The Go-Between

Writing historical novels for young readers offers authors an opportunity to write about the past in a relatable and engaging manner that will not only inform their audience but also inspire them to learn more and think critically about that past. In the process of writing, authors may consider how to approach the era that they would like to represent by considering the specific aspects from that era’s history on which they will focus and the choice of narrative perspective, both of which will shape how the story gets told. Jennifer Maruno’s The Go-Between captures the experience of living as a Japanese person in British Columbia during the 1920s, as seen from the perspective of a 12-year-old girl named Sumi. In doing so, Maruno creates a compelling story that contextualizes Sumi’s experiences within the broader societal context of that time. Spending a summer with Dr. Stewart’s family, Sumi helps them with daily housekeeping and other chores, but she grapples with feelings of loneliness, discriminatory incidents, and unfamiliar customs and manners. Despite these struggles, she adapts successfully and becomes empowered in her own way such that she leaves the Stewarts’ household at the end of the summer with greater self-confidence and a purposeful sense about what she wants to pursue in life.

Amidst the growing body of children’s literature about Japanese Canadians, Maruno’s novel is distinctive because of the historical era upon which she focuses. A sizable amount of the children’s literature published in Canada recently has dealt with the Japanese communities’ internment during the Second World War, books such as Shizue’s Path (www.cmreviews.ca/node/3821), Obaasan’s Boots (www.cmreviews.ca/node/3732), Kimiko Murakami: A Japanese-Canadian Pioneer (www.cmreviews.ca/node/3624, and Stealing Home (www.cmreviews.ca/node/2787). In contrast to these works, The Go-Between engages with a different dimension of Japanese Canadian history by focusing on the period prior to the Second World War. This focus enables Maruno to explore other aspects of Japanese Canadian life at that time since they were still able to live within their communities and had not yet been relocated to internment camps. However, her story demonstrates that the discriminatory attitudes of that era could be regarded as a precursor to the overt racism that is later manifested through federal government legislation which authorized the Japanese population’s internment during the Second World War.

The novel revolves around Sumi’s experiences with working at Gibsons Landing during an entire summer. Originally, her sister Yoshiko had been confirmed to work with Dr. Stewart’s family on the island. However, Sumi decides to take that job instead on her sister’s behalf because her doing so would allow Yoshiko to go to summer classes to learn about dressmaking which would then lead to an offer to attend the Marietta School of Costume Design in the fall.

Maruno conveys the loneliness that Sumi experiences due to the lack of familial support and cultural familiarity of home. As such, these circumstances exacerbate and contribute to Sumi’s difficulties with doing the job effectively as she also has to contend with the Stewarts’ housekeeper Astrid throughout her time in their household. Right from the beginning, Astrid does not treat Sumi with much respect. Besides not taking the time to learn her name, Astrid harbours a lot of negative assumptions about Asian people that emerge through her interactions with Sumi.

In depicting the problems associated with racial discrimination, Maruno conveys the variance of the white community’s views towards Japanese Canadians and the different ways in which discriminatory views can be expressed. They can manifest through overtly racist expressions, physical intimidation, or more subtle insinuations that cast doubt on Japanese Canadians’ moral integrity or value as people. For example, with her significant role throughout the story, Astrid embodies the various types of negative attitudes that the white population may have had about the Japanese people: that they are illiterate, unintelligent, dirty, thieves, and fibbers. In addition, they are regarded as foreign aliens rather than “Canadians” and are viewed as a threat to the country’s racial character. As Astrid comments, “There’s too many of her kind already on this island.” (p. 63)

Maruno also depicts more subtle manifestations of prejudice through other characters’ interactions with Sumi. When Hilda Johnston comes with her baby Charles to visit, Dr. Stewart suggests that Sumi could take Charles for a walk in his stroller. Although Hilda eventually relents after Dr. Stewart assures her that there is nothing to worry about, at first, she is hesitant about letting Sumi take Charles. Despite this outcome, the story evokes an undertone of apprehension that suggests Hilda’s unease stems from not only her fear of Sumi’s potential lack of competence, but also of her Japanese heritage; one suspects that Hilda may not have had the same reservations if Sumi had been white.

Besides these negative situations that Maruno represents, it is important to note that she also avoids portraying the white community as a homogenous group that has discriminatory attitudes. Instead, she recognizes the complexity of the white community and the heterogeneity of their attitudes towards other people from other cultural backgrounds. Although they may not be familiar with Sumi’s heritage, both Dr. and Mrs. Stewart are shown to be fair and compassionate people who do not share the same views as others such as Astrid and other adults.

Similarly, Maruno demonstrates how the Japanese community also harbours some negative attitudes. For example, when Sumi goes to Mr. Konishi’s house for dinner, she meets his two sons, Haruko and Matsu. In response to Sumi’s expressing interest in fishing, Matsu says that girls do not fish. Despite this attitude, Matsu, himself, is also resisting his father’s traditional ways and would like to leave the island, showing that people can be complex and express seemingly contradictory perspectives. Even if they have biased or have outdated attitudes, they may also be surprising progressive or modern in other ways.

