Commodore Perry's Minstrel Show

by Richard Wiley

In 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry steamed into Edo Bay and "opened" Japan to trade with America. As entertainment for the treaty-signing ceremony, Perry brought a white-men-in-black-face minstrel show—and thereby confirmed the widely whispered Japanese belief that trade with the American "barbarians" could only lead to cultural ruin. Yet the pawns in this clash of cultures—the minstrels, Ace Bledsoe and Ned Clark, and the Japanese interpreter, Manjiro Okubo—are just slightly more curious than cautious. Within the minstrels Manjiro sensed "the subtleties of spirit that reside in all good men." When Ace and Ned are unwittingly made part of a Japanese plot to undermine the American presence, Manjiro helps them escape into the countryside. Pursued by samurai, torn between treachery and loyalty, Manjiro and the minstrels (along with family, friends, and lovers) make their way across Japan, fleeing a showdown with the samurai that gradually becomes inevitable. Commodore Perry's Minstrel Show is the long-awaited prequel—more than a decade in the making—to Richard Wiley's PEN/Faulkner Award-winning novel, Soldiers in Hiding. A sword-swinging page-turner infused with a heady mix of Japanese etiquette, American ideals, and Machiavellian philosophy, Wiley's latest novel sparkles as it shapes history into an enlightened drama of the earliest moments of globalization.

Genres: Fiction

296 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jeff Clausen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s good to learn how other cultures work, and I’d say that Japan in the 1840s is another culture. This book dives into the workings of several layers of that Japanese era, from lords to shit-gatherers, and we see samurai swordsmen by the dozen. We learn about the incredible intricacies governing behavior, from tea drinking to ritual suicide. There are several dozen native personalities to keep track of, which can be a chore ( is Keiko the son of the lord, or was that Keiki?), but their humanity is never in doubt. These folks suffered similar anxieties and enjoyed other certain thrills, that many of us do today. What we do not learn much about, however, is the titular minstrel show, and even less about Commodore Perry, who is actually just a bit player on this stage. Geisha, on the other hand, are a dime a dozen, and so are tatami mats and the spring rains. In other words, if Japanese philosophy is a subject that interests you, this book is right up your alley. But the history of American-Japanese relations in the 1840s is probably better represented in other, less esoteric volumes.

[Eugenia Kim]

If you love historical fiction, Japanese film, period literature, great writing with themes of class, culture and Asia, this is a rare find that you won’t want to put down once the story gets going. Wiley’s first book, SOLDIERS IN HIDING, deservedly won the PEN/Faulkner award and this historical fiction, a prequel of sorts, matches the quality of that writing, the depth of character development and thorough infusion of culture, adding to it a fascinating take on a historical event: Perry’s groundbreaking trade agreement with Japan which set the precedent for Western thought and change to a recently unified nation. Seen through the eyes of major players, the story of the dying Samurai era and a nation in flux is told by strong women, precocious children, ronin (Samurai without affiliation), fathers and sons in a noble and honorable family, and surprisingly, two Westerners, singers in the minstrel show that Perry brought east to entertain the Japanese. The cultural nuance, visual and historical details and social mores of the period feel absolutely authentic, carefully researched and applied to every aspect of the story, bringing a rich background to a thrilling, nearly swashbuckling story of fate, political intrigue, love, honor and revenge. Themes of class, destiny, man’s value in relationship to one another, sacrifice, the search for truth in life—all this amidst a radical collide of cultures—make this story resonate much farther than its compelling plot of how a family copes and evolves in the face of several kinds of death and the renewal it inevitably brings. Wiley writes with density: there is little in his language that is extraneous, and some readers may find the sheer number of characters (a discouraging list in the beginning outlines who they are) and the immediate immersion into a different period and culture to be daunting, but perseverance in the beginning reaps the incredible reward of dramatically described action (you could see this as a terrific edge-of-your-seat movie), a compelling and fully realized plot, wonderfully complex characters, a book that gives that great satisfied sigh at the end—a sigh that says the story has reached its amazing completion, yet I was sorry that my engagement with it had to end.

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that really appeals to me: close attention to cultural change or a cultural clash--both in this instance--told in an intimate family setting with strong, if flawed, complex characters. This one is set in Japan in 1854 at the time Commodore Perry opens Japan up to Western trade. Perry is a minor character; closer to the heart of the story are two American minstrels he takes along. But at the very heart of the story is a multigenerational aristocratic Japanese family: the elderly lord, his two sons--one cautious and traditional, the other who learns English (and becomes a translator) and favors openness to the Americans, the older son's wife and their 3 children, and the woman the younger son hopes will be arranged for him to marry. The first two-thirds of the novel reads almost like a light-hearted fable, then takes a shocking turn and the last third is more like a Shakespearean tragedy. This is a fine novel that deserves more attention than it has received.

[Christopherseelie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first act is slow-moving and hindered by awkward dialogue. It gains speed much in the same way as Hamlet, with an explosive ending to intricately built intrigue. There are some very King Lear moments, and Kurosawa influences appear regularly. Metaphors are expertly wraught, and some sentences stand out like poetry. I finished the later two thirds of this book in a single sitting. Sometimes the research into Edo period Japan gets in the way of the narrative, but only occassionally. Definately worth reading.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best novel you've never heard of...