ZACHARY

In Kamada’s historical novel, a teenage boy travels to Japan and witnesses the devastation wrought by World War II.

Zachary Whitlock is a young man of the Quaker faith living on Bainbridge Island in Washington. World War II has only recently come to a close, and Zachary is on a quest to find his purpose. Being Quakers, his family members are known as conscientious objectors; this status, combined with their close relationship with their Japanese American neighbors, the Miyotas, has made them targets of bigotry. An acquaintance, the actual historical figure Floyd Schmoe (“A Quaker. A conscientious objector. Almost a legend”), tells Zachary of the newly formed Heifer Project and its efforts to bring livestock to Japan to help the Japanese people rebuild after bombings by the United States. Zachary decides to join the cause and help shepherd more than 200 goats across the Pacific Ocean. To join Schmoe on his mission, Zachary must enlist in the Coast Guard, which is in direct defiance of his family’s deeply held religious beliefs. Zachary chooses not to enlist, but when the requirement to join the Coast Guard is suspended, Zachary quickly begins the long, sometimes perilous, journey overseas aboard the SS Contest. Zachary survives seasickness and typhoons on his way to Japan; once there, he is met with the harsh realities of the United States’ targeted firebombing and nuclear attacks that have claimed countless innocent Japanese lives. Part historical fiction, part travelogue, Kamada’s novel sensitively explores the aftermath of devastation and atrocity left out of most history lessons. Zachary is an empathetic figure and a relatable conduit for such an eye-opening story; however, his position as a white male hints at the “white savior” trope, which is only partially mitigated by the historical context of the Heifer Project. Ultimately, though, this an earnest, well-researched novel and a worthy exploration of an often overlooked piece of history.

An eye-opening story about the atrocities of World War II.