Customer Reviews

Gasa-gasa Girl

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

 

 

Old Masao Arai, American-born L.A. gardener and survivor of Hiroshima, is a character who grows on you. In this second book in what looks to become a series, Mas has been called across the country to Brooklyn by his daughter, who has married an Anglo named Lloyd -- who, Mas discovers, is also a gardener and a student of the Japanese style. "Gasa-gasa" means "always on the move" and that certainly describes Mari Arai Jensen. When the benefactor of the foundation that owns the garden where Lloyd works is mudered, everyone involved is pointing fingers in different directions, except that several of them end up pointing at Mari. Mas, well aware of having never been the best of fathers, takes upon himself the job of solving the killing to protect his extended family. He's aided by Tug Yamada, Nisei war hero and all-around straight-arrow, who's also visiting in New York, and by his network of cronies back on the coast. Things get dicey more than once, but Mas is a stubborn o ld coot and he keeps at it. The author has a gift for empathetic characterization and dialogue, and for efficient description in a scene. Her prose is direct and unpretentious, and I look forward to more stories about these guys.

No Spoilers. Gasa-Gasa Girls a faster paced novel then the first book. The mystery is as good as good as the first book the characters are really good and the the is solid.
You should read the first Mas book or you may be a little lost.

This is my first time reading Hirahara - and probably my last.

I really can't add to the plot summaries already on the page, so straight to my review.

As evidenced by the three stars I gave the book, it's not a poorly written book. I imagine that some folks would and do like it and I've heard good things about the author before.

I had two main problems with the book: the plot and the main character.

Honestly, the plot was overly simple and, well, boring. A murder mystery should have suspense, or at leat (for some) humor. This had neither. I really didn't care who was murdered or why. There was no impetus to turn the page.

The main character, Masa, was really rather unlikeable. There was very little that was engaging or even sympathetic. He just seemed a dull, bitter, and slighly racist old man. That would be an okay start if there was some sort of character development - something that brought depth to his character, but the fact is that Masa and many of the other characters in the book were very one-note.

Unfortunately, this was a dull read and I really don't see myself reading the author again.

Naomi Hirahara is one of the best authors out there. Gasa Gasa Girl and Big Bachi are wondeful reading. American-Japanese culture mixed in with a suspense, a must read for those who love suspense novels

This is the 2nd Mas Arai mystery but I read them out of order. I actually read her third mystery first and her first mystery second and this one last.

As far as I can tell they are all about the same. The mysteries are complex and difficult to solve although the books are quite short. Except for the daughter, the so-called "gasa-gasa girl" the characters are interesting and unique. I read a review that her use of Japanese words and phrases was frustrating because she gave no definitions so I paid careful attention when reading this book and I did not find that to be the case here. Perhaps that was a problem with the first book. I think most people would find this enjoyable.

Talk about a Sophomore Jinx! After what appeared to be a brilliant start with her first novel, The Big Bachi, Naomi Hirahara serves up this stinker. I don't know who should be more embarrassed: her, for writing it, or me, for previously recommending her.

Some of the problems: a preposterous plot, unlikely clues, characters you don't care about (especially Mas' daughter, who seems anything but the promised Gasa-Gasa), gratuitous Japanese language insertions, unconvincing dialect, extended and tedious descriptions of the mundane (she persists in treating the subway as an exotic "underground train" and describing in depth how to ride it), and explaining the simplest things as if writing for a 12 year old.

Stick to her first book.