One shortcoming of Maruno’s novel is the narrative thread surrounding Sumi’s desire to be a newspaper reporter. The publisher’s synopsis of the book may give readers the impression that this interest of hers would comprise a significant part of the plot. While readers get a bit of insight into Sumi’s interest in journalism, the story does not devote significant attention to that aspect of her life and delves in a limited way into her thoughts and aspirations for this occupation. The first chapter introduces readers to Sumi’s interests in newspapers, writing, and reporting, which are mentioned in other instances interspersed throughout the remainder of the story. For example, she enjoys reading her sister Yoshiko’s letters and responding back to them. Later in the novel, Sumi’s observance of striking workers at the local factory piques her interest in journalism, but that portion of the narrative is less extensive than what readers might expect. As a result, these elements of the story do not really cohere into a sustained narrative thread that culminates satisfactorily with what appears to be Sumi’s growing confidence and sense of purpose about becoming a journalist when she grows up. The lack of sustained build-up around Sumi’s mindset makes this narrative thread feel less satisfying in its resolution.

Nevertheless, The Go-Between is a powerful novel that conveys the societal atmosphere of the 1920s in British Columbia and people’s attitudes towards the Japanese immigrants and their descendants. One of its key strengths is the extensive attention that Maruno dedicates to detailing various facets of Sumi’s life with Dr. Stewart’s family. Through Sumi’s intimate perspective, readers will appreciate the different people on the island with whom she interacts, her experiences with discrimination, and her gradual success in finding her place within the island’s community.

Appropriately, the novel concludes realistically in an open-ended manner as it does not neatly resolve all of the racial tensions and prejudices that Sumi experiences or observes, but it does end on a positive note and conveys hope for her future. Despite her challenges with settling in at Gibsons Landing, Sumi grows more comfortable with her role in the Stewarts’ household and becomes a valued part of it. In addition, she becomes acquainted with the Konishis, a Japanese family who regularly provides vegetables to the Stewarts; the end of the novel suggests that these relationships will be sustained after she leaves Gibsons Landing. By the latter part of the story, she even garners some measure of respect and trust from Astrid who had regarded her initially with skepticism and disdain. This is not to diminish the adverse impact of the attitudes expressed by Astrid and other characters in speech or action, but rather to recognize that people’s behaviours can be redeemable, even in small ways.

The book’s language level is appropriate for its intended readership. Its glossary of Japanese vocabulary will be useful for readers as Sumi’s story refers to several Japanese words and phrases. The interview with Jennifer Maruno is illuminating for readers in better understanding the inception behind The Go-Between and the extent to which it draws upon historical events, actual places, and Maruno’s personal experiences. As she mentions, the story draws upon experiences of Eiko, her mother-in-law. In contrast to Sumi, Eiko did not want to be a newspaper reporter but, instead, wanted to become a respected artist. By writing this novel, Maruno is hopeful that it will inspire readers to be more receptive and accepting of people’s diverse cultural backgrounds rather than fearing or rejecting them: “Confronting prejudice is significant in writing historical fiction. I hope my book leads to a greater understanding of how hard it can be when cultures clash rather than complement.”

The Go-Between will be a valuable addition for any library that would like to increase its representation of Asian immigrant experiences in the early 20th century, particularly for the period prior to the Second World War. Novels such as Maruno’s are less prevalent than others that deal with the Japanese internment. Although that is a significant and troubling period of Canadian history, there are other important experiences that should be covered in order to convey the breadth of the Japanese Canadians’ experiences. As a pedagogical text, the book will fit well into a literature unit about Asian perspectives. It could also be taught as part of a history or social studies unit that focuses on Asian communities in Canada. As a possible approach to the novel, teachers could ask students to research the everyday lives of Asian immigrants during that same time period or other periods of history. Approaching the story from a more contemporary standpoint, teachers could ask students to consider the extent to which current representations of Asian Canadians are positive, negative, or ambiguous, or the extent to which they continue to reflect, or depart from, the same tropes that characterize people’s historical attitudes towards this demographic.

Jennifer Maruno began her publishing career by creating educational content for the Peel District School Board, Ontario Ministry of Education, Addison-Wesley of Canada, and TV Ontario. Her short stories have appeared in various children’s magazines in Canada, the United States, and United Kingdom. Her debut children’s novel, When the Cherry Blossoms Fell (2009), was shortlisted for the 2011 Hackmatack Award and 2012 Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Readers Choice Award. Similar to The Go-Between, her first novel also focused on Japanese communities’ experiences and was followed by two sequels, Cherry Blossoms Winter (2012) and Cherry Blossom Baseball (2015). She has a Masters of Education degree and is also a graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature and the Humber School of Writers summer program. Besides her career as a writer, she has also been an elementary school principal, educational consultant, and teacher. More information about her work is available on her website https://jennifermaruno.com.