Alien Rice

by Ichiro Kawasaki

In this perceptive novel of interracial marriage, the author of Japan Unmasked exposes the harsh realities and strange contradictions of life in modern Japan.

Genres: Fiction, Japan

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Diane Nagatomo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm giving this two stars as opposed to one because it's kind of interesting historical document--not that it is true in any way, shape, or form, but that it reflects a lot of beliefs held by people. The dialog is horrible and unnatural, and the relationship between the husband and wife was so superficial. The guy really did not know what he was writing about.
Plus there were some factual mistakes. A British woman would not be automatically given Japanese citizenship just because she married a Japanese man. Since he was a diplomat (the former Ambassador to Argentina who was asked to resign for writing obnoxious things about Japanese), you'd think he would have known that.
He certainly has an axe to grind concerning salary men and companies in the 1960s--but I wonder if he actually knew anything about that either. Considering what he said about international marriage--I wonder if he was wrong about company life and salary men as well.

[Marie-Therese · Rating 2 out of 5]

1 star for literary value (which is virtually nil) and another for its status as historical oddity.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has dated very badly, unfortunately. The story only really serves as a device for the author to espouse his extremely negative views about the workings of Japanese business.

[Amanda Cabrera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Storyline didn't make sense and the characters weren't even likable. Just a bunch of stereotypes.