Jan 7, 2009

Kira-Kira | Kira-Kira

At a glance:

Author: Cynthia Kadohata
First Published: 2004
Type of Work: Novel
Genres: Long fiction, Bildungsroman
Subjects: 1950’s, Family or family life, Parents and children, Racism, South or Southerners, Prejudices or antipathies, Georgia, Sisters, Death or dying, Funeral rites or ceremonies, Japanese Americans
Locales: Georgia

Like Kadohata's first novel, Kira-Kira is set within the tightly knit world of a Japanese American family in the American South in the 1950's. The novel's title is actually the first word her sister Lynn, who is four years older, teaches the narrator, Katie Takeshima. In Japanese, Kira-Kira means “glittering.” To the consternation of their traditional mother, Katie and Lynn apply kira-kira to everything they like, including Kleenex tissue. Even though the two sisters are very close, Kadohata shows how each views the world slightly differently. This occurs when a dog...

[The entire page is 861 words long]

Kira-Kira | Kira-Kira

At a glance:

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