Customer Reviews

Big in Japan: A Ghost Story (Kami Books)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.