While Hiromi Goto’s  “The Kappa Child” does not fit in to any typical genre, I would classify this narrative as a mix of contemporary fantasy, supernatural fiction, comedy and a genre known as  slice of life.

I found this story to be a very interesting read. As I mentioned before, I am half Japanese one quarter Trinidadian and one quarter English. Growing up in Japan for the first decade of my life, I felt that I could relate to many of the sub stories that were mentioned in the novel, I am all too familiar with the Kappa stories that frequently circulate around Japan.

This book effectively addresses the common stereotypes held towards immigrants.  In the novel, as the protagonist, her three sisters, her mother and father were checking in to a motel, the “motel man” assumed that they were Japanese, to which the protagonist’s father responds “WE ARE CANADIAN!” while reading the dialogue between the motel man and the protagonist’s father, I felt like I could relate to this character and understood exactly how he felt when he boldly expressed himself.

While I am Canadian and was born in Vancouver, on an almost daily basis, I am asked where I am from, when I respond with,  “I was born here, I am Canadian” Most people are dissatisfied with my  answer, wanting to know my ” actual back ground?” and ethnicity.

Although the familial dynamics in this book are negatively portrayed, I felt that the relationships were accurate representations of typical Japanese households. Japanese culture is still very  traditional and conservative, consequently, the mother and children (especially daughters) are often submissive and compliant to the father.

Among many other things, this novel accurately depicts the frustrations often felt by “immigrants” specifically Japanese-Canadians.