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In "When the Emperor Was Divine," a Japanese-American family is forced to relocate from their comfortable Berkeley home to dusty barracks in Topaz, Utah, the site of a World War II internment camp. Through nameless narrators, author Julie Otsuka explores the disruption, pain and resilience associated with this dark episode of U.S. history.

On Thursday at 12:15 p.m., Salt Lake City Library spokesman Andrew Shaw and Tribune reporters Ellen Fagg Weist and Kathy Stephenson join Jennifer Napier-Pearce to talk about the themes, characters and craft of the novel, which is the October selection of the Tribune's monthly online book club, Utah Lit. 

Watch this online video chat at sltrib.com. You can also join the discussion by sending questions and comments to the hashtag #TribTalk on Twitter and Google+ or texting 801-609-8059.

You can also meet the novelist Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Main Library auditorium, 210 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City. This Salt Lake City Public Library event is one of several taking place this month as part of The Big Read, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Twitter: @jnpearce Utah Lit selection: 'When the Emperor Was Divine'

12:15 p.m. • In "When the Emperor Was Divine," author Julie Otsuka explores the disruption, pain and resilience associated with a family's relocation to the Japanese-American internment camp at Topaz. Salt Lake City Library spokesman Andrew Shaw and Tribune reporters Ellen Fagg Weist and Kathy Stephenson join Jennifer Napier-Pearce to talk about the October selection of the Tribune's online book club, Utah Lit. Watch the video chat at sltrib.com. Join in by sending comments to #TribTalk on Twitter and Google+ . Meet the novelist Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Main Library auditorium, 210 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City. › sltrib.com