The Girl With The White Flag - Tomiko Higa
This book tells the story of the invasion of Okinawa by the U.S. from the perspective of a young girl. This is the first non-fiction book I’ve read in a while.
The book itself was written long after the events took place by the girl in the photograph. She is drawn to tell the tale when the picture becomes famous.
One thing that I found truly amazing about this was that it really did feel like a child’s account of the war.
This is impressive given that it was written by an adult and so long after the events occurred.
There is very little time spent on the overall picture of the war itself. Just broad strokes so we have some idea where she is in relation to the fighting.
This decision to leave the big picture out is perfect. We get to see only what is directly affecting our protagonist.
It also gives the story a very surreal feeling as she wanders around the battlefield.
There is a huge emphasis on animals throughout her ordeal. All of the animals are important to the narrative and also help to explain how she just didn’t go crazy.
At the end of the book, shortly before she surrenders to the Americans, there is a very strange section.
She finds an old couple in a cave. The man has had his arms and legs amputated, and the woman is blind. She spends significant time in the cave with them.
Even now, I don’t know if they were real. They must have been.
Overall, the story was really well told, and you will find it hard to come across another war story from this perspective.
