By Martin Cruz Smith Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: This is a fascinating snapshot of life in Japan on the brink of war, told through the eyes of one of the rare foreign residents Martin Cruz Smith isn’t a Japan expert, but he’s cracking goodContinueContinue reading “December 6”
Tag Archives: Book Review
Book News
Entertaining stuff you may have missed because you have a life If you’re suffering from Too Much Jonelle, run! Save yourself! Guest blog, podcast & video roundup If you’re already suffering from Too Much Jonelle, run! Save yourself! But I don’t often blog or newsletter about the how-to and craft of writing, or the storiesContinueContinue reading “Book News”
Idoru
By William Gibson Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: This book imagines a Japan that’s mesmerizing in its projections of near-future pop culture and chillingly prescient in predicting the kind of world that current technology is forging right now I’ve always thought it’s a shame toContinueContinue reading “Idoru”
The Last Tea Bowl Thief
By Jonelle Patrick It would obviously be a little weird for me to review my own book, so instead I’m going to point you over to Tokyo Authority, which beat the other reviews out of the gate because October 20th came a day earlier in Japan than in America! Click here to read what theyContinueContinue reading “The Last Tea Bowl Thief”
The Tale of Murasaki
By Liza Dalby Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: If you love historical novels, this beautifully imagined tale really brings 11th century Japanese court intrigues to life You probably recognize Liza Dalby as the author of Geisha and Kimono, the highly acclaimed books that came outContinueContinue reading “The Tale of Murasaki”
Book Review & Giveaway AUGUST 2020
CLIMB By Susan Spann This month’s book giveaway is Susan Spann’s wry and moving new memoir, CLIMB. Two and a half years ago, her life appeared to be rocketing along quite nicely—not only was she a successful lawyer, she was jaunting off for extended annual stays in Japan to write a popular mystery series. NoContinueContinue reading “Book Review & Giveaway AUGUST 2020”
Two reviews: Claws of the Cat / Climb
By Susan Spann Book #1: CLAWS OF THE CAT Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: A beyond-the-history-books journey into the fascinating and uneasy lives of the first foreigners allowed to stay in Japan Claws of the Cat is a tale set in the fascinating 16th-century period inContinueContinue reading “Two reviews: Claws of the Cat / Climb”
Shinjū
By Laura Joh Rowland Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: A well-researched and deeply entertaining crime read, set in samurai-era Japan Who hasn’t wondered what it would have been like to live in a more chivalrous era, when warriors kept order with the world’s sharpest swords,ContinueContinue reading “Shinjū“
The Essential Haiku
Edited by Robert Hass Setting & details: N/AAuthenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Entertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: The most enjoyable book of haiku in the whole world I’m going to admit a shameful secret: I’m not a poetry reader. Except for this poetry. For some reason, whenever I sit down for five minutesContinueContinue reading “The Essential Haiku”
Where the Dead Pause and the Japanese Say Goodbye
by Marie Mutsuki Mockett Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: Thought provoking and insightful This is the book that made me want to visit Koya-san. The author takes us along on her own search for meaning in the wake of her father’s death, and visits allContinueContinue reading “Where the Dead Pause and the Japanese Say Goodbye”
Newcomer
by Keigo Higashino Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐Entertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: Extremely engaging and satisfying In this Edgar-nominated mystery, Nihonbashi detective Koichiro Kaga pursues the killer of a recently-divorced middle-aged woman, solving all the little mysteries that crop up along the way as he eliminates suspects, one byContinueContinue reading “Newcomer”
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