Customer Reviews

One Hundred and One Ways

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

An original coming of age tale and a perceptive reflection of what it means to be a Japanese American are the twin buttresses of One Hundred and One Ways, an impressive debut novel by Mako Yoshikawa.

Choosing as her setting a rampantly vigorous New York City, the author has crafted an exceptional story of three women whose lives are irrevocably intertwined.

By deft use of telling flashback and revelatory conversation Ms. Yoshikawa seamlessly conjoins the past experiences of our narrator, Kiki, a 26-year-old American university student, her mother, Akiko, who lives alone in a well appointed New Jersey home, and her grandmother, Yukiko, a former geisha still in Japan, a woman Kiki has never met but longs to know. Their mutuality rests in each losing the first man she loved.

As Kiki, writes: "In my family, being haunted by a lost love is not even news. I come from a line of women with a tenacious grip on the man in their lives."

More literally haunted than her forebears Kiki finds herself living with a ghost - the wraithlike specter of her dead lover Phillip who appears unbidden "crouching in a fetal position under my desk, and he enjoys folding his long body into an improbably tiny package so he can fit into the fireplace...."

Now engaged to Eric, an up-and-coming young attorney, Kiki finds herself torn by a desire to be what Eric wishes her to be and the continuing grief she feels after Phillip's sudden death. His phantasmic appearances serve only to exacerbate her confusion and sorrow.

Seeking respite from ever growing uncertainty, Kiki eagerly anticipates a Thanksgiving visit from her grandmother, the older woman's first trip to the United States and, hopefully, a time of reconciliation for Akiko and Yukiko who have been estranged for a number of years.

"I have been hoarding questions to ask my grandmother Yukiko," Kiki writes. "These questions start out to be about her life, and then turn out to be about my own."

The affinity Kiki feels for her grandmother is deeper than a blood tie: "....there is a bond that connects my grandmother to me. It is not our physical resemblance that draws us together, nor does it matter that we share the same name. I know that our similarities run deeper than that, for I have thought long and hard about the key to our secret kinship, and it is this: what a geisha is to Japan, a Japanese woman is to America."

That thought is at the heart of this engrossing, magnetic tale. Ms. Yoshikawa, descended from a long line of samurai and the great-granddaughter of a geisha, has created characters for whom we care and will remember. One Hundred and One Ways introduces a thoughtful, provocative new voice to the annals of American fiction.

I am an Asian-American woman who just recently returned from a first-time trip to Korea. I finished this book upon my return and I am glad I waited. Because of my first-hand experience in an Asian country, I have a greater appreciation for the imagery and the culture described in 101 Ways. Yoshikawa does an excellent job at portraying the differences in not only the cultures (American vs. Japanese), but also the differences between each generation within the character's family . She writes beautifully and keeps the reader attentive throughout the entire story. I loved the portrayal of the characters, especially the protagonist. I think that many Asian-American women will be able to relate to her.

This is a fascinating and moving debut novel by Mako Yoshikawa. The story, narrated by Kiki, a Japanese-American young woman, spans 3 generations of women (Kiki, her mother and her grandmother)who have each lost great loves in their lives and how each comes to grips with their past to face their future. Kiki weaves a spellbinding web of a story about her lost love, Philip. He has died in a mountaineering trip and Kiki can't forget him. In fact, she sees him every waking day in her apartment, even though she has a new lover, successful lawyer, Eric.

The most engrossing, lyrically written part of the book is when Kiki tells her grandmother's story of lost love. Kiki compares her life with that of her grandmother, a former geisha, whom she eagerly awaits to visit her in America. The 3 stories are connected effortlessly and smoothly by Yoshikawa. This book is worth reading!

I absolutely loved this novel, probably one of my favorites this year. It reminded me very much of Alice Hoffman's novels (ex. Turtle Moon) and Yoshikawa's style was beautiful. I found myself hoping Phillip would walk through the door, though Eric was a nice enough guy. My question throughout (and was answered toward the end) was when would Kiki begin asking questions of her mother, rather than waiting for her grandmother. What a wonderful story of three generations of Japanese women. I will be eagerly awaiting Yoshikawa's next novel!

