THE TWO TERRORS OF TULELAKE
by WM Gunn
Historical Fiction / Science Fiction / Thriller
Pages: 320
Publication Date: October 15, 2024
SYNOPSIS
The horrors of World War II shocked the world. Americans believed it could never happen here in our own borders…until it did.
Ichiro Hisakawa and his family were part of the American culture – living the American Dream – until February 19, 1942, when President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that branded them “the others.” Taken from their homes and stripped of their citizenship due
to their ancestry, they endured deplorable conditions in the “relocation camps.” Typhus ran rampant through the camp, and riots were a daily occurrence. And for the first time, America was scornful. Life was difficult and the Hisakawa family did their best to endure it all.
However, 16-year-old Ichiro wasn’t prepared for the betrayal, murder, and escape that was waiting for him. And how did Bobby King, a sixteen-year-old from 2017, find himself in 1942 and friend to Ichiro?
Read The Two Terrors of Tulelake, a story based upon historical facts that many Americans today are unaware of.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
WM Gunn is a native Texan who spent many years in the pharmaceutical industry in sales, sales management, and training and development. He is active in writing groups and volunteering with non-profit groups. He lives in his hometown in Texas with his high school sweetheart and bride of many years.
To date, he has written dozens of short stories, novellas, and novels. Holmes, Moriarty, and the Monkeys and Chasing the Sun are two novellas released earlier in 2024. Visit his website wm-gunn.com.
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REVIEW
At first I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get into this book. In the Tulelake, California of 2017, Bobby King was such a jerk, he was almost two-dimensional. He was horrible to everyone, children and adults alike. And you knew why. Since his mother left, his home life had been dismal on good days. Life was unkind to Bobby, and Bobby was unkind right back. He took pride in how terrible he could be, and no punishment or threat of consequence was enough to change his heart or his actions. He was almost so unlikeable, I thought I’d have to stop reading.
But a concussion not only knocks Bobby for a loop physically. It also gives him the dubious gift of sending him back to 1942, seeing life as a ride-along in the body and mind of Ichiro Hisakawa. Ichiro and his family were Japanese Americans rounded up and herded into one of the government’s internment camps during World War II. I was aware that the camps existed, but didn’t know a lot of detail about them. The book was eye-opening in that regard, and Ichiro’s story and its impact on Bobby was what really made the book for me.
Imagine you’re a family living life, working, going to school. Then one day the military of your own country shows up, smacks you around, and hauls you off “for your protection.” That’s what Ichiro faced. His family and other Japanese Americans – some first generation Americans, some second or third generation – were incarcerated at the Tule Lake internment camp. While not quite as harsh as the German concentration camps, Tule Lake was not a nice place. Living conditions were unpleasant, and there were soldiers who disagreed with the government’s actions and did what they could to help the internees, but there were also soldiers who hated the Japanese and made things harder, or even actively plotted harm against them.
As Bobby sees life through Ichiro’s eyes, he comes to understand that his actions in Tulelake were no better than those of the government bullies the Japanese were dealing with. It’s a humbling experience for him. He comes to see that “different” and “other” doesn’t mean “bad” or “worthless” as he and Ichiro develop a bond.
The story never tells us how, precisely, Bobby was able to travel back in time. You gotta suspend your disbelief, like you would for any good sci-fi story. And honestly, how it happened wasn’t what made the story work. What Bobby experienced and learned, and how it impacted him as he lived the rest of his life, and how Ichiro found ways to deal with the raw hand he was dealt, those were what made this story really take off for me.
So this book went from “thought it might be zero” to “hero” with me. If you want to read a book with great character development and learn something about a part of history you may not be deeply familiar with, I highly recommend The Two Terrors of Tulelake. Five stars!
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