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Overview

Obasan is a novel by Japanese-Canadian author Joy Kogawa that was first published in 1981. The novel tells the story of a Japanese-Canadian woman named Naomi Nakane as she reflects on her childhood experiences of internment, displacement, and discrimination during and after World War II. Obasan is a work of historical fiction that is based on Kogawa’s own experiences growing up in Canada during the war. The novel explores themes of memory, trauma, and the importance of bearing witness to historical events. 

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