The Men in My Country (Sightline Books)
Abildskov's debut memoir follows the travails of a thirtysomething ex-pat in a medium-size city in the Japanese mountains. At 31, Abildskov has no career plans, and is still smarting from a failed stateside relationship. To complicate things in her new environs, she becomes involved with three very different men. Amir is a handsome laborer who works in a noodle shop and sends money home to Iran. Despite his sweetness, he's too young, and he has the distressing habit of wearing bright, primary colors--something that, in Japan, only children do. "The professor," a married historian, is too old and easy to dismiss with his polyester suits and shoes bearing little chains. But Nozaki, a businessman, is just right, until he begins to withdraw from Abildskov's interest. What follows is an astonishing and brutally honest portrait of Abildskov's pursuit of Nozaki. After their brief affair ends, and her passions cool, the author returns to graduate school in the U.S., solitary but ready for the future. Of interest to travelers and those who have humiliated themselves at the altar of love.Rebecca MakselCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved