8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review from DailyCandy.com, October 9, 2004
This review is from: I Love Lord Buddha (Paperback)
"Karmic Relief"
10/01/2004
Clients. Can't live with them, can't light them on fire.
They bombard you incessantly with insipid questions and jerky
demands. You answer every one with apparent delight. They tell
inane jokes and chew with their mouths open. You laugh
uproariously through all five courses.
"They'll get theirs in the next life," you reassure yourself
after that "accidental" ass grab at the last brainstorm. But
what if someone sped up the process? Enter Hiyoko, the ballsy,
hyper-cool heroine of "I Love Lord Buddha," first-time novelist
Hillary Raphael's breathtaking romp through Tokyo in the '90s.
Equal parts insatiable nymphomaniac, mesmerizing guru, and self-
destructive firebrand, Hiyoko leads a revolt against the karmic
drain that is Japan's adult-entertainment industry.
The tale of Hiyoko's transformation from jaded American wanderer
to ethereal neo-geisha revolutionary spurts piecemeal from the
mouths of delicious characters like her sensible cousin, her
love-struck shrink, her fellow hostess followers, and the
Tokyo police.
Written entirely in lowercase and often a bit ... racy (read: NC-
17), the hypnotic story barrels along at breakneck pace until
the clients of Tokyo get their (karmic) just desserts.
If only this would befall your clients before they could order
their chocolate ones.
DailyCandy.com
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My latest favorite novel!, October 12, 2004
This review is from: I Love Lord Buddha (Paperback)
Funny, sexy, outrageous, fast-paced, mystical, and riveting, you must read this book in one sitting! No beginning, middle, or end, only non-stop hallucinated action frenzy, punctuated by saturated gorgeous scenes. My only regret is that the actual Tokyo I know is nowhere near as wild and hypnotic as Raphael depicts it.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Spiritual Adventure, October 14, 2004
This review is from: I Love Lord Buddha (Paperback)
As a practicing Buddhist, I connected on a personal level to the tenets so playfully explored in this work of (quasi-)fiction. The story weaves its way through many of the central contradictions facing Buddhists in a consumer society. At the same time, it is essentially a "comedy" in the sense that absurdity pervades every page of this episodic novel. Characters are more like caricatures-- however, the reader is never condescended to, but always compicit with "the joke". I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to engage in the contemporary urban spiritual dialogue.
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