Sayonara Bar

by Susan Barker

The modern geisha-girl scene is explored in this edgy, commercial literary novel set in a hostess bar in Osaka.

Mary, a blond graduate from England, has drifted into a job in a hostess lounge in Osaka. She and other “economy geishas” are employed by the enigmatic Mama-san to spend their evenings flirting with rich Japanese salarymen, playing drinking games and taking turns in the karaoke booth. Mary is in love with Yuji, Mama-san’s handsome son. But Yuji’s loyalty is to the petty Yakuza gangster for whom he works. Watanabe, the introverted cook, watches Mary from the Sayonara’s kitchen. He exists in his own manga-fuelled fantasy of the fourth dimension, but when he perceives the danger of Mary’s growing obsession with Yuji, he resolves to protect her whatever the cost.

Mr. Sato works for the Daiwa Trading Corporation. Obsessive overwork cannot cover the emptiness of his solitary life. Lured against his will to the Sayonara Bar by his boss, he finds himself returning there to escape his dead wife’s ghost.

Sly and often very funny, Sayonara Bar spins a kaleidoscopic, genre-crossing tale of people cut adrift in a shrinking, globalized world.

Genres: Fiction, Japan, Contemporary

329 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Susan Barker (born 1978) is a British novelist. She has an English father and a Chinese-Malaysian mother and grew up in East London. She is the author of the novel Sayonara Bar, which Time magazine called "a cocktail of astringent cultural observations, genres stirred and shaken, subplots served with a twist" and The Orientalist and the Ghost, both published by Doubleday (UK) and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize.

Her third novel The Incarnations (Doubleday UK, July 2014) is about a taxi driver in contemporary Beijing and interwoven with tales from the Tang dynasty, the invasion of Genghis Khan, the Ming dynasty, the Opium War, and the Cultural Revolution. While writing The Incarnations she spent several years living in Beijing, researching modern and imperial China.

Reviews

[Paula Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a stunning first novel by Barker. Mary is a gaijin hostess in a bar in Osaka, and is in love with Yuji, a budding Yakuza mobster. Watanabe is a short order cook in the hostess bar who has a thing for Mary, but also believes he has transcended our mortal coil! Mr Sato is mourning his dead wide, and becomes entangled with one of the hostesses.

The three stories are interlinked cleverly, and you actually give a damn about them despite their flaws - and they are flawed! The strands weave and separate nicely with a good flow, and the method of a chapter per character works well, especially when keeping you on tenterhooks for the next instalment! For a debut, this was certainly an ambitious book, but Barker has pulled it off well. The other thing I liked is that she avoided using Tokyo as the background to her story - an all too easy location to be used.

If you want something a little different, read this. It is puzzling, enticing, strange and with enough questions to leave it lingering with you long after you have finished it, but enough answers to give a satisfying conclusion to the book.

[Ludovica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lettura piacevole e capace di intrattenere.
Prima di avventurarmi in questo romanzo non conoscevo l'autrice e per questo non sapevo proprio cosa aspettarmi.
Al termine di questa esperienza sono molto contenta di essere riuscita a fare la conoscenza della Barker.
Il romanzo segue in maniera molto dinamica e coerente le vicende di tre protagonisti, le cui vite si snodano attraverso peripezie imprevedibili, a volte entrando in contatto tra loro. Mary, Watanabe, Mr Sato colpiscono per indole e prospettiva sulla vita diverse, che vengono messe a dura prova nel corso del romanzo, così che alla fine qualcuno ne sarà uscito cresciuto e altri sconfitti o sopraffatti dagli eventi.
Nella versione tradotta viene resa benissimo l'attenzione dedicata dell'autrice alle diverse voci narranti dei protagonisti, e, in generale, lo stile riesce a lasciare il segno per fluidità e grazie: la prosa non risulta mai ridondante né noiosa, e anzi viene ben sfruttata per aumentare la suspense e tenere il lettore incollato al successivo capitolo.
Consiglierei questo romanzo a chiunque sia in cerca di una lettura intrigante, non eccessivamente impegnativa e dal ritmo sufficientemente serrato. Ritengo che con qualche pagina in meno sarebbe stato un romanzo ancora più efficace, ma, come detto all'inizio, Sayonara Bar riesce ad intrattenere con leggerezza.

