The Whirlwind (review)

As this short novel opens, fifteen-year-old Ben Friedman and his family have just escaped from Nazi Germany and relocated to Seattle, Washington. When Ben befriends a Japanese-American boy, John, he begins to project his own memories of fear onto the growing prejudice affecting John's family after the bombing of Pearl Harbor; when John's family is sent to an internment camp, a traumatized Ben flees north to Canada and his uncle Isaac. Only when his father brings him back to the United States does Ben begin to see his new country differently. Matas' novel offers a quiet examination of one boy's struggle to understand the terrible circumstances that have fallen upon his family. Unfortunately, the story relies too heavily on plot summary and not enough on character development, so that by the time Ben is at the climax of his troubles, the reader may have little compassion or understanding for his recklessness and distrust; the Book of Job motif (Ben and his father are translating the passages) results in some slow and labored discussions of biblical teachings. There are, however, some interesting plot points—the friendship between a German Jew and a Japanese-American boy in the 1940s—and some valuable themes to explore, such as the way a young teen might deal with circumstances seemingly beyond anyone's control. No historical note is provided.