“Karen Tei Yamashita deserves to be a literary household name.”—Adam Morgan, Esquire’s “Best Books of 2026”

“Most of us understand that history is often just the victor’s account of how things happened. But the novel’s achievement is that we are forced to experience this insight almost bodily. We feel the weight of the past, all these accumulated voices and perspectives, within and between Yamashita’s novels, as well as the process through which disparate stories, anecdotes, or experiences might coalesce as history.”—Hua Hsu, The New Yorker

“A provocative symphony.”—Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times

“Yamashita, a storyteller of the first order, is having a bit of fun, often a lot of fun, with her subjects. In one chapter, she imagines two heroes of the Japanese American reparations movement discussing historic civil rights cases in the afterlife; in another, we hear the story of Harry Kitano, a pioneering social scientist and U.C.L.A. professor, narrated by his trombone.”—Robert Ito, The New York Times Book Review

“In this innovative polyphonic novel, Yamashita blends archival documents with fictional flourishes. . . . The result is a powerful and lively novel that documents the turmoil endured by internees while raising enduring questions about identity, loyalty, and citizenship.”—Publishers Weekly

“Yamashita’s archival research is astonishing, weighted with polyphonic density . . . yet Yamashita ensures this is no database by quoting and extrapolating records, transcribing and elaborating conversations, and recording and inventing details to create extraordinary testimonies to injustice and resilience.”—Terry Hong, Booklist, starred review

“An ambitious novel that spans many forms, ably crossing oceans and centuries.”—Kirkus Reviews

“[Questions 27 & 28] reveals a concealed corner of American history with depth and nuance.”—Alta Journal

“Now, at this very moment, our government is rounding people up, imprisoning and deporting them—immigrants, refugees, students, workers with legal visas. They are denied due process as the Constitution is being flouted. It is crucial that we read Questions 27 & 28 by Karen Tei Yamashita. Learning what happened not that long ago to American citizens may help us know what actions to take now, legally, politically, heroically.”—Maxine Hong Kingston, author of The Woman Warrior and I Love a Broad Margin to My Life

“With Questions 27 & 28, Karen Tei Yamashita expands the boundaries of the novel, achieving a polyvocal and multimodal environment within the act of engaged reading the work elicits. Questions 27 & 28 challenges the unconscionable incarceration of Japanese Americans with an intricate and intimate testament to the courage, dignity, and creativity of those who dared the alchemy of identity and the integrity of belonging.”—Earl Jackson, Professor Emeritus, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan