Itsuka

Already a Canadian bestseller, Itsuka, the sequel to Joy Kogawa's award-winning novel Obasan, follows the character Naomi Nakane into adulthood, where she becomes involved in the movement for governmental redress. Much more overtly political than Kogawa's first novel, the story focuses on reaching that itsuka - someday - when the mistreatment of those of Japanese heritage during World War II would be recognized. Although during the war both the United States and Canada interned Japanese-Americans and confiscated their property, when the war ended the property of those in Canada was never returned to them. Itsuka is the story of the fight to get government compensation for the thousands of victims of the wartime internment, which was, unbelievably, only just accomplished in 1988. Both a moving novel of self-discovery and a fascinating historical account of the fight for redress, Itsuka's final message is one of inspiration and hope.