Flight Paths of the Emperor [Hardcover]

Steven Heighton (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: GRANTA BOOKS (1992)
• ASIN: B000OJLODO
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A Mixed Bag, December 7, 2001

By 

Evan A Genest (Hsinchu Taiwan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flightpaths of the Emperor (Paperback)

This is a collection of autobiographical short stories from a university student who travels to Japan to teach English.

I enjoyed the author's account of growing up in his Canadian household. Heighton writes very expressively about what it feels like to be a small kid, Dad zipping in and out of the house to foreign lands, parents fighting, hiding under a table when the domestic situation got violent, and later, as a teenager, a frank conversation with his mom over a Labatts.

I also enjoyed the account of weird, oldschool, 1950's, post-War coffeehouses. Best of all was the chapter where he describes applying for, and being hired to work as a waiter in a Japanese restaurant. Heighton frankly admits that he speaks little Japanese and then describes his encounters with the patrons and staff which will make any foreign expatriate or ex restaurant worker smile in recognition.

As good as those chapters were, I couldn't finish any of the other chapters of the book. This book is worth the price if you buy it in paperback or used.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, May 4, 2001

By 

Gary Warnock (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flightpaths of the Emperor (Paperback)

A wonderful book, brilliantly written, and I recomend it to anyone who appreciates good literature.