In the following essay, American popular culture writer Wilson examines Sone's depiction of white Americans in Nisei Daughter and argues that their overly positive portrayal serves to weaken the impact of the internment tragedy in the mind of the reader.

There are precious few literary accounts of the tragedy that befell Japanese Americans at the hands of their own government during World War II. Monica Sone's Nisei Daughter is certainly one of the best-regarded, despite the fact that only about one-fifth of the rather slim book covers the author's own experiences in internment camps in Washington and Idaho. Those looking for a hard-hitting account of this appalling, government-sanctioned impri-sonment may be left unsatisfied for another reason as well: the author's depiction of white Americans—especially during wartime—is surprisingly gentle. In fact, the relative absence of animosity expressed by whites in the book may lead someone without...