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    Above the East China Sea
    Above the East China Sea
    Above the East China Sea
    Audiobook14 hours

    Above the East China Sea

    Written by Sarah Bird

    Narrated by Ali Ahn, Tandy Cronyn, Graham Halstead and Jennifer Ikeda

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Set on the island of Okinawa today and during World War II, this deeply moving and evocative novel tells the entwined stories of two teenage girls-an American and an Okinawan-whose lives are connected across 70 years by the shared experience of both profound loss and renewal. Luz, a contemporary U.S. Air Force brat, lives with her no-nonsense sergeant mother at Kadena Air Base. Luz's older sister, her best friend and emotional center, has died in the Afghan war. Unmoored by her death, unable to lean on her mother, Luz contemplates taking her own life. In l945, Tamiko has lost everyone-the older sister she idolized and her entire family-and finds herself trapped between the occupying Japanese and the invading Americans whom she has been taught are demons that live to rape. On an island where the spirits of the dead are part of life and the afterworld reunites you with your family, suicide offers Tamiko the promise of peace. As Luz tracks down the story of her own Okinawan grandmother, she discovers that the ancestral spirits work as readily to save her as they do to help Tamiko find a resting place. And as these two stories unfold and intertwine, we see how war and American occupation have shaped and reshaped the lives of Okinawans.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJul 4, 2014
    ISBN9781490615066
    Above the East China Sea
    Author

    Sarah Bird

    Sarah Bird’s novel, Above the East China Sea, was long-listed for the Dublin International Literary Award. A Dobie-Paisano Fellowship helped in researching Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen. Raised in an Air Force family on bases around the world, Sarah is the child of two warriors, a WWII Army nurse and an Air Corps bombardier, who met at a barn dance in North Africa. She lives in Austin, Texas.

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    Reviews for Above the East China Sea

    4.5/5

    19 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Wonderfully written and constructed novel that connects two times and multiple lives in a single place through a beautiful collision of nature, tradition, history, and magic.

      A family epic about tragedy and healing that moves between the natural and supernatural to great effect. The teenage female voice of Luz is authentic and powerful yet occasionally weak and inexperienced the way teenagers are.

      I was struck by the sensuous descriptions of the natural world both in its full glory and when it has been shattered by war.

      This book makes me wonder what we've lost in Okinawa.
    • 5/5
      Modern day Luz is a military dependent living in Okinawa. She's feeling emotionally crushed to the point of suicide by the recent death of her sister, Codie, in Afghanistan. Her family now consists only of Luz and her mother, who is also in Afghanistan on a temporary duty assignment. Luz is alone in a new place and has no family or friends around. Told in parallel with Luz' story is the wrenching tale of Okinawan Tamiko, who was a teenager at the time of the World War II battle of Okinawa. In the litany of horrors of World War II, the Battle of Okinawa isn’t well known, but more than 95,000 Japanese and 12,000 Americans were killed, including more than a fourth of Okinawa’s civilian population; more people, in fact, than died at Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.

      The book starts out with the 1945 suicide of pregnant Tamiko. At first she seems to be a bitter ghost bent on Luz’s destruction for her own ends. As Luz learns more about her past and forges a connection with a local boy named Jake, we start to get some hints about the mysterious relationship between Tamiko and Luz. The book had a bit of a slow start for me and I actually put it aside at one point until I was in the right frame of mind. When I picked it up a second time it wasn't long before I was drawn into the story and couldn't put the book down. I found Tamiko's story line much more compelling than that of Luz but once the story starts rolling you will be intrigued by both.