[Rosewater Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Произведение достойно воплощения в виде сериала - и учитывая возродившуюся моду на потребление делимого университетской дедукцией односложного действия (текстуры) на связующие его (её) воедино элементы, это не так походит на клеймо, как может показаться.
Относительного героев:
Мэри - невнятная дЕвица (ни в коем случае не девИца) из Англии, которая дружит с более внятной, но лишённой должного очарования украинкой по имени Катя. К вящему ужасу, первая является блондинкой, вторая сдаётся брюнеткой.
Ватанабе - совершенно нераскрытый персонаж, если не считать "раскрытостью" отсылки к "сверхъестественной" проницательности, страдающий синдромом разборчивого добродетели. Совершенно необъяснимым, но гармонизирующе эгоистичным представляется желание выжить (ради со-существования?), не смотря на тот факт, что его "физическое воплощение" может послужить в дальнейшем для его возлюбленной лишь обузой.
Господин Сато - как и для всякого космполитического сноба и просто порядочного зануды, этот персонаж оказался наиболее впечатляющим и в отчаянно малой, но всё же не лишённой сладостного (и оздоравливающего, как ни странно) отчаяния, мере выходящий за пределы Нормы (почему слово "норма" у меня летально ассоциируется с именем "Опра"?).
Хиро - персонаж не раз и не два встречаемый в дальневосточных боевиках (в частности, на ум приходит Такеши Китано); интересно было бы прочитать авторское описание встречи Хиро и господина Сато.
Ямагава-сан - мог бы оказаться подобием Хиро, КАБЫ не лишение "мужской силы" (один из самых разочаровавших ходов авторских - откровенный садист, кокаиноман и импотент).
Мама-сан - буквально только что напомнила о матери из "Gran Bollito" (Болоньини, 1977), хотя по логике действий между ними та же пропасть, как между двумя культурными явлениями - половой принадлежностью и половой принадлежностью.
Юдзи - наверное, подобных ему каждый может, хотя бы избирательно распределяя черты, насчитать хотя бы с одну шестипалую кисть в кругу своих знакомых (и не стоит опасаться чисто поверхностного суждения - отвращение и наслаждение весьма близки по приоде своей).
Марико - она близка Ватанабе, помимо чувствительности, ещё и нераскрытостью, но на сей раз не стремящейся к публичному признанию, а проистекающей из чисто авторской снисходительности по отношению к персонажу (и людям сходной судьбы?).
...
В целом, добротно, но оч-чень: а) прост язык - вина ли переводчика? б) усечён сюжет - по воле ли редакторской?
Другие творения Сьюзан Баркер изучить намерение имею, а это показательно.

[Lucas Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A well-written but ultimately frustrating novel. It follows the lives of three people in Osaka Japan: Mary, an English graduate working at a hostess bar, in love with a young yakuza gang member; Mr Sato, a middle aged workaholic salaryman recovering from the death of his wife; and Watanabe, an autistic short-order cook who believes he has the power of omniscience at a microscopic level (or IS it just a belief?). Each chapter rotates to their different points of view. Mary's is a familiar western first-person narrative; Watanabe's is a rapid-fire stream-of-consciousness information overload; and Sato's is deliberate, measured, and at times poetic, which fits that he is recounting his in a mental letter to his dead wife. The author juggles all three narratives with aplomb. Sato's story specifically struck me as fascinating, with some brilliant turns of phrase that I wanted to underline. While Watanabe's and Mary's story lines intertwine, sato's is separate, apart from 3 chance meetings with Mary where they basically say hello & that's all.

Then it all kind of falls apart. The rich character development of the first half is shunted away as each character becomes agitated and purely reactive to their individual storylines. This all culminates in an ending that is only barely explained, without the knowledge of any motivations or reasoning. The biggest mystery in the book is _never_ answered. A secondary mystery (and the culmination of Sato's plotline) is lazily hand-waved as "Oh, [character name] was just crazy. Also maybe ghosts."

It's quite sad because I enjoyed the first half so much, and the author has such a wonderful grasp of Japanese culture. Oh well.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The parts of this novel that are truly excellent lie in the poetic quality of Barker's writing. There are points in this book where the prose really lifts the story off the pages and creates a magical, surreal sensory experience. The problem is that the story itself needs the prose to carry it along, and it struggles out of the gate. Even towards the end when the pace of the "action" picks up and the climaxes approach, it seems to run out of steam.

Barker's keen observations keep the reader intrigued by what is happening behind the facade - just as the true workings of the yakuza are hidden behind hostess bars. That we are lead to question the truthfulness or reality of each character's perspective of events means that there is quite a bit to wonder about when putting this book down, and that is a good thing.

[Kizzylu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the writing styles for the three main characters to be interesting and unique each, but I didn't care much of any of their stories. While they sometimes meet, they never really connect and the ending, to me, isn't satisfying enough. We never really get an ending of sorts, I suppose we should be thinking about what has happened ourselves or answer some introspective questions, but it failed on that front to me. I was invested in the third character's story the most so I read through the entire book despite the other two stories boring me.

It's a rather interesting book with its writing, voices and ideas, but it didn't really come together as a story.

Then again, maybe I'm just ignorant on Japan's inner workings too much to be able to enjoy the book.

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story of three characters lives in Osaka who are loosely linked by the Sayonara Bar. The characters all have some interesting traits and back stories. The story sort of comes to a climax but some things are left unclear. Well written but nothing earth shattering. Would make a good, if violent, film.

