Review: Vantage: Japan Culture 'Translated'
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 10, 2012
Ben Stevens is a fascinating writer whose previous book `A Gaijin's Guide To Japan: An Alternative Look At Japanese Life, History And Culture' has gained considerable attention.  But the joy of this new novel BIG SOUND TEMPLE is the style Stevens has elected to use in relating the story: he has created `Japlish' (or `Engrish') and it is a charming marriage of Japanese and English that makes this story sing.Very briefly, Hiro is a young lad who in the opening chapter of the book loses his father and attends the cremation and rituals surrounding that event. He is the one to replace his father as the caretaker of a Buddhist temple.  Yes, there are events in the novel, including a typhoon and its effect on the temple, but primarily this story is a simple coming of age of a young Japanese boy and how he learns to speak English from a very well-drawn character - a heavy, fragrant American woman named Wendy who calls everyone `Honey' - his involvement with a woman named Sakura, and his encounter with the Japanese underground.  All of this is related with the most ingratiating dialogue Hiro uses, his own manner of speaking English that is best illustrated by an excerpt: ` Hiro think he lucky man to go out with the beautiful woman call Sakura. But Sakura also little mental. Also Hiro soon start have much trouble with the gangster man call Bad Boy. Because Bad Boy like Sakura very much.'Ben Stevens is also a musician as well as a writer and perhaps that is one reason his book sings so well!  What may seem like a gimmick rapidly becomes a writing style that will engage every sensitive reader and likely encourage reading the entire book at one sitting. Grady Harp, August 12