Customer Reviews

Love in Translation: A Novel

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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Celeste has fond memories of her Aunt Mitch, a Japanese woman who treated her kindly as a child. This was before Celeste's mother died, before Aunt Mitch moved away, before Celeste found herself in foster homes without any family at all.

Now Celeste is 33 years old, and has just found out her Aunt Mitch died, leaving her as the next of kin. She receives a package of photos, momentos, Aunt Mitch's ashes, and a single home movie that shows Celeste as a tiny child, being doted on by a man she doesn't recognize. Celeste's mind reels. Could this man be the father she's never known? Aunt Mitch left written instructions for Celeste to find her estranged sister and return these belongings to her, so Celeste starts off on a grand adventure to Japan, to seek out her aunt's sister and, if she's lucky, gain some insight into her own past.

I really liked the descriptions of Japan in this book; it seems like a fascinating country. It was interesting to read about Celeste trying to navigate a place so culturally different from her own home, especially as she didn't speak the language.

I found Celeste herself to be rather uninteresting, though. She did some drawing and some singing, and she was trying to track down her father, but she didn't seem passionate about anything. She seemed to really dislike her boyfriend, Dirk, but didn't do anything about it except ignore him while on her trip. She liked Takuya, but was completely passive about their relationship, agonizing over why he wouldn't make a move while refusing to make one herself. Celeste just seemed too weak to carry this story.

Celeste, a young woman determined to find her place in life (and the world), is a wonderfully drawn character. Her journey to discover her roots takes her from San Jose to Japan and treats us to a wonderful story filled with a bit of mystery, a bit of family-tree sleuthing, and a great deal of heart.

Wendy Tokunaga's descriptions of life in Japan are vivid and enormously enjoyable. I was swept away and embraced by a culture that, before reading this book, I knew very little about.

Twists and surprises abound, as does humor and tenderness. LOVE IN TRANSLATION was a joy to read.

Celeste is an American 30-something at somewhat of a crossroads in life, determined to find her place in the world. At exactly the moment when she needs it, a package arrives from a long lost relative that takes her from America to Tokyo to discover the Japanese roots she didn't know she had. Little does Celeste know this journey is also about finding life and love. I felt she was a wonderfully drawn character, and you definitely root for her, even if at times you want to give her a little nudge. Celeste's journey is full of mystery, family-tree sleuthing, and a lot of heart. I loved Tokunaga's descriptions of Japan and the incredible people Celeste meets. I knew only a little about the modern culture of Tokyo but was swept away with Celeste as she discovered life and love there. Recommended.

I just loved the portrayal of the Japanese homestay experience in Love in Translation. I've had a few homestay experiences myself and they are always real eye-openers into Japanese culture. Celeste's hilarious homestay experience where the homestay mother invites her friends over to see the foreigner and have her sing for them, was right on. And Sakura's character was also so funny, and so true. Great insights on Japan!

The editorial and reader reviews describe this novel in (more than?) enough detail. It is after all a novel, a story, and I for one only want from a review help in knowing if I want to read the book, not a substitute for reading it. I would only add to what has already been said, that this is escapist literature but of the very best kind. It is not a guide to living in Japan - it is not the typical experience of a gaijin who speaks no Japanese - to the contrary, it is essentially a fairy tale which stretches right to the edges of believability. Most of all - and this is awfully rare today - this is a book which leaves you feeling better than you did when you started it. I loved it.

Celeste Duncan has lead a hard life. She never knew her
father, her mother died when she was young, she moved from
foster home to foster home all her life; never finding a
permanent family, and her boyfriend is always criticizing
her music. She just feels stuck. But when an unexpected
phone call tells her about her late aunt, she must travel
to Tokyo to return the family heirlooms and possibly find
some clues about her father. With her cute homestay
brother, Takuya, they travel Japan trying to find her
family. But things get tough with her nosy homestay
mother, Takuya's ex girlfriend, and her music career.
Will she ever find the family of her dreams?

This book was very good! Celeste is nice, her Japanese
teacher, Mariko, is funny, Takuya is cute, and his ex,
Sakura is annoying. Everything is right. There are a lot
of Japanese words and traditions that are well-explained.
This book makes me want to go to Japan! Love in
Translation did not end the way I thought it would, but I
like this ending better! I could really see this book as
a blockbuster film!

Note: There are a few sexual references,
and one sex scene.

Reviewed by a young adult student reviewer
Flamingnet Book Reviews
Teen books reviewed by teen reviewers

As much as I loved the novel, Midori by Moonlight which preceded this one, Love in Translation was even better. Ms. Tokunaga takes some of the same themes - cross-cultural romantic relationships and misunderstandings, a likeable, believable 'maiden in distress', a Japanese backdrop - and develops them much more. The descriptions of Japan and its people were vividly and objectively described, and all the characters- even the lesser ones- were complex and well-developed. Yet, the writing style appears deceptively simple, as only a skilled writer can make it appear. Wendy Nelson Tokunaga is on a roll with these two novels, and I look forward to what she dreams up next!

In Wendy Tokunaga's second novel, Love in Translation, American Celeste Duncan, a thirtysomething aspiring musician who was brought up in foster homes, goes to Japan, Land of Hello Kitty, to find out the truth out her father. Tokunaga strikes just the right balance between serious and silly in this coming-of-age story for adults. Her best work yet.

I loved Celeste, the protagonist of "Love in Translation," from page 1. Anyone who has ever longed to find her right place in the world or aspired to seemingly unreachable dreams will enjoy following this funny and self-deprecating heroine on her adventures in Japan.

In order to honor an aunt's final request, and hoping this might lead to revealing secrets of her own family history, Celeste goes to Japan with no knowledge of the culture or language. Through her eyes the reader will experience the cuisine, customs, pop culture, art and dynamics of this fascinating and sometimes baffling country. For those familiar with Japanese culture, everything will ring true, from the pronunciations of Japanese-English, to the complex attitudes towards foreigners. This story was clearly written by someone who has not only been there and experienced some of the cross-cultural intricacies firsthand, but who also has a deep love for Japan and all of its quirks and rich offerings.

The tone is emotionally restrained with humorous observations worked in, but beneath this is a moving story with much depth. Every so often, emotions caught me by surprise as Celeste revealed bit by bit glimpses of a lonely childhood and a lifelong search for belonging. Finally, fate seems to have handed her clues to the secrets of her past, her identity, and maybe even a path to claiming a real family of her own. Intertwined with this personal quest is a delightful romance and a seemingly far-fetched chance at stardom that had me turning the pages and rooting for Celeste to the very end.

I devoured "Love in Translation," which was as delicious, colorful,and satisfying as one of the Japanese dishes Wendy Tokunaga so vividly describes. The heroine's quest for knowlege about her father, her family, her roots take us on an exciting voyage through modern day Japan. In the process we become immersed in Japanese cutlure, customs, language, foods, drinks, landscape, music, hotels, pop culture and even television programs; we experience Japan through the eyes of a delightful, charismatic character who speaks in an authentic, compelling voice; with Celeste as a guide into this new, perplexing and yet exciting land, we learn not only about her needs, fears and fantasies, but also about our own. "Love in Translation" is a book about the complex issue of identity. It is a totally absorbing novel, full of humor,wit, romance and wisdom. It's the kind of novel that satifies all your cravings, and leaves you feeling sorry when you finish the last page. Although the journey we emark on takes place in Japan --and after reading the book, we feel as if we had just visited, or revisited it -- you don't have to be a Japanophile to enjoy it. "Love in Translation" is a novel about the universal human longing for love, connection, achievment; it is impossible to read it and not identify with Celesete or her quest.
Irina Bragin