      The Battle of Okinawa is a piece of World War II history rarely explored in fiction and even though parts of it were painful to read in some places, it seemed to be well researched. Above the East China Sea is a profound statement about the sorrow of war and a compelling novel about young women’s lives in a time of war and the love of two sets of sisters seventy years apart. I highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      Having been stationed on Okinawa for 9 years, three different tours, I was excited to read this book. I must admit I almost put it down after reading some of the first dialogues of the teenagers. The teenagers portrayed did not talk like the military brats I'm surrounded 24/7.I came to enjoy the book more and more the farther I read. I'm familiar with Yuta, the haunted house on Kadena (torn down several years ago), the hospital caves, the haunted hotel, suicide cliffs, A&W, and the golf course. There is a deep understanding you get when you visit many of the places on Okinawa where so much was lost. It was poignant to imagine those places so many years a part.There were a couple of story lines that were built up, but kind of fizzled out. I'm still waiting for Luz to complete her list of names. And what was the deal with her mom? What did happen to her sister? How is she able to drive off base at her age? Several friends have read this book as well and none of us can answer these questions. I think most of my enjoyment of this book comes from recognizing the Okinawa that I know and love. I'm sorry to read that the authors says she, "disavows the term military brat." That term is a badge of pride amongst many a "brat" and is a term of endearment, not a pejorative. Oh, and I know little to nothing about the Air Force, but I'm pretty sure OSI isn't in the business of making people disappear.
    • 5/5
      This book starts with some beautiful imagery, and only gets better from there. There are two intertwined stories, well...more than two, but two main ones. One begins when Okinawans believe Japan in taking over their island is going to save their island during WWII, and Okinawans do all that they can to show their loyalty.The second is of a U.S. military kid living in Okinawa, along the East China Sea, and to a lesser degree her sister, whose single mom is a better soldier than a mom. The temporary friends of military kids, the constant moving, the challenges are very real. Just as real are the spirits, beliefs, and strength of family of the people of Okinawa. Ghosts are a big and very believable part of the story. It unfolds at the right pace to answer my questions.In addition to being a beautiful story wonderfully written, this novel introduced me to parts of history I never knew. I love fiction that teaches. The Princess Lily girls were real. The Cave of the Virgins is real. And, of course, the war and the brutality of it is too, too real.The author is someone who has written several books, but this is the first of hers that I have read. It will not be the last.I was given a copy of this book for review.
    • 4/5
      Sarah Bird has written a powerful tale of two teenage girls, in an interwoven narrative connecting their lives 70 years apart. Luz James is a U.S. Air force military brat living on Kadena Air Base in Okinawa with her Sergeant mother. Her older sister has just been killed in the Afghan war. Tamiko Kokuba in 1945 works in the Imperial Army’s cave hospitals with the Princess Lily girls. Daughters of Okinawa’s privileged class that attend exclusive high schools, but are trained to care for the wounded during the 83 day battle. This battle is the deadliest battle involving the U.S. troops in the Pacific where a third of Okinawa’s population is killed.Bird’s story reveals the tales of family bonds, ancient cultural beliefs and war survivors.Appeal: fans of Japanese war stories, women, mature YA and adultPace: fast pace, very minor supernatural elements
    • 4/5
      A dual story line, two teenage girls, one Luz on a Okinawa military base in present day and the other Tamiko, living in Okinawa during World War II. These girl have more in common than is known at the books beginning. I found both stories fascinating and they are tied together seamlessly.He present day story takes place during Oban, three days where the dead are invited to return to their families for days of feasting and goodwill, until they are chased away at the end of the third day.Luz has had a tragic occurrence and her searching for answers will bring more than she ever could have thought possible.Tamiko lives in Okinawa with her family, they are very loyal to the Japanese emperor and have know doubt that they will win the war. Her older sister is a Princess Lily girl, one of the highest aspirations a girl from Okinawa could have. The war will turn their world upside down and few would survive.I learned so much about their culture, their belief in the spirit world where all would be reunited, if they are buried together. So many bones have turned up harmony of them sit in warehouses waiting to be identified, an overwhelming task. The invasion later 82 days, and 222 Lily girls, girls unused to the sight of horror were commandeered from their schools and made to act as nurses for the wounded Japanese soldiers. Japan did not think highly of the Okinawans and basically sacrificed Okinawa as a killing field. I was astonished to lean that more people died here, than in Hiroshima and Nagasaki together. The survivors would find little left of the place they called home.A powerful book that highlights the consequences of war, past and present. A look at a culture I knew little about and a story about two teenagers connected by that past. A look at military life and the challenges that presents for family.