Whore Banquets

by Matthew Kneale

Daniel Thayne, a young Englishman, finds himself trapped in Tokyo. Working illegally in a ramshackle language school, his passport lost, he is hustled towards marriage with Keiko, his Japanese girlfriend. In the gloom of the rainy season, Daniel's life takes on a nightmarish quality—his devious boss, Mrs. Chiba, refuses to pay him any money, a stranger accosts him with a mysterious special offer, a foul Australian takes him to an unspeakable whores' meeting place, and Samuel Echtbein, an American, is a constant thorn in Daniel's side. But most threatening of all are the Haradas, Keiko's family, who take control of his life. This title was originally published as Whore Banquets.

Genres: Fiction, Japan, British Literature

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Matthew Kneale was born in London in 1960, read Modern History at Oxford University and on graduating in 1982, spent a year teaching English in Japan, where he began writing short stories.

Kneale is the son of writers Nigel Kneale and Judith Kerr, and the grandson of essayist and theatre critic Alfred Kerr.

Reviews

[Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring and I hated the sexist 💩head

[Scott Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was enough in this book to keep me reading but it was definitely no masterpiece. Very slow buildup to a very intense finish. 3.5⭐️’s.

[Heidi Polk Issa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mr. Foreigner is the story of Daniel Thayne, a young British man, who is illegally working in Tokyo as an English teacher. When he loses his passport, he is seemingly stuck, and, in more alarming news, also seems to be getting hustled towards the altar by his Japanese girlfriend, Keiko, and her family. As the rain pours down and the matrimonial day gets closer, the looming threat of danger increases, due mainly to Keiko’s family, the Haradas, who bear more than a passing resemblance to the yakuza.

There were elements of ‘the foreigner who doesn’t understand the local custom’ that I found amusing, but overall this tale fell a bit flat for my taste. There were several scenes where I found Daniel quite a pain and his condescension towards the Japanese and the Japanese way of life were a bit unbelievable (if it was so bad, why didn’t he leave much earlier when he still could?)...

The book was okay, but definitely not anything special…

[Jennifer G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, not the masterpiece that I thought English Passengers was, but yet still a very entertaining book. If anyone has lived in Asia for any length of time, you'll see several hilarious parallels to your own life. This is the story of an young Englishman stuck in Japan teaching at a crappy English school and dealing with his confusing Japanese girlfriend and her frightening family. I read the entire book on a single bus trip, to give you an idea of what a quick and easy read this is.

[Saya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just another foreigner in Japan book, and not a bad one, but with the embarassing and un-get-past-able mistake of misspelling "Itadakimasu" "Itadekimasu". Twice.

[Sarah E · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I said in an earlier review of another Matthew Kneale book that an underwhelming Matthew Kneale book was still a whole lot more fun than most other books and I stand corrected.
The plot in a nutshell is a hapless fella who's stuck in a thankless and largely payless illegal teaching job in Japan, and who is thus beset by visa worries, finds himself strong-armed into marriage with his drippy Japanese girlfriend, Keiko, by her sinister family.
Mr. Foreigner, clearly written because Mr. Kneale needed to vomit something out onto paper about his time teaching in Japan, moves along briskly, and that is its greatest strength. Its weaknesses include a startling lack of wit for the author, and a melodramatic and unbelievable climax to a plot I was really half hearted about caring about in the first place. The characters as well bumbled about without a whole lot of believable motivation: one character in particular, a foreigner living in the main character's neighborhood, has zero role but to appear onstage occasionally and shout about propriety and I don't know if this is a "type" of ex-pat in Japan specifically, but I certainly didn't recognize the type from my own time teaching English illegally abroad and I didn't get it. Who knows what the fuck Keiko was thinking. Perhaps her inscrutability was the point but it made for a frustrating read.
Mr. Kneale has written so many wonderful books- do yourself a favor and skip this one and read Englishmen Abroad, or A History of Rome in Seven Sackings, or When We Were Romans (especially for fans of Room) or really anything else.

[Book Blogger Blurbs · Rating 1 out of 5]

The most lame book I've read in a while! The title, or the alternate title, has nothing to do with the 60% of the plot. Further there's so much unnecessary description of the location of the scene which is irrelevant and does nothing to move the plot forward. Twice or thrice repetition of the same location. Dear author, we understood where the protagonist is, no need to repeat.

That's all the words I got for this book. Bekaar pick of the book sale.
Also, there's no humour as mentioned in the reviews 😒
Just an addition towards Goodreads goal.

