Under the Blood Red Sun

fiction by Heather Graham Pozzessereová

Blurb

Under the Blood Red Sun is a historical novel by Graham Salisbury, published in 1995. The movie version was released in 2014, with a screenplay by the author.
It details the life of Tomi, a Japanese-American boy, and his family during World War II, when Americans of Japanese descent were being sent to internment camps. Tomi lives in Hawaii, and witnesses the attack on Pearl Harbor. The story centers on the racist persecution of Tomi's family by others, the government's suspicion of the Japanese, and the family's efforts to downplay their Japanese heritage. He is joined by his haole or white friend, Billy, when his father and grandfather are captured and brought to a prison camp. Their friend Sanji is killed and Tomi's dad is shot in the leg. Tomikazu Nakaji is determined to be an American. This is not easy for though he was born in Hawaii, his parents and grandfather were not; they were born in Japan and they still cling to Japanese ways. In fact Tomi's grandfather still insists that he is "Japanese" and he and Tomi's parents still talk about the need to honor the family. Tomi must never do anything which would bring "shame" to the family.

First Published

1995

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