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Silver Like Dust: One Family’s Story of America's Japanese Internment Audiobook
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(3.05) - 263 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The poignant story of a Japanese American woman's journey through one of the most shameful chapters in American history.
Sipping tea by the fire, preparing sushi for the family, or indulgently listening to her husband tell the same story for the hundredth time, Kimi Grant's grandmother, Obaachan, was a missing link to Kimi's Japanese heritage, something she had had a mixed relationship with all her life. Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, all Kimi ever wanted to do was fit in, spurning traditional Japanese cuisine and her grandfather's attempts to teach her the language.
But there was one part of Obaachan's life that had fascinated and haunted Kimi ever since the age of eleven—her gentle yet proud Obaachan had once been a prisoner, along with 112,000 Japanese Americans, for more than five years of her life. Obaachan never spoke of those years, and Kimi's own mother only spoke of it in whispers. It was a source of haji, or shame. But what had really happened to Obaachan, then a young woman, and the thousands of other men, women, and children like her?
Obaachan would meet her husband in the camps and watch her mother die there, too. From the turmoil, racism, and paranoia that sprang up after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the terrifying train ride to Heart Mountain, to the false promise of V-J Day, Silver Like Dust captures a vital chapter of the Japanese American experience through the journey of one remarkable woman.
Her story is one of thousands, yet it is a powerful testament to the enduring bonds of family and an unusual look at the American dream.
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"Cunningham Grant isn't a particularly engaging writer, in some ways, but her grandmother's story of being put into the prison camp at Heart Mountain during the internment of the Japanese Americans during WWII is compelling, and a nicely detailed look at the harsh realities of that situation. Important memoir to read in understanding one of the bleaker chapters of American history."
— Miki (4 out of 5 stars)
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“This vivid account of a Japanese American woman’s imprisonment at the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp during WWII takes the form of a dialogue between the once-imprisoned grandmother and the author, who is her granddaughter. Narrator Emily Woo Zeller does an extraordinary job of varying the voices in the dialogue without losing the intimacy of the story. Her delivery is well paced and easy to understand. The author’s grandmother was not only a prisoner but also a Japanese American, a woman, a new bride, and a mother. All of these facets of her identity, together, shaped her experience and come through in her memories.”
— AudioFile -
“Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, wanting to fit in, Grant felt far removed from her Japanese heritage, including the internment of her grandparents during WWII…Grant offers a portrait of the stoicism and patriotism of her family as well as differences in generations, as the stories evoke her own feelings of rage. But throughout is a portrait of a courageous woman who endured hardship and later established a delicate balance of trust with her granddaughter that allowed her to finally tell the family’s story.”
— Booklist -
“As the author learns about her grandmother’s young adulthood, marriage, and first child, she forms a relationship with the older woman that hadn’t existed before. Verdict: This is a heartwarming, informative, and accessible tale of personal family history. Grant seamlessly intersperses the narrative with facts about World War II, Japan, and the period. Grant’s narrative is not just a story of the Japanese internment; it is a loving tribute to her grandmother. Narrator Emily Woo Zeller allows the story to flow beautifully. Recommended to fans of Theresa Weir and Amy Tan.”
— Library Journal (audio review) -
“The author weaves rich supporting material throughout the narrative, providing a solid context for the relocation and internment of 112,000 Japanese throughout the West…This is also the story of a young woman navigating her marriage to a strong but exacting personality and family ties weakened by the stress and separation of internment…[A] well-written book about life in a Japanese internment camp and the social and political forces that allowed their existence.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Silver Like Dust Listener Reviews
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" I thought this was interesting, I learned new things and gained a new perspective, but it wasn't very engaging. "
— Allison, 2/12/2014 -
" Loved this book! Written by the grand daughter of a second generation Japanese woman about her family's experience during WWII. She brings out her grandmother's personality so well you will think you know her. A little known part of US history that will appall you! "
— Susan, 2/9/2014 -
" Read this book as part of research for a novel I'm working on. Initially, I was put off by the structure of the book, the back and forth of personal against historical, combined with what I perceived as Grant's distance from her subject. By the end of the book, I changed my mind. Grant frames the personal with the historical, making both more informative. Her distance becomes affection mixed with greater understanding. An affecting book that explained some details of internment that I hadn't seen before. "
— Sandy, 2/5/2014 -
" This book was an easy read. It gives the reader a good picture of what life was like for those sent to the Japanese internment camps during WWII--a group that you rarely hear about. "
— Karen, 2/5/2014 -
" really, really interesting. i love the author's voice, and i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the grandmother!!! Oh my gosh, i just wanna hug her! i found this a fascinating and emotionally touching book about this shameful and glossed over time in american history. "
— Pandionhalatius37.6-WINGS, 2/1/2014 -
" While I'm always interested to read books on a subject which is so often glossed over, this book was too light on crucial details and too heavy-handed with trivial details (really didn't need to know her grandmother wore Transition lenses or Easy-Stride shoes or ordered shrimp at some random Thai restaurant). "
— Ginny, 1/16/2014 -
" Great book. Like most, I did not know that the US even had internment camps after Pearl Harbor until I was in my twenties. I was surprised but really saddened after reading this first hand account of what Japanese citizens were subjected to. "
— Angie, 1/15/2014 -
" Interesting story of what it was like for the Japanese on the west coast of America during WWII. Along with that is the story of a young woman getting to know her grandmother better as she interviews her about her life "
— Sarah, 1/5/2014 -
" Amazing blend of story telling and lessons in American history. Absolutely phenomenal. "
— Allie, 12/14/2013 -
" Excellent and valuable story, but the writing style is slightly sloppy and repetitive. "
— 8junebugs, 12/9/2013 -
" Very interesting book regarding the sad prejudices that Japanese Americans encountered in WW2. A real eye opener and well written. "
— Kevin, 7/29/2013 -
" It was an OK book but way too slow. "
— Carmen, 5/17/2013 -
" Fabulous read! Not the stuff they teach you in history books, but should! "
— Chelsea, 4/16/2013 -
" A sad tale of one of America's not so proud moments, the American Japanese Internment during WW2. The author kept a respectful tone throughout the book and kept an arm-length distances from some subjects her grandmother wanted to keep private. There were not even photos in the book. "
— Wellington, 2/7/2013 -
" I learned lots of interesting things about the Japanese internment during WWII from California, such as the prejudice against Asians before and after Pearl harbor, the huge number of people imprisoned, what this woman's grandmother's life was like in the camp. Well written true story. "
— Patty, 10/28/2012 -
" Good read. Deals with the Japanese - American's who were put into camps after Pearl Harbor. Told from the viewpoint of a Grandmother to a Granddaughter. "
— Melanie, 3/14/2012
About Kimi Cunningham Grant
Kimi Cunningham Grant is the author of Fallen Mountains, Silver Like Dust, These Silent Woods, and The Nature of Disappearing. Kimi is a two-time winner of a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Prize in Poetry and a recipient of a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts fellowship in creative nonfiction. Her poems and essays have appeared in Fathom, Literary Mama, RATTLE, Poet Lore, and Whitefish Review. She lives with her family in Pennsylvania.
About Emily Woo Zeller
Emily Woo Zeller is an artist, actor, dancer, choreographer, and voice artist who has won Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration in 2018. She began her voice-over career by voicing animation in Asia. AudioFile magazine named her one of the Best Voices of 2013 for her work in Gulp. Other awards include the 2009 Tristen Award for Best Actress as Sally Bowles in Cabaret and the 2006 Roselyn E. Schneider Prize for Creative Achievement.