Stubborn Twig
by Lauren Kessler
A factual account of three generations of a
Japanese-American family living in the Pacific Northwest. It
begins in 1903, when Masuo Yasui arrived in Hood River, Oregon,
to seek his fortune. This part of the story is similar to other
immigrants' tales-years of hard work, loneliness, and struggles
with a new language and customs. The striking distinction appears
around 1919, with the rise of anti-Japanese sentiment. Yasui, his
brother, their wives, and children had sacrificed much to
establish a thriving general store and owned several orchards.
Yasui, who spoke fluent English, was the acknowledged leader of
the Japanese community in the area and an active member of the
orchardists' cooperatives, the Methodist Church, and the Rotary
Club. His family continued to have great success despite
discrimination. Their lives were painfully disrupted, however, on
December 7, 1941. Yasui was arrested as a spy and imprisoned for
the rest of the war; his relatives were scattered and some were
interned. This book puts human faces and emotions to the events
of that period. Readers learn how racism and internment continued
to affect the choices and decisions of second-generation family
members. Part sociological study, part American history, part
family saga, this title will make a significant addition to any
library.
- Penny Stevens, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
About the Author:
Lauren Kessler is the author of five works of narrative nonfiction, including Dancing with Rose, Washington Post bestseller Clever Girl, Los Angeles Times bestseller The Happy Bottom Riding Club, Full Court Press and Oregon Book Award winner Stubborn Twig. Stubborn Twig was chosen as the book for all Oregon to read in honor of the state's 2009 sesquicentennial.
Her journalism has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Los Angeles Times Magazine, O Magazine, Salon and The Nation. She is founder and editor of Etude, the online magazine of narrative nonfiction, and directs the graduate program in literary nonfiction at the University of Oregon. She lives in Eugene, Oregon, with her writer husband, Tom Hager, her three brilliant and faultless children and a cat that thinks it's a dog.
