American Fuji: A Novel
by By Backer, Sara
Category: Fiction , General

"Expect the unexpected. This is Japan." That's Gaby Stanton speaking, trying to explain to Alex Thorn why his questions about the mysterious death of his son, an exchange student at a small Japanese university, are likely to go unanswered. But those words could also serve as the leitmotif for this exuberantly funny tale of Americans abroad in modern-day Japan.After five years in Japan, Gaby herself has learned to expect the unexpected. Fired for no reason from her university position, she has taken the only job available to her: selling fantasy funerals to Japanese clients. And because the firm she works for shipped Cody Thorn's body back to the States, his father has turned up on her doorstep looking for answers. What ensues is a wild ride through the manners, mores, and prejudices of the Japanese.