Customer Reviews

American Fuji: A Novel

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I was born and raised as a Japanese in Japan and now live in the US. This book is hilarious. The author knows the subtle nuance of Japanese language, people, and culture, by reading this book I just laugh so hard for its accuracy and at the same time I'm so embarrased. One of the reader in this section had a negative feedback saying the author had a bad experience in Japan. I disagree. With so many bizzare Japanese ways (thinking, talking, behaving, and believing, etc.) make you want to question how in the world this society indeed operates such a high-tech country, but at the same time this bizzare society is too cracking up to the point that is beyond any hope for changes, it's also so funny and it makes you appreciate that you don't live there unless, of course, you are there for whatever the reason.

Very well researched, studied, and understood by the author. Believe me, it's not easy to grasp this society in such a short time as much as she did.

Sara Backer's American Fuji is a book that you will not be able to put down from the first word to the last word. The adventures of Gaby and Alex are not only absorbing and exotic, they are a unique glimpse into the Japan that IS Japan. Having lived in Japan for eight years, I am pleased to say that Backer's ability not only to choose the right detail but to choose the most interesting, astonishing, revealing, and accurate detail is unparalleled. From Gaby's unusual occupation to the odd tension of dining in a foreign country as everyone watches your every move, every scene presents the atmosphere of Japan as I remember it, but whether you've been to Japan or not, you will have been there once you read this book. The story is compelling, the characters are fascinating, and the imagination that produced this work is engaging, remarkable, and wild--in the finest sense of the word. After a debut like this, I will buy every book Backer ever publishes. Buy it for yourself and for your friend who teaches English in Japan.

It's hard to believe this is Backer's first novelization.

Since I have quite an interest in Japanese culture and language, I found the premise of American Fuji very attractive -- something unusual since my normal fare is that of fantasy and sci-fi. Backer has managed to weave mystery and cultural fish-out-of-water storylines together with a slight dash of romance to make an absolutely magical (and addictive) book that doesn't skimp on action. I was very impressed at how all the pieces that she set up fell into place in the last 1/3 of the book and equally impressed with how three-dimensional the characters -- all the characters -- were. The cultural differences are dealt with, the language accurate...it's simply a wonderful book for anyone of any age, background or sex. Entertaining in the highest degree.

Sara Backer has created an intricate plot that revolves around the death of an American student while studying abroad in Japan. His father travels to a small Japanese town to find out the details of his son's death. Things are revealed which do not match up and the father is thrown into an investigation to discover the facts surrounding this death. The problems begin to mount when an American woman is pulled into the middle of the investigation against her better judgement. The problems become even larger when the cultural differences come into play.
A difference in attitudes towards death, towards open expression of emotion and individualism are so wide apart as to appear insurmountable. The difference in the style of daily living, the cuisine and even the written language pose their own problems.
Sara Backer bases the novel on her experiences while she was a visiting professor at Shizuoka University. The cultural differences are handled with both seriousness and humor to make for an interesting look at life as a foreigner in small town Japan.
American Fuji is also the story of a search for love, acceptance and understanding and what people are willing to trade to gain a firmer footing in these emotional arenas.
I found the description of Mount Fuji wonderfully accurate, including the climb. The thoughts that arise are some of the same thoughts I had when I climbed it. It was both majestic and spiritual just as she writes, it was also a lot more difficult than it looked to be.
This was a great story told by a very talented author about love, life and a cultural gap that can not always be bridged.

After reading this book, and the reviews that others have mentioned here, I felt I must put my own opinion down. As a gaijin who spent 5 years in Japan, I can relate with almost all of the experiences of Gaby Stanton.

This book hit it all right on the mark. Men experience a different Japan than women do. I understand completely how Gaby felt that her "outsider" status with the rest of her life made living with her disease somehow easier.

The one thing the author didn't portray very well was the truely second class status women have in Japan. Perhaps because it would then seem over the top to those that haven't experienced it.

This book is Japan - as it is now, in the eyes of a long time female outsider looking at it. It really tells it like it is - and manages to tell a good story while doing it.

American Fuji is an impressive debut novel that hooked me from page one and didn't let go until I felt like I was standing next to Alex at the top of Mt. Fuji. There are equal doses of humor, romance and suspense layered in this story of two Americans in contemporary Japan. Even though I've never been to Japan, I feel now like I have, thanks to Sara Backer's keen eye and gift for rich description. The characters are nicely drawn and the plot keeps you turning pages. But at the heart of American Fuji is the relationship between Gaby and Alex and this works on every level. I especially applaud the author for having the courage to paint Gaby as such a whole person, complete with personal medical problems. In short, American Fuji is one of the best books I've read in a long time and I look forward to more work from this engaging author.

Although I've never been to Japan, this book took me there. It made me feel what it would be like to live in a culture that is truly "inscrutable" to the average American. The characters are likable, interesting and well-developed. The plot moves along swiftly with surprises at just the right places. It reminds me a little of some of Barbara Kingsolver's books. Both authors write in a fresh way about believable people whose lives manage to work out okay...not happily ever after, just okay. This was a very satisfying read. I was short on sleep several nights because I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to see what Ms Backer writes next!

I thoroughly enjoyed American Fuji. I have lived in Japan, and found the book to be a "virtual reality" experience, recreating most accurately the Japan I knew. I believe Backer's writing will be vivid for those who've never been there, as well. The book worked for me as both a mystery and a romance. I liked the ambiguity and complexity of Gaby and Alex, culminating in the suspension of the ending: some things are resolved, but others are irresolvable. They (and Eguchi, too, who starts out as a clown but is revealed to be a lot more) felt very real. The ending was satisfying without being too satisfying, just as the book as a whole has much of the appeal of genre fiction, but with the depth of 'literature'. American Fuji is a mature and complex novel you'll read cover-to-cover non-stop and then go back and read again.

American therapist Alex Thorn, on tour in Japan, is allegedly promoting his book Why Love Fails. However, Alex has a deeper reason for his trip here. He needs to learn what happened to his son who died while a student in Japan. Alex's son was a practicing Buddhist and thus did not believe in organ donation. When his son died, his body lacked a heart, apparently harvested for transplant use.

The only clue Alex possesses is the cancelled check he made out to "Gone with the Wind," a Disney-like funeral service. Alex meets expatriate American Gaby Stanton, who informs him her company, has no record of his son and the bill is a clever forgery. Together they look for answers and Alex's grief lessens as he comes to care for his companion. She, in turn, learns that she wants to remain in Japan for more than just the medical coverage that helps pay for her health condition.

Sara Barker has written a mainstream drama that is unusual and poignant. The audience gains a unique glimpse into Japanese culture while realizing that when East meets West, anything can happen. AMERICAN FUJI has cross-genre appeal to a wide range of readers who loyally will look for more novels by Ms. Barker.

Harriet Klausner

A great read for me has characters who you can care about - who may be wounded but don't surrender their lives because of this. Secondly, a great read has humnor and originality. Third, a great read teaches me something. This novel achieves all of these criteria.