No-No Boy is placed in the post-World War 2 setting of a Japanese-American student, Ichiro Yamada, formerly attending the Washington University. Returning back to his home in Seattle, the protagonist faces social unacceptance and marginalisation for his non-participation in the war for America against Japan from both his family and community. Ichiro’s struggles reveal the bitter violence and racism of post-war America, questioning identity and loyalty.

John Okada was considered to be the first established Japanese-American novelist, releasing only one novel, No-No Boy, through his lifetime. Okada was a student at Washington University when the Pearl Harbour incident occurred and consequently imprisoned at the Minidoka War Relocation centre in 1942. Okada served for the American army soon later as a communications interceptor and translator. His experiences through the war and after became the centre of his inspiration for the novel – published in 1956.

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