “For it was true, they all looked alike. Black hair. Slanted eyes. High cheekbones. Thick glasses. Thin lips. Bad teeth. Unknowable. Inscrutable.” (pg49) As I continued to read I noticed how the boy started to forget what his father looked like, began to see his father appear everywhere, “in the beginning the boy thought he saw his father everywhere. Outside the latrines. Underneath the showers. Leaning against barrack doorways.” (pg49) The longer the family lived in these camps the more they struggled with their own identity.

The only time I did enjoy reading this book was when either the boy was dreaming or the mother was talking about past memories, it added personal emotions. Especial when the boy would imagine the day when his father would come back home wearing the robe and beat up slippers, picking up where they left off. To me Otsuka was just like the Fourth of July, in the beginning its one or two fireworks and suddenly it’s the grand finally, Otsuka built the individual to stop being silent and express themselves!