Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
No-No Boy  By  cover art

No-No Boy

By: John Okada, Ruth Ozeki
Narrated by: David Shih
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.19

Buy for $17.19

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

First published in 1956, No-No Boy was virtually ignored by a public eager to put World War II and the Japanese internment behind them. It was not until the mid-1970s that a new generation of Japanese American writers and scholars recognized the novel's importance and popularized it as one of literature's most powerful testaments to the Asian American experience.

No-No Boy tells the story of Ichiro Yamada, a fictional version of the real-life "no-no boys". Yamada answered "no" twice in a compulsory government questionnaire as to whether he would serve in the armed forces and swear loyalty to the United States. Unwilling to pledge himself to the country that interned him and his family, Ichiro earns two years in prison and the hostility of his family and community when he returns home to Seattle.

As Ozeki writes, Ichiro's "obsessive, tormented" voice subverts Japanese postwar "model-minority" stereotypes, showing a fractured community and one man's "threnody of guilt, rage, and blame as he tries to negotiate his reentry into a shattered world".

©1976 Dorothy Okada (P)2018 Tantor

Featured Article: 10 Audiobooks to Listen to on the Day of Remembrance


In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, mandating the removal of Japanese Americans from their homes. Nearly 120,000 Japanese immigrants and native born Japanese Americans were imprisoned in concentration camps for the duration of World War II. We need to bear witness to the atrocities committed by the United States government and the pain our leadership caused innocent men, women, and children of Japanese heritage.

More from the same

What listeners say about No-No Boy

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    123
  • 4 Stars
    37
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    113
  • 4 Stars
    27
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    116
  • 4 Stars
    21
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Nuanced novel about Nisei & Sansei

Having lived in California during the late 50s and 60s, I can attest to the racism and violence of many Caucasians, during this period. However, there were still good people, as well, which Mr. Okada writes about. He also conveys some of the inter-generational conflicts between 1st and 2nd generation Japanese, in this country. Expressed are some of the differences in outlook among Japanese-Americans. Some desperately want to prove that they were loyal Americans, which can be cringe-worthy. Others were defiant towards a country that imprisons them, and steals all of their property and worldly goods. The conflicts still exist today.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Haunting in both the story and the author’s legacy

I have family who were in the American concentration camps. They talk about it but never of the hardship in any way other than facts. They might as well be reading the week’s weather or their grocery list. No-No Boy gives the thoughts and raw emotions of two generations of family who were broken and struggling to heal. Makes me wonder how much healing is possible in a community of silent perseverance. I’m so glad I stumbled upon this book and I hope many more do as well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Moving beyond words

John Okada’s novel needs to be read by Americans for its recounting of this shameful period in our country’s history and the poignancy of its message today. Thank you, Mr. Okada. I am grateful for your excellent work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Renown Author worth reading!

Enjoyed every minute! Too short and yet deeply moving. This is our American writer who ranks high right along Mark Twain.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Real Page-Turner

If John Olkada had not written this book, a huge piece of Japanese-American history would be lacking. I felt very enlightened by his novel. As a school teacher of English and History this enriches what little I know about the internment and those who experienced it first hand. It’s a rich story that gives us a window into those lovely Japanese who were so badly mistreated during WWII.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

thoroughly enjoyed

a glimpse at the life of post WWII Japanese Americans on the West Coast of USA. very enlightening. a great and unforgotten story and writer.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another Aspect


an interesting take on some of the untold history of Japanese Americans in the Northwest during WW2

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Liberating and enriching!

A great story from a point of view that needed to be told. Courage comes in many forms indeed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful piece of lost art

Loved the layers and the character development. Quite heavy while rewarding! Sad that his second book will never see the light of day

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic American story

Beautifully nuanced development of thought and action of the characters and broad exploration of the political and cultural paradoxes shared by all American immigrants conflicted by their ethnic identity

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!