East Is East (Contemporary American Fiction) [Paperback]

T.C. Boyle (Author)

Book Description

Series: Contemporary American Fiction | Publication Date: August 1, 1991

A young Japanese seaman jumps ship off the coast of Georgia and washes ashore on a barrier island inhabited by a strange mix of rednecks, descendents of slaves, genteel retired people, and a colony of artists. The result is a sexy, savagely hilarious tragicomedy of thwarted expectations, mistaken identity, love, jealousy and betrayal. "An absolutely stunning work, full of brilliant cross-cultural insights."--The New York Times Book Review.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Offspring of a young Japanese woman and a spaced-out American hippie briefly entranced with Japan, Hiro Tanaka grows up scorned as a half-breed in his racially pure homeland. So when he nears America aboard the sailing vessel on which he serves as cook's assistant, Hiro literally jumps ship. He's sure that in America a man of mixed race can easily fit in, but he's in for a big surprise. Landing on Tupelo Island near Georgia, he inadvertently frightens a number of witless residents and thus finds himself a hunted man. He is briefly protected by Ruth Dershowitz, a resident at a writers' colony on the island, but her motives are mixed: she's mostly interested in Hiro as an experience that will enhance her writing and highly developed sense of self. Indeed, virtually everyone in this picaresque novel acts primarily from self-interest; even our Hiro comes across as something of an anti-hero, self-pitying if vulnerable. Boyle's lucid prose charges ahead wrecklessly, sweeping readers along as it effortlessly blends the story of Hiro's plight with that of the writers' colony. But Boyle's unrelieved indictment of prejudice at times seems one-dimensional, his characters so bigoted, foolish, or otherwise unengaging that we are left longing for some sign of human dignity. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/90.
- Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (August 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140131671
• ISBN-13: 978-0140131673
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #176,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

T. C. Boyle is the author of eleven novels, including World's End (winner of the PEN/FaulknerAward), Drop City (a New York Times bestseller and finalist for the National Book Award), and The Inner Circle. His most recent story collections are Tooth and Claw and The Human Fly and Other Stories.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thought-provoking read, March 26, 2001

By 

Judith Bradley - See all my reviews

This review is from: East Is East (Contemporary American Fiction) (Paperback)

There are some highly comedic scenes in this novel of a young seaman of Japanese-American parentage who finds himself in the midst of a Georgia swamp after jumping ship, but the reader is soon aware that it is the aura of impending doom which makes this story compelling. The tension increases chapter by chapter as we watch helplessly as ironic misunderstandings and prejudices bring about an inevitable tragic ending. The prejudice goes both ways; the Japanese-American seaman has as many skewed views of the Americans he finds on the Georgia Island as they do of him. This is really two stories in one as the writers' colony and the shallow, self-important people who inhabit it are a story unto themselves. The author's vivid descriptions of the Georgia swamplands are actually uncomfortable to read; one starts scratching at imaginary bug-bites while turning pages. The sad fact is that young Hiro Tanaka is not at home anywhere; as a gaijin, or half-breed, he has no place in Japanese society, and the welcome he thought he would find in America - the melting pot - is far from what he had dreamed. Boyle is a gifted writer, and East is East is as good as anything else he has written.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny, Beautifully Written, Ulitmately Dark, December 18, 1999

By 

Christopher Weaver "weaverc" (Wayne, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: East Is East (Contemporary American Fiction) (Paperback)

T.C. Boyle is a wonderful writer, but his view of humanity certainly is a dark one. Yes, the characters--except for Hiro Tanaka--are shallow, but I kept wanting them to be something better than they were. If the book were filled with nothing more than shallow characters, then it wouldn't be such a gripping read. But they have moments of promise. The fact that they don't live up to these moments is what makes Boyle's worldview so depressing and what leaves such a bad taste in my mouth at the end. But that's arguing with Boyle as a philospher--as a writer, he's superb.

Boyle takes a special glee in the debunking of romantic myths, institutions and characters. In THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE it's the Kellog cereal empire. In WATER MUSIC it's the British exploration of Africa. Still, his attitude towards his fellow man seems a bit warmer in THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE (though not in WATER MUSIC). Both of these are great novels as well.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars America as an Alligator Pit, January 2, 2002

By 

Jason Baer - See all my reviews

This review is from: East Is East (Contemporary American Fiction) (Paperback)

East Is East had been billed to me as one of the finer books by one of the finer writers in America today. I have a great weakness for stories about writers, and as this book featured a writers' colony as its center stage, I chose it over some of T.C. Boyle's better known novels and collections of short stories.

At it's heart, this story proposes the anti-American dream as reality. A young man, Hiro Tanaka, jumps ship off a Japanese steamer and swims ashore on an island off the coast of Georgia. Instead of discovering a land where people reach out to embrace him, he discovers a land where he is a wanted fugitive and the only people who reach out to help are really trying to help themselves. As a "half-breed" born of a Japanese mother and an American father, Hiro had always seen America as the City of Brotherly Love where no one would care what kind of blood he had flowing through his veins. But in very little time he learns that America can be as vicious and unwelcoming as its inhabitants, and that the American Dream is nothing short of a sham.

At times, Boyle is so wrapped up in setting off literary fireworks that he seems to get sidetracked from his plot; however, the fireworks can be amazing at times, so it's hard to hold this against him. His characterizations are wonderful, and the story hardly ever loses its pace. I wouldn't call this the greatest contemporary American novel I've come across, but it's a damn good one.