Tropic of Orange [Paperback]

Karen Tei Yamashita (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1566890640 | ISBN-13: 978-1566890649 | Publication Date: September 1, 1997 | Edition: First Printing

This fiercely satirical, semifantastical novel ... features an Asian-American television news executive, Emi, and a Latino newspaper reporter, Gabriel, who are so focused on chasing stories they almost don't notice that the world is falling apart all around them. Karen Tei Yamashita's staccato prose works well to evoke the frenetic breeziness and monumental self-absorption that are central to their lives.-Janet Kaye, The New York Times Book Review

Editorial Reviews

Review

This fiercely satirical, semifantastical novel ... features an Asian-American television news executive, Emi, and a Latino newspaper reporter, Gabriel, who are so focused on chasing stories they almost don't notice that the world is falling apart all around them. Karen Tei Yamashita's staccato prose works well to evoke the frenetic breeziness and monumental self-absorption that are central to their lives. -- The New York Times Book Review, Janet Kaye

About the Author

Heralded as a "big talent" by the Los Angeles Times, Karen Tei Yamashita is an American Book Award and Janet Heidinger Kafka Award winner. A California native who has also lived in Brazil and Japan, she is Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of California-Santa Cruz, where she received the Chancellor's Award for Diversity in 2009.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Coffee House Press; First Printing edition (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566890640
• ISBN-13: 978-1566890649
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Heralded as a "big talent" by the Los Angeles Times, extolled by the New York Times for her "mordant wit," and praised by Newsday for "wrestl[ing] with profound philosophical and social issues" while delivering an "immensely entertaining story," Karen Tei Yamashita is one of the foremost writers of her generation. I Hotel, which took over a decade to write and research, is her magnum opus.

The author of four previous novels, Yamashita is the recipient of an American Book Award and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Award. A California native who has also lived in Brazil and Japan, she teaches at the University of California-Santa Cruz, where she received the Chancellor's Award for Diversity in 2009.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A postmodern view of urban complexities, December 7, 2008

By 

C. Martinez (SF Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tropic of Orange (Paperback)

I wrote my senior thesis on this book at UC Berkeley. The complexities of multiculturalism, borders and the constant movement of today are on display here. It also reminded me of the movie "Crash" but with more depth to the cast of characters. One line from the book sticks with me and appears in my thoughts from time to time: "...progress and other things in which they foolishly believed..." This concept of the "myth of progress" is a central theme of this novel, as it demonstrates how even though we're making strides in so many ways (technology, connecting across borders, knowledge/information), we're digressing in other ways (morals, human contact, wisdom). Although I loathed it while trying to articulate a thesis from it, I now look back with fondness and upon rereading it, have come to appreciate its depth.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing., May 16, 2010

By 

A. Huddleston - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tropic of Orange (Paperback)

I tried really hard to like this book. The topics addressed and style of writing should have been right up my alley. However, I found it to be without a doubt the dullest assigned reading of my college career, surpassed only by a statistics textbook. The plot as a whole sounds cartoonish, perfect (and not in a good way) for an over the top steroid-filled action movie. Oranges injected with heroine? Two trucks filled with different flammable fuels creating a diabolical fireball on the Los Angeles highway? A Mexican infant organ black market ring? If this is supposed to be satire, it failed horribly in delivery since the text also includes surreal scenes such as the shape-shifting fight and rape of Rafaela and the organ-stealer and pretty much any chapter with Arcangel.

To her credit, Yamashita isn't a bad writer. Her descriptions are lovely and the buildup comes at a good pace. But I feel as though she tried too hard in this novel and ended up missing her point altogether. The ending especially feels as though she was trying for a big finish and came up short.

But please take this review with a grain of salt. As you can see in the list of reviews, there were indeed people who enjoyed this book and it is worth reading, if only so you can say decisively that you don't like it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a readable book taking a pessimistic view of materialism, February 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Tropic of Orange (Paperback)

Yamashita's book is an interesting study of the effects of technology on human interaction and emotion. She uses recent history to form her opinion: NAFTA is portrayed in a bad light as destroying tradition and spreading American materialism, and the Rodney King case makes the freeway assault seem not so much like fiction. The book is an easy read with a lot of thought-provoking symbolism, and it is also very pessimistic about 90's American culture. If it is seen purely as a worst-case scenario of the future of America, it is very effective. John Alexander Stiner