02 Mar / Face of a Stranger by Yoji Yamaguchi [in What Do I Read Next? Multicultural Literature]
Kikue, a young Japanese woman, arrives in the U.S. believing she was to be a picture bride but instead is forced into prostitution. She devises an elaborate plan, not only to secure her freedom, but to plot her revenge against the man whose face was used as the bogus groom in the photograph original sent to deceive her.
Due to strict anti-Asian immigration laws, few women from Asia were allowed into the U.S. unless they were already married to a U.S. resident. Japanese, Korean, and some Chinese men arranged for “picture brides” – that is, marriages were arranged through a go-between with women from the homeland, sight unseen, except for an exchange of pictures. Many times, to entice eligible women, men sent pictures of themselves when they were younger, or sometimes even pictures of other, more attractive men.
Review: “Asian American Titles,” What Do I Read Next? Multicultural Literature, Gale Research, 1997
Readers: Adult
Published: 1995