[Shane F · Rating 5 out of 5]

I live to discover new authors and books like this. I could not put it down and loved all three of the ongoing storylines. Simply incredible. It's amazing this book didn't get more press when it was published. And not even an e-book yet?

[Miguel De · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 estrelas

[Hubert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cleverly written, the novel tracks the intertwined lives of three characters in contemporary Japan: Mary, a bar hostess from England; Mr. Sato, an overworked and consientious salaryman haunted by thoughts of his deceased wife; and Watanabe, a kitchen worker who can transcend into the fourth dimension and see into other people's minds and bodies. In a way the strongest character is likely Watanabe: the author manipulates language and creates an intricate inner world of near-manic thought. At first I questioned the actual science that was used, but I learned to appreciate the beauty and childlike wonder expressed by the prose. The subplot between Mary and her Yakuza boyfriend Yuji feels ordinary at times, but still enjoyable to follow - at times the story wants to be a thriller but doesn't quite make it. The line between Mr. Sato and his wife hearkens to the great Japanese tradition of writing about ghosts, along the lines of some Murakami and Ichida's The Strangers.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

once you get past the incredibly stilted and awkward prose of the first 30 or so pages this books is pretty awesome. this copy is a galley, and i wouldn't recommend running out and purchasing, but if anyone wants to borrow when i'm done, it's some ideal vacation reading. basic plot elements -- gaijin working in an osaka hostess bar, a potentially crazy/potentially transcended dishwasher, some yakuza intrigue laced with sex and violence, and the seduction of a lonely salaryman with or without the help of his long dead wife -- pretty much = total page turner. like, literally, i get off the subway and keep reading on my walk to work because i cannot put it down.

[Bobbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan Barker is now one of my favorite writers--her prose is beautiful--a joy to read. Sayonara Bar is great; it's very original. I loved her characters and was very sorry to leave them at the end of the book.

[Lisa Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting peak into 3 lives. I struggled with the Watanabe bits, but was eager for the Mr. Sato and Mary perspectives. I'd definitely read more Susan Barker!

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story of multiple characters who don't quite come together into a cohesive plot. Lots of loose ends left at the finish.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Struggled to go through this book... confused stories of different people lives mixed together in a strange mix. Everyone is eventually unhappy there, and hardly bearing their existence, chosen for unclear reasons. Seriously, hard to belle that it is the same autor who wrote "The Incarnations", which I really enjoyed.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was initially drawn to read this as I saw Barker's immense talent in 'Reincarnations'but that story was WAY too dark for me.. i hoped her other works would be more mild and 'Sayanora Bar' was.

I need a sequal SciFi book based on the character Watanabe!

The way Barker's mind works and the complex stories she weaves into the main plot is so impressive.

[E.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a layered confection of genre-bending rich with subtle metaphors and liquid language. We follow three characters with distinct first-person voices: Mary, the troubled dame in a noir/yakuza intrigue; Watanabe, a young man experiencing a science-fictional transcendence; and Mr. Sato, a middle-aged salaryman plagued by a ghost he refuses to believe in. Not one of these people is a truly reliable narrator, and Barker masterfully uses the three narratives to let the readers in on which parts are askew, while also using them to fill in the gaps across the story and tie together the ending.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read ths because I am reviewing Barker's newest book The Incarnations and have to say, I liked it very much. Three overlapping narratives - a British woman working in as a hotess in a bar, a salaryman who may or may not be haunted by his wife's ghost, and a young cook who can see in the fourth dimension. It's quite artfully put together and despite some very purple writing, is thoroughly entertaning.

Ghosts figure prominently in Barker's fiction and I love the way she uses them.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another random grab at the library which has turned out really well so far.
Almost done.
If you like sex, drugs, Japanese gangsters,time/space travel, hostess bars, under dogs and intricately written stuff read this.

[John Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realistically I know this book is a 3 but it won my affection and I was sorry to see it end. Bruce Wagner (I'm Losing You) meets Hillary Raphael (I Love Lord Buddha) - what more (or less) could you ask for?

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the cover and expected some huge turn of events to connect the characters, and in the end it was more like, oh... they were roommates.

[Tricia Perdigon · Rating 4 out of 5]

i'm a bit of two minds about this. I do like the techno geek character who refuses to eat.

[Yuli · Rating 3 out of 5]

одна из более-менее приличных книжек на русском, обнаруженных в гестхаусе в Банкоке всего за 20 Баат (0.7$) Милая, перекликается чем-то с “After Dark”, тоже Япония, тоже ночной город..

[Ruka · Rating 2 out of 5]

My mom brought it for me because it was Japan-related and I love that kind of stuff. But it was kinda boring and kind of weird... and I really couldn't get into it :(

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

flawed but moving