Review: Absolutely engaging-- coming-of-age novel set in Japan
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 28, 2012
How could a novel, written in "Japlish" (that is, English as spoken by a Japanese student of English who is not yet fluent, per the author) be readable and even enjoyable? Well, I was certainly surprised to find myself engrossed in this touching story of a young Japanese man who loses his father and inherits his janitor-gardener position at a Buddhist temple. Along the way, Hiro learns English from a motherly American woman, and gets involved with an elusive entertainment hostess from a local bar who may or may not be sincere in her sudden interest in him.As we follow Hiro along his adventures in some unnamed city, the author cleverly drops hints that all is not as it seems to the naive Hiro. We sit in a slightly superior position to the protagonist, sometimes guessing or seeing dangers and situations develop that Hiro is oblivious to. We become, like the blonde, large American woman who teaches him, drawn to love and protect him while not really understanding him. And there is so much of a mystery here. Why is the temple in financial difficulties (you'd have to understand what place Pure Land Buddhism holds in Japanese society in part, where the Yakuza gangsters fit in) and what happened to Hiro's mother, who simply disappeared one day.I had the good fortune to work in Japan for a summer and I lived very near a big temple (the section of Tokyo was actually named for this temple.) I felt almost as if I had dropped back into the narrow, maze-like alleys in steamy Tokyo and was following Hiro around as he ate at local bars and fed the koi while he worked on the temple grounds. It brought back some wonderful memories and at the same time, this is a touching story of coming-of-age and life's difficulties for a young man. I really enjoyed it.