I was interested in this book because I wanted to get an Asian's woman take on the suddenly popular Geisha theme. Unlike almost everyone else on the planet, I didn't care for "Memoirs of a Geisha". It didn't surprise me in the least that it was written by a white man. Because of this, I am doubly disappointed by "One Hundred and One Ways". I think the main character protests way too much. What else does she have to offer the men in her life besides the "mystery of the Orient." And if she is so wary of white men, then why doesn't she date an Asian man? There had to be at least one or two eligible ones living in New York. I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, since her mother is also having a romance with a white man. The Asian men in this book are either brutal, physically unattractive or weak. I think the author needs to deal with her issues about being Asian before she tackles another novel.

No, I'm not a white man; I'm a woman of color. If Ms. Yoshikawa wants to be thought of as more than just "exotic", then she needs to have something more to offer. Attempting to ride the Geisha-wave isn't enough in my book.

I found this book a compelling read, with the text having a momentum of its own. The story is how a young woman comes to understand her life and her emotions, particularly in regards to her close relationships.

Yoshikawa has a dream-like style of writing that stimulates all of the senses. Subtle details build to create a vivid picture of her main character's (Kiko) life, and how it is affected by her mother and grandmother's experiences.

Three lives blend within Kiko's existence, perhaps highlighting the way in which close relationships can alter a person's perception of the world around them, or the reality that is experienced.

Great book for a rainy day.

This novel tracks the love stories of a young Manhattan woman, her expatriate Japanese mother, and her geisha grandmother. The shifts between the contemporary narrative and that of the grandmother, especially, are beautifully handled. I found the whole story totally involving, and sexy, to boot. I really couldn't put it down (I read it in 2 sittings, and I usually take a long time to read a book). I'm looking forward to reading whatever this writer comes up with next.

One Hundred and One Ways is a story about relationships and love. Kiki shares a special bond with the grandmother in Japan she has never met. They share the same name, Yukiko, and the same beauty that her mother, Akiko, never had. In flashbacks we learn that Yukiko was sold as a child to be trained as a geisha. Her beauty and grace insured her success, once she learned how to use them. In later years Yukiko and Kiki's mother clash over Asiko's choice for a husband. This causes an estrangement that lasts twenty-nine years. Akiko and her husband move to New York while Yukiko stays in Japan.

When Yukiko decides to come to America, Kiki puts all her hopes and dreams on the relationship she is sure she and her grandmother will share. Having lost the man she loves in an accident, Kiki turns to a young Jewish lawyer who is smitten with her beauty. Afraid he has an Asian woman fetish, she uses
him to try to forget Phillip. Through all of this, Phillip's ghost appears in her apartment, watching her but never speaking.

I thought the story was beautifully told. The flashbacks brought
the stories of the three women together in a way that showed the common links in their lives. I will definitely read this author's next book.

This is a strange story about a japanese-american girl whose grandmother was a geisha in her younger days, but ended up as a wealthy and respected woman. Looking into her family's history, Kiki is in the search of herself - recently she has lost the love of her life in a mountaineer accident. As she tries to entangle her thoughts and reflections, in her mind she talks to her grandmother whom she still hasn't met. - This book is full of mystery and of deep layers of meaning. There is a certain "spaciousness" about the way it is written; the writer seems to capture so much more than can be put down in words. Which to me is very much like life itself; we are so captured with the way the world is being described in movies or in books that we sometimes seem to forget that it is a sort of narrative and not quite like the way the world works - even though they can reflect part of it, if not all. The fact that this book contains so much more than the "story", the fact that a whole way of looking at life is being conveyed without putting it directly, but in a gentle and almost meditative way, is what delighted me about it. It has inspired me and even been a kind of comfort to me, by viewing life so nakedly and by transmitting quite a bit of its complexity. I am looking very much forward to the author's next book!

Total waste of time! The main character keeps lamenting throughout the book about the possibility of her fiancée having an Asian women fetish, when in fact she has the fetish. She only has relationships with Caucasians, yet never explains her aversion to Asian males. The characters have no soul and the background stories are underdeveloped and uninteresting. I wonder if I read the same book as other reviewers that have compared this book to "House of Spirits" Please!