This historical horror novel takes place in the Japanese Internment camps during World War II. We mainly follow Meiko and Aiko - mother and daughter inside a camp in the Midwest. While there, the two attempt to keep their lives as normal as possible, falling into a rhythm as the days pass. However, when a mysterious illness starts sweeping through the camp - the sufferers overtaken by sudden rage and aggression - it starts to become clear that this isn't an ordinary sickness. They team up with Fran, a reporter, and Archie, a widowed minister, to try to find the truth behind what is happening and stop it from spreading any further.
TW/CW: racism, infidelity, spiders, mob violence
I don't read much historical fiction because I personally find a lot of them get really bogged down in the details of the historical dates/events (which is understandable, but just not my personal favorite writing style). In the case of this book, I didn't feel that was the case. This felt like a little looser of historical fiction where the time and events were more flexible and used in a way that enhanced the story Katsu wanted to tell. This was confirmed in the Afterword where Katsu herself states that the sequence of events in the book are not presented in the historically accurate sequence as well as most of her characters are not based on real people. While this may annoy some historical fiction readers, I'm sure, I found that it made for a much more immersive read. However, just because she was more flexible with the timing and events does not mean the story is lacking in details. I absolutely loved the amount of details we get of life in this time both inside and outside the camps. Katsu, again in the Afterword, states that her in-laws were in the Internment camps and she was able to talk to them, as well as others who could give their first hand experiences to Katsu. I think this really helped flesh out the story with accurate details without giving the narrative that typical bogged-down feeling that I find a lot of historical fictions have.
The supernatural horror elements in this were a little less-intense than I was expecting. I really enjoyed how the supernatural element was introduced and, for the longest time, the reader isn't exactly sure what is happening. These horror elements slowly ramped up as the mystery of this illness unfolded but then it sort of plateaued from there. But while the supernatural horror elements were stagnating, we do get some pretty significant escalation in terms of psychological horror. These elements reminded me a lot of why I enjoy reading/watching/consuming serial killer media - I find it fascinating what humans are capable of. The second half of this book really ramps up the racism and shows just how bad the anti-Japanese sentiment got. In the Afterword, Katsu draws the comparison between these sentiments and the current wave of anti-Asian hate crimes. It is my understanding that we now widely acknowledge that the Japanese Internment camps were wrong from start to finish but viewing these escalations from inside this time period does show this sort of pervasive fear of 'the other' and how that fear can cause us to do things we initially thought impossible. The psychological aspect really escalates with the question of if these people are under the supernatural influence or if they truly feel this way. The horror aspects in this book are very humanity-based and I think this book is one that will really settle into my bones and stick with me.
I loved the multi-POV and how these four characters all intertwined by the end. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of character development we got considering this book isn't too long (320 pages) and it felt split pretty evenly between all 4 characters. I think Katsu does a great job of making all 4 story lines interesting in their own way so I never disliked switching to another POV. I did find myself gravitating more toward Fran's story line as she's trying to investigate and put together an article, but that's just the mystery reader in me I think. I did find Meiko's plot line to be the most interesting in terms of this world and the horror elements as she is right in the middle of the Internment camp as well as the mysterious sickness. We also get some flashbacks to Meiko's father in 1927 which, while not immediately clear what they have to do with the main story line, are interesting and sort of eerie interludes. I found all the POVs built on each other and enhanced the main story as we could get various viewpoints about the ongoing war and internement.
The ending wrapped up a little more quickly than I was expecting, but I think overall it was a satisfying place to end the story. We don't get 100% closure on some aspects in the story but we have enough of a sense going forward of what will happen that we can fill in those blanks. Plus, since this time in history was so recent (at least in comparison to Katsu's other historical horrors), we can draw the connection between these events in the book and where we are today. I found this aspect really interesting because obviously this is a historical fiction book, but Katsu lays out the fictional elements in such a logical manner that I could 100% believe that this happened and lead to where we are today. The resolution to the ending conflict did feel a bit convenient and it was a real "how are they going to get out of this" moment and then the conflict was over pretty quickly. The resolution made sense in the story but when I was reading it, I just felt like there was this long lead up to this moment and when we finally got there, it sort of fizzled. It felt like reading the equivalent to when you think you're going to sneeze but then that feeling goes away.
Overall, I really enjoyed this historical horror read. I liked how this one felt a little more narrative-focused than the other books from Katsu that I've read. I loved the POV aspects and I think the ending note of these lasting repercussions is really powerful. There were a few elements that I wanted more from, but overall I would recommend this read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC.
Expected publication date is April 26, 2022
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