Customer Reviews

One Hot Summer in Kyoto

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the only thing more shocking than the protagonist of " one hot summer in kyoto," (he carries on with 4 women at the same time) is that the women in the story don't seem to be infuriated by his lascivious behavior. peter meadowes is an english professor spending the summer in kyoto japan, when he meets kazumi,who is staying at his home.peter tries to seduce kazumi, but she rebuffs his advances, even resorting to flirting with peter's friend, bob, also a professor. while peter is trying to bed kazumi, peter is callus to his other mistress, noriko, who loves him and is wholly devoted to peter, even though he has fallen out of love with her. ms goto comes into the picture next : a former student of peter, she tries to seduce him, but is unsuccessful, but she still wants him. and to make things more complicated, monica , who is peter's wife, comes to kyoto while all the other women are there at the same time.

can you say juggling act?

it would be easy to hate peter: he is a brooding , arrogant, self-serving, womanizer. he drinks too much, is fat and hardly seems like the kind of man a woman would be attracted to. but is also intelligent, sophisticated, and has money, which compensates for his flaws. in spite of peter, i enjoyed the book very much because mr. haylock showed perfectly the portrait of a man who becomes a slave to his deviant desires; he wants to be loved, but can't seem to get free of his demons. he knows kazumi is unattainable and will never love him, but he still tries to woo her. noriko deserves better, but still stands by her man, waiting for him to come around. monica and peter's relationship is symbiotic; he only married her for her money. i was surprised when monica was around kazumi, noriko, and ms. goto at the play that she didn't suspect something or get hysterical at peter. maybe she knew of his behavior and simply chose to ignore it?

mr. haylock deserves praise for telling the story with style and grace. it is very sensual and erotic, yet it never becomes rank or explicit; there are very few four letters in the novel. a pretty good read.

Reviewed by Lori Plach for Reader Views (3/07)

If you ever wanted to see a different side of Japan, this is the book for you. John Haylock uses his 14 years of experience in Japan as a teacher and a writer to create "One Hot Summer in Kyoto." He tells of a man taking a trip to Kyoto after shipping his wife and children back to England. Peter Meadowes really should have covered his tracks more. He gets interested in Kazumi, the caretaker of the house he is staying in, but she keeps rejecting him. Her creativity in how to get away from Peter is very entertaining. It's a case of him lusting after someone he can't have! Kazumi does kiss him but it's only when others are around.

He has a mistress in Japan but all things aren't well there either. You see, Peter is lusting after Kazumi, so Noriko doesn't look as good to him as he originally thought. Noriko meets up with Kazumi. It's a very funny part of the book when Noriko and Kazumi talk in Japanese and Peter's conscience gets the best of him. As if it's not bad enough having his mistress and the one who he wants to be with conversing in a language he doesn't fully understand, but he hears from his wife Monica. She plans on making a trip to Japan to surprise him. This is not the kind of surprise Peter will enjoy.

When Monica arrives she rattles the door and Peter is forced into a rather weak excuse. When she asks him what he is doing down there, he replies "Having supper." It is fast answers that add to the humor of this book. Peter had plans to go to the theater with one of his women, but now his wife is there. He comes up with an idea for her to come along; however, she asks what is showing. Monica asks them if it is a play of disillusionment. If she only knew just how her husband had been acting during his weeks of summer in Kyoto. Peter leaves Japan at the end but only with looking back to what could have been. Will he ever be able to get Japan and its many "attractions" out of his mind?

Having had a friendship with an exchange student from Japan years ago made this a delightful read. It brought back memories of my friend talking about how beautiful her country was and how unique their culture is. "One Hot Summer in Kyoto" is definitely a book for adults' reading enjoyment. I think that John Haylock has accomplished his purpose in "One Hot Summer in Kyoto" in creating an environment where you can experience Japan and its many different ways.

You can travel to Kyoto, Japan without leaving home when reading "One Hot Summer in Kyoto." If you have ever visited Japan, you will recall how beautiful the scenery is there. If you are into romances and the "other woman" stories, this is a must read. Often times you will feel like you are right there with the characters. You won't be in the community bath but you will be in Japan otherwise.

Received book free of charge.