Customer Reviews

Funny Business: An Outsider's Year in Japan

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

 

 

I read this book several years ago, and could hardly put it down. Everyone I've shared it with felt the same way.

Having lived and worked in Japan, for a Japanese company, I can attest to the accuracy of this book. The author's observations regarding business and social life are as current today as when the book was written. I highly recommend this book as a humerous, yet essential guide to living in Tokyo.

I read Gary's book when it first came out and LOVED it.

For me, the most telling insights were these:
In America, the prevailing axiom is "The squeaky wheel gets the grease". In Japan, it's "The nail that sticks out gets hammered".

Both are forms of emotional blackmail, but one is more intimidating than the other. The truth is, both societies are extremely conformist, but diametrically opposed in the way they achieve conformity.

I also found the incident after his arrival quite telling -- the one where the cab driver requests a map for his destination, despite Gary insisting that the address should be enough until, finally, the Japanese cabbie explains, wearily, that Gary doesn't understand... "Number one house in street is first house built."

So tradition triumphs over logic in a society that seems to defy logic at every turn.

If it does nothing else, it should prepare visitors to Japan to expect the unexpected, and to set aside their notions of how society "should" operate.

I read this book several years ago. It's a wonderfully entertaining read. And while it's not a primer for Japanese culture per se, it shows in great detail the culture shock one man goes through. It just shows how alien another culture can be from someone outside of it. The part that still stands out in my mind today is the English Club at work where they insisted the writer didn't know how to properly speak english as they used some pidgin form of english and japanese!

Very entertaining. Anyone who is interested in japan or their culture should pick this up and read for it's entertainment value.

This book provides valuable insights into what the Ugly American looks like. For that insight alone I award it one star. It is also funny in places, for which I award the second star. My 35-year work experience is in the Western corporate world and this malcontent, self-obsessed, arrogant man would have been a painful employee to have at any company in any part of the world. You actually cringe for the man as you read. The Ugly American goes to a foreign country and is inconvenienced because the people don't speak English, have different customs and worldview and cannot understand his perspective and just generally won't change their foreign ways and dance to his tune. Well, he went there expressly to learn about them, their culture, insights and world views didn't he? That he could not adapt or fit in is a failing on his part, not that of his Japanese hosts. Pshaw!

Having lived in Japan for several years, I found this book to be a sad assault on Japanese culture. It is definitely humourous somewhat like the movie Mr. Baseball, and certain parts did definitely happen to other foreigners in the 1980s, but overall this should not by any means serve as an introduction to Japan and its' culture.