<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Great book!
Review: I lived in Japan for 2 years, have read all of the author's works, and teach contemproary literature--this novel (about Japan) satisfies me on all 3 levels. The narrative is engaging, the insights are acute, and the prose is both appealing and skillful. Read it! (Do avoid his "Last of the Savages," however"!)
Rating:
Summary: interesting
Review: I lived in Kyoto some years ago and found this to be a great depiction of life in Japan as an American. It is an interesting story that is hard to tell where it is going, but it certainly held my attention. The ending is worth the wait and I re-read the last few pages several times for it to truely sink in. It stayed with me for sometime...
Rating:
Summary: interesting
Review: I lived in Kyoto some years ago and found this to be a great depiction of life in Japan as an American. It is an interesting story that is hard to tell where it is going, but it certainly held my attention. The ending is worth the wait and I re-read the last few pages several times for it to truely sink in. It stayed with me for sometime...
Rating: 
Summary: A great novel for the most part, but then...
Review: I think that most people have missed the point of the book. It is a simple and elegant story. It is not biting social commentary. It does not give pat and easy answers. It does not beat you over the head with message. It is slow, short and meditative. If you feel that a great book must be "clever" or "shocking", look elsewhere.Many people seem upset that the characters and plot were not fully developed. This is not a story about personalities or a series of events. It is the story of a man driven by memories and circumstance into a search for validation.
Rating:
Summary: as a native Japanese.
Review: I was curious how it would be to read a story that takes place in Kyoto, Japan, which is written by an American. In 1977, Christopher Ransom has lived in an ancient Japanese capital, Kyoto, after his "north-west frontier province" to Pakistan in 1975 where he lost his Austrian friends. The reason he had traveled Asia and settled down in Japan was that Ransom wanted to stay away from U.S., where his father, a successful TV director, lived. Ransom felt as if he were captured by his father, the millionaire. Actually, he was still in father's hands, and was damaged by him even though he was physically far away from him and totally had believed he was living by himself. The practice of karate represents Ransom's aim to live in Japan: It is not only physically but also spiritually purifying and strengthening. Jay McInerney, in third person's point of view, pictured this naive guy's life in an exotic historical town, contrasting aggressive Americans and patient Japanese. It was exciting to find unexpected facts out about Ransom; it's easy to see why McInerney is praised as "a born novelist whom we'll be hearing more and more" by The New York Review Of Books for his first novel Bright Lights, Big City. I was disappointed that the setting was not completely portrayed. As a native Japanese, I felt he did not perfectly draw out the mood of Japan. Bringing in karate as the most effective symbol of Ransom's life in Japan might not let readers understand the setting exactly.
Rating:
Summary: In modern Japan, Ransom learns about karate, life, and death
Review: Jay McInerney does for karate what Robert Pirsig did for Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The book centers around the experiences of an American expatriate recovering from a tragic experience in the Himalayas. Ransom's chosen vehicle -- the study of karate under a sadistic sensei -- illuminates his own character and, through the use of flashbacks, how he became who he is. The book's slow and inevitable climax is no less intense for being utterly predictable. Well-written, by turns screamingly funny and achingly touching, this novel deserves a wider audience than it has
Rating:
Summary: Well worth tracking down.
Review: This is the second novel by Jay McInerney, which surprisingly is not yet published in the UK. Having read all McInerney's other novels it comes as a surprise that this one is not set amongst the bright lights of New York. This is the story of Ransom, who has been living in Kyoto after travelling in Asia. It soon becomes obvious that he is trying to purge himself of a terrible event that happened on his travels. He takes up karate, lives a disciplined life, with only a few ex-pats for friends. McInerney carefully draws the reader into the plot, gradually unfolding the drama from Ramon's past and present. Although his novels are usually set amongst the smart set, who it is often difficult to have any feelings for, that is not the case for the main character in this novel. I'm tempted to say the Ransom is one of the best, fully rounded characters McInerney has created. I feel that this is one of his best novels and would come as a pleasant surprise to those who only know "Bright Lights, Big City" and "The Story of My Success". It's well worth tracking down.
Rating:
Summary: Quiet, compelling, funny.
Review: Very good, not brilliant, very rereadable. Ransom tells the story of a young American ex-pat living in Japan, who tries to lose himself in an ascetic existence, and the study of Karate. There's a certain inevitability to the story, but the end is no less forceful for being predictable. Like its protagonist, the book has a quiet, calm charm. The writing is simple and lucid, and carries you along easily. As always in McInerney novels, the sadder whole is leavened with plenty of humour. The ways in which East and West romanticize each others' cultures provide for some side-splitting moments. The Japanese in the novel are all trying for American cool, and the Americans are all trying to reach Nirvana. A quiet, compelling, entertaining read. Recommended.
<< 1 >>
|