[Marina Maric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danijel se zatekao u Tokiju i ne može da ode iz zemlje jer je izgubio pasoš. Radi ilegalno u jednoj školi gde uči Japance engleskom jeziku, usput se zabavlja sa jednom Japankom. U vreme kišne sezone dolazi porodica njegove devojke i pokušava da i njega podvede pod „kompanijske poslove“. Njegov mirni život se završava i polako ulazi u dramatična dešavanja gde pokušava da spase život. Upoznaće i loše strane Japana.

[Cherry Jeffs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, page-turner that captures the absurd mismatch of values and expectations that occur when two very different cultures are exposed to each other and when the little shared language that exists only serves to deepen the confusion rather than demystify it. If you've lived abroad, it will likely resonate.

[Cristóbal Mingolla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daniel es un inmigrante inglés en Tokio, dónde ha ido a pasar una temporada y realizar fotografías. Mientras tanto, sobrevive dando clases de inglés en una academia con poco futuro. Su relación con una japonesa, hija de una familia metida en negocios turbios, complica su estancia en Japón. Debe huir a toda costa.

[Cliff Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny short story that a lot of foreigners in Japan can almost certainly relate to in at least some way.
Can be read almost in a single setting. The action heats up and there is a lot of suspense later on.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

TBC

[Txe Polon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se trata de una novela breve a todas luces dinámica y ágil, narrada de forma llana pero con buen manejo de la intriga a lo largo de ese humorístico periplo (cuasi)kafkiano que no hay que entender -como algunos demasiados susceptibles entienden- como una crítica exógena e incauta de la sociedad japonesa, sino más bien, a mi entender, como las absurdidades de la condición humana, relativizadas mediante ese choque cultural Oriente/Occidente, cuyo desatino es llevado al paroxismo gracias a esa ignorancia de lo ajeno y a las presuposiciones que de ella se derivan.
En conjunto, se trata de una obra con interés y correcta; sin embargo, al final de ese buen final, uno no puede dejar de echar en falta algo más de garra, de una mayor acidez en la descripción de las situaciones que habría dotado ese omnipresente humor de una más ácida mala leche que habría hecho más disparatado y cáustico el retrato.

[Ape · Rating 2 out of 5]

My 2010 bookcrossing review:

On the front cover it says this book was the 2000 winner of the Whitbread book of the year. Why? It's really not that good. Ok, it's short, and a non-brainer read, but it's not overly funny, not overly thrilling, not overly an amazing look at Japanese society, westerners travelling in Japan or anything else. Just mediochre. So I just continue to be baffled by this book.

It's about this English guy, Daniel, who is a bit of a dishrag to be perfectly honest. He's been travelling in Asia for over a year and is now in Japan, illegally teaching English and feeling a bit stuck because he's lost his passport. He's having a casual fling with this Japanese girl Keiko, except things get complicated when her family turn up and demand that they get married. The whole plot is a bit weak though and underexplored.

Hmmmm.

[Yaiza · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book is quite normal, besides it has won a prize.
It is a quickly read, sometines I have hated the main character because I feel like he does nothing on the hole book, he is in soem trouble and all he does is watch it, he does not do anything about it until the very end.
Not everything is wrong, I think is a typical book you read on your vacation while your lying on the sun, it is interesting to see the typical Japanese family and how different they are from us.
It is not one of my favourite book but I think is quite great to read while you have nothing to do, like on vacation, on a trip...

[April · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can't even be inspired to write a full review. Suffice it to say the main character is an annoying idiot who's impossible to sympathize with (not that anyone else is particularly likable either -- nor do they manage to rise above stereotypical caricatures). Had he gone to his Embassy from the get-go, I could've been spared reading about him....

[Nadinedebussy · Rating 1 out of 5]

On n'apprend pas grand chose sur le Japon et pas grand chose sur un regard de photographe, ce qu'est censé être le personnage principal. Un récit nombriliste qui se lit. Une fin qui aurait convenue à une nouvelle plutôt qu'à un roman.

[Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really entertaining short read that I finished in about a day. This book shifts from descriptions of the comical and mundane aspects of living as a foreigner in a different country to a gripping suspense novel towards the end.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful. Like Miles Gibson (or Thomas Berger perhaps) working James Cain territory...in Japan.

[Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good writing, gripping. I finished it in one day! But it makes me afraid of going to Japan. The only good japanese guy was the forest (or mountain?) guard. Is it really so? I hope not.

[Mihaela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been an interesting book if it wasn't for the constant Japanese idioms mistakes.
When you write about a country, you should, at least, know how to say "Enjoy your meal" correctly.

[Dagmar Egen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting insights into another culture.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

All I can say is that it was a quick read. Didn't see the point. Not funny or thrilling.