Originally published by Weatherhill in 1968. Second edition 1977 by Charles Tuttle Inc. The title is taken from an anonymous senryu: Laughing together, They set out. But they return Silent, separate. Timothy Harris, in his introduction to this new and revised edition, writes that Companions is: ... a comedy that is set in Japan, has mainly Japanese characters, is written by an American, and yet draws on a modernist tradition that is peculiarly English, since the chief influences are the novels of Ronald Firbank, Ivy Compton-Burnett and Henry Green.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
... a wry, affectionate, humourous novel, entirely out of the ordinary, which I shall read again and again ... --James Merrill
... a tale of intricately wrought illusion and refined below-stairs debate ... this most delicate of dramas yet encompasses hatred, love, and death ... told with loving humor and nostalgia for the old Japan --The New Yorker
... undoubtedly one of the finest novels by a foreign author ever to come out of Japan ... an amazing grasp of the Japanese psyche. --The Japan Times
... a tale of intricately wrought illusion and refined below-stairs debate ... this most delicate of dramas yet encompasses hatred, love, and death ... told with loving humor and nostalgia for the old Japan --The New Yorker
... undoubtedly one of the finest novels by a foreign author ever to come out of Japan ... an amazing grasp of the Japanese psyche. --The Japan Times
About the Author
Donald Richie first came to Japan in 1947 and worked for the Pacific Stars and Stripes. He graduated from Columbia University in 1953 and then returned to Japan to work as film critic at The Japan Times. He lives in Tokyo where he has written and edited over fourty books.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Real Insight of the Japanese,
By Jason T. Fetters "Horror Fanboy & Japanologist" (Tampa, FL The Sunshine State) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)
This review is from: Companions of the Holiday (Paperback)
Great novel from long time Tokyo Resident, Donald Richie, that has a definite Ozu flavor to the novel's structure and ending. The novel is told from the perspective of Japanese servants working for an American homeowner in the Roppongi Hills area of Tokyo. If you ever wondered what the Japanese really think of Americans in Japan, this carefully crafted story shows the reader the true Japanese inner psyche. The Japanese are drawn up as real people with common good traits and faults alike and are not reduced to prejudiced stereotypes. Americans are also shown as real people and that's what makes the novel work. A very mature view of both cultures that is very rare to find with so much Orientalism in past literature. Richie never disappoints and you may want to read Tokyo Nights, Memoirs of the Warrior Kumagai, and A View from the Chuo Line and Other Stories for more examples of Richie's fiction.
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