Turning Japanese [Paperback]

Cathy Yardley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 2009

The Devil Wears Prada meets Lost in Translation in this irresistible new novel from L. A. Woman author Cathy Yardley

Meet Lisa Falloya, an aspiring half-Japanese, half-Italian American manga artist who follows her bliss by moving to Tokyo to draw the Japanese-style comics she's been reading for years. Leaving behind the comforts of a humdrum desk job and her workaholic fiancée, Lisa has everything planned---right down to a room with a nice Japanese family---but hasn't taken into account that being half-Asian and enthusiastic isn't going to cut it. Faced with an exacting boss and a conniving “big fish” manga author, Lisa risks her wedding, her friends, and her fears for a shot at making it big.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An unexpected win in a comic-book competition sends half-Japanese Lisa Falloya to Tokyo for a yearlong manga publishing internship in Yardley's chipper new novel. Lisa lands in Tokyo, where she stays with a dysfunctional host family and gets smacked with culture shock. The story picks up when, despite her lowly status, Lisa decides to champion a comic-book idea proposed by a fellow editor. When she also gives a boost to a talented young artist, she incurs the wrath of tyrannical manga star Nobuko. Lisa's discovery of her own inner fire as an editor and her attempts to navigate a rigid hierarchy give a bit of fire to the story, with further complications arising when her controlling fiancé pressures her to return home early. Yardley doesn't take the obvious ways out, and Lisa's trip to confidence and assertiveness has plenty of girl power verve. (Apr.)
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Review

“Sharp, wise, and original, Turning Japanese is a hilarious take on what it really means to be a hyphenated American in a foreign land - Cathy Yardley loses nothing in translation.”
- Beth Harbison, New York Times bestselling author of Shoe Addicts Anonymous

“Witty, endearing, and completely authentic . . . a whirlwind trip to the East. Cathy Yardley’s sharp and exacting portrayal of life as an American in Japan is genuine and insightful.”
- Cara Lockwood, author of I Do (But I Don’t) and Dixieland Sushi

“Chipper…Yardley doesn’t take the obvious ways out. Lisa’s trip to confidence and assertiveness has plenty of girl power verve.”
- Publishers Weekly

“A smart, funny, and insightful novel about finding yourself (literally and theoretically!) halfway across the world. I loved accompanying Lisa to Japan.”
- Melissa Senate, author of See Jane Date and Questions To Ask Before Marrying

“Adventurous, moving, and just plain fun.”
- Lauren Baratz-Logsted, author of Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (April 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312378807
• ISBN-13: 978-0312378806
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,173,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A few random facts about me:

I am a fiction addict.

I love J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts, Jim Butcher, J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood, Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter, Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, Stephen King, Jennifer Crusie, Marian Keyes, J.K. Rowling, and a slew of other authors.

I have been known to stay up all night to finish a new novel. I don't so much read as devour.

I am an out of the closet foodie.

People who follow me on Facebook can attest: I am a foodie-blog whore. Love Smitten Kitchen. Adore Pioneer Woman Cooks. Bake my own bread on a weekly basis (because the recipe is so frickin' easy, a chimp could do it -- and it tastes phenomenal. I am a walking infomercial for this bread. ) Total Top Chef freak.

I am a geekgirl.

I love the San Diego Comic-con, or "The Con" as they call it.

I was part of the SCA -- The Society for Creative Anachronism -- and briefly sponsored my own mini army. I learned to speak some Japanese from anime.

I have a near encyclopedic knowledge of character actors and obscure movies. I have been called to settle bar bets.

I have a more-flirtatious-than-appropriate relationship with Excel spreadsheets. When I used to work at a day job, if I wore lipstick they assumed I was going on an interview. To this day, an entire marketing department lives in fear of my memory.

I love being an author.

Love writing. Love promoting. Love everything about it. And I love hearing from readers. Email me, anytime, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Story Idea With a Flawed Execution, March 8, 2010

By 

L. Young "palmtree2000" (West Orange, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Turning Japanese (Paperback)

Lisa Falloya is half Japanese and half Italian American. She is 29 years old and works in a plant in upstate New York. Her boyfriend works full time while pursuing an MBA degree and consequently has little time to spend with her. Lisa is in a rut. She also loves Japanese manga(comics), so when a Japanese manga company sponsors a contest in which the winner will be given an internship at the company for a year, she enters with the urguining of her two bestfriends Stacy and Perry. Lisa wins and with some trepidation heads off to Tokyo for a year. There she lives with a Japanese family with two problem kids, one a 10 year old terror truant from school who blasts his video games 24/7. The other is a 21 year old who seems to do nothing but party at all hours of the night. At the manga company Lisa is terrorized by her boss who she refers to as Yoda, and the strange ways of Japanese corporate life. The essence of the novel are her struggles to adapt to a new culture and different ways of doing things, as well as come to terms with what she wants to do with the rest of her life. The author's descriptions of the different ways of Japan and America are interesting and humorously portrayed. What troubles me about the novel is that in all the time Lisa lives in Tokyo not once does she venture out into that city to take in its historic and cultural sites. All she seems to do is sample it club/karaoke scene. Only once towards the end of the novel does the author send Lisa on a very brief trip to Kyoto, the description of which takes up a mere two or three pages and seems an obligatory afterthought. Anyone who spends a year in a foreign country with no attempt to see any of it is to my mind vacuous at the least. The story itself is resolved in a pat way. The idea of the novel is a good once, but the execution is flawed.

4.0 out of 5 stars Visionquest, June 17, 2010

By 

J. Magnoni "Grammar King" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Turning Japanese (Paperback)

Great book. This was a novel not about seeing Japan, but about a woman's quest for what is inside herself. Going to another country and following her heart had many complications for the protagonist. Especially chilling is the competition and backbiting that the other women had between each other, which resulted in getting Lisa fired. This can happen anywhere. But she braved it through, and and the end, discovered who she was. Good job, Ms. Yardley, for chronicling the problems of the modern woman- anywhere on the planet.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book!, March 7, 2010

By 

Nanny Abroad "Bonnie" (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Turning Japanese (Kindle Edition)

I love when I come across a book that grabs me from the first page. I'm currently going through a Japanese fixation and I loved all the windows into the culture from a westerners perspective.