Travel Literature Makes My Heart Beat Faster.. discussion

So I'm traveling to Japan in December and I love to get a taste of some fiction and history before I go. I'm currently reading Shogun by James Clavell and next on my list is The Chrysanthemum and the Sword by Ruth Benedict. I'd love any other suggestions anyone has to offer. Thanks.

Alice Steinbach's Educating Alice Adventures of a Curious Woman has a chapter where she travels to Japan to learn things like the traditional tea ceremony and how to be a geisha. The whole book is great, but you would probably enjoy this section specifically.

I forgot to add that I've read Memoirs of a Geisha a few years ago and really enjoyed that book.

How about "Geisha: A Life" by Mineko Iwasaki. Also Jen's suggestion above.

Snow Country, The Woman in the Dunes, The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Kitchen. Just a few ideas of Japanese writers!

You mentioned Ruth Benedict. She makes some very astute observations, but it’d be wise not to take everything she says too literally. Things have changed quite a bit since the war. For nonfiction I would suggest Love in Modern Japan Its Estrangement from Self, Sex, and Society. It’s about love as a political entity, but it has such a good blend of literature, history and social events that it’s mesmerising-- Japan’s good, bad and ugly in one book.

Carol has mentioned some excellent books. I can’t vouch for the other titles including the word geisha, though. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is filled with the tension of the modern Japanese individual looking at a past that they have yet to come to terms with, or ignore completely. It’s also the tale of a very personal experience.

I recommend watching some Japanorama (the BBC series- it’s on youtube), and even some Japanese daytime TV. The series are about 10-12 episodes each, and I’ve gained lots of insight from them. Hm, what else. If you like watching films, I have an entire list, but it depends what side of the Japanese you want to see ;)

Untangling My Chopsticks by Victoria Abbott Riccardi was well written and interesting.

I loved Untangling My Chopsticks, too. I may have written review, but I can't remember. She's quite detailed about the cooking, though, so if you're not into food, get it from the library first. Also, anything by Haruki Murakami who is considered to be one of Japan's best authors who also writes in English. His books can be a bit dark, however.

I'm reading Murakami's Dance Dance Dance at present, and while interesting, I would say it's not "about Japan" as so much of the book is internal to the protagonist.

That's funny, I just came back from the library and was trying to get that book but it was out (as were all the others in my small, local library!?). Since joining this thread I've been in the mood to give his books another go. What do you think of it? I agree about his writing being very much in the head of the characters.

I'm listening to the audiobook, quite brilliantly read.

I am having a really tough time accepting that this is a translation - the words are exactly right for a native speaker of English, so much so (along with the North American narration) that it almost seems a western story "grafted" onto a Japanese setting; in other words, the protagonist could just as easily be an expