Big in Japan: A Ghost Story (Kami Books) [Paperback]

M. Thomas Gammarino (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kami Books | Publication Date: November 1, 2009

“From Susie Wong to Madame Butterfly to Miss Saigon: you might think that we've had enough of American men adventuring, scoring, and coming undone in the Far East. But you'd be wrong. Gammarino's Big in Japan is a shrewd and lively book, sharp-eyed and unsparing in its account of a young American's good and very bad moments overseas. The writing is wired and the ultimate judgement is merciless. It's seductive and it's devastating.” —PF Kluge, author of Eddie and the Cruisers and Gone Tomorrow

While playing to lackluster crowds in their hometown of Philadelphia, progressive rock band Agenbite clings to the comforting half-truth that they're doing better in Japan. When their manager agrees to send them on a shoestring tour of that country, however, they're swiftly forced to give up their illusions and return stateside.

All by one of them, that is.

Brain Tedesco, the band's variously haunted chief composer, has fallen in love with a part-time sex worker—the first woman ever to have touched him—and his illusions have only just begun. What ensues is a Dantesque coming-of-age tale in which Brain must navigate the borderlands between fantasy and reality, past and present, sex and death—even as forces beyond his control conspire to undo him.

By turns compassionate and ruthless, erotic and grotesque, riotously serious and deadly funny, Big in Japan is a sparkling, gut-wrenching, face-melting debut novel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“In Brain, Gammarino has created a perfect hero for the Age of Anxiety. Propelled by the author’s knack for both pitch-perfect dialogue and startling metaphors, the reader follows Brain on an ill-fated tour of the Land of the Rising Sun, where he loses his band but finds himself in slow, painful, hilarious fashion.” —Ron Currie Jr., author of Everything Matters! and God is Dead.

“This book will make you wonder if you've ever had sex. I mean ever really had sex, and if you haven't, should you? It's a book that takes on the big questions. Can desire be quenched? What is enlightenment? To find out you much become the brains of a rock band that goes sky high while you descend literally to the bowels of the Earth. Above all this is a serious book (by a terrific writer), painful, soulful, and at the same time one of the funniest books I've ever read. Gammarino is first rate.” —Robert Shapard, editor of New Sudden Fiction: Short-Short Stories from America and Beyond

"Think a more jocular Joshua Furst, a much smarter Chuck Palahniuk. Think a hipper cross-cultural version of Tom Wolfe’s I Am Charlotte Simmons as narrated by the suitors." — Kevin T.S. Tang, KGB Lit Journal

"Self- and sex-obsessed, Brain is an easy character to despise. It is to Gammarino's credit that we remain interested in him as he spirals downward" — David Cozy, Japan Times

"Gammarino writes with the self-assurance and narrative voice of a well-seasoned (and well-traveled) professional." — Danielle Dreger-Babbitt, Seattle Books Examiner

"Gammarino shows real promise as an author who can crack open the head of a warped individual and show us the rot inside." — Paul Constant, The Stranger

About the Author

M. Thomas Gammarino has an MFA in creative writing from The New School and is pursuing a Ph.D. in English at the University of Hawaii. In 2000-01, he was a Fulbright Fellow in creative writing at Kyoto's Doshisha University. Some of his recent short fiction has appeared in The New York Tyrant, The Adirondack Review, Word Riot, and Sliptongue.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Chin Music Press Inc. (November 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974199591
• ISBN-13: 978-0974199597
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,811,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Debut, November 25, 2009

By 

C. Criscuolo "morrigirl" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Big in Japan: A Ghost Story (Kami Books) (Paperback)

At turns crass and cerebral, "Big in Japan" captures the distinctive blend of ambivilence and desperation that characterizes the transition from childhood to adulthood.

It's risky to place an emotionally stunted character at the apex of a novel, and Brain Tesdesco is nothing if not stunted. But Gammarino imbued him with a naked vulnerability that was both endearing and relatable. Even when Brain's behavior crosses the line from self-defeating into selfish and cruel, I couldn't write him off as just another man behaving badly. His motivations were far too complex and his psyche too broken for me to turn on him. Gammarino deserves a world of credit for creating a character whose humanity is never eclipsed by his moronic behavior.

Brain's insatiable desire to do and be something more than the anxious, insecure, angry boy that he is leads him to a life of debauchery. He gluts himself on sex until the activity becomes toxic; a mechanical act that he no longer enjoys but can't bring himself to stop. At it's core "Big in Japan" isn't just a coming-of-age story. It isn't just about sex or sexism or fetishism. It's about learning to balance the desires of the body with those of the heart.

Gammarino's writing is strong and evocative. Normally, I'm a serial reader. I finish one book and dive straight into another. I couldn't do that with Big in Japan. I had to take two days to emotionally process the story before I could bring myself to start a new book, that's how much it got to me.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!, July 13, 2011

By 

B. Brennan - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Big in Japan: A Ghost Story (Kami Books) (Paperback)

I LOVED this book. It was incredible! Instead of giving you some potential spoilers, I say just go read this book. I really connected with it, being an indie musician myself from Philly who has traveled to Japan. I'm still thinking about it daily and it's been a few weeks since I finished it. Gammarino is a GREAT writer. I highly recommend this book, I think it has a lot to offer for different types of readers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Ghost Story With Life We Can Relate To, March 21, 2011

By 

Iscariot - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big in Japan: A Ghost Story (Kami Books) (Paperback)

The best books are ones that affect us beyond the sum of their story line. While Big In Japan is an admittedly fun, casual and sometimes absurd tale of a young musician seeking to strike it big with his band, the real value of this book comes from the remarkable ways in which its protagonist represents those emotions and troubles that are so often ignored in stories of budding rock stars.

I might start by saying that I've worked in the music industry for years. As a result I found myself challenging Brain Tedesco - our leading man - on his imaginary perspective of the world of music. If he mentioned a band, I double checked with myself to make sure I had an opinion on it. We've all read books where we sympathized with a character, but this is the first time that I've found myself actively negotiating with the pages I was reading, as though I could somehow persuade the plot line or distract it from the next inevitable twist just long enough to argue a detail about a particular rock band. (In fact, it turns out that Brain and I had a lot in common in terms of musical taste.) This was the first sign I had that Gammarino had really hit something on the head in constructing his character.

The real grace of this book, however, comes from Brain's inner struggle with growing up. As he struggles to find a way to move his band forward, he gets lost in his own process of maturation. He's incredibly thoughtful, but is often too careless and crass with his emotions, too pompous to set himself aside and recognize his responsibilities to himself and those around him. Like so many other stories of rock stars, he becomes obsessed with a sort of destiny that he feels is owed to him and attempts to reap the rewards of his existence without properly working for them. Most notably, he dives head first into a world bubbling with perverted sexuality, barely masking his need for love and connection at a time when he has none, even with himself. As always, part of this is circumstantial; but by the end of the story we find that even he recognizes that the biggest holes in his life are ones that could have been avoided. Until the final pages, it isn't apparent why Big In Japan is subtitled "A Ghost Story." At the end of the book however, when we evaluate where Brain has been and how he has perceived his journey through life, it's easy for anyone to remember a time in their life when they've felt similarly. Feelings of remorse, frustration, and a yearning to not be left alone are central to Brain's ambitions. As the reader we may have different goals in life, but we can all relate to the crushing reality of feeling defeated by those things we are most passionate about. Although Brain's situation is unique, his story is personal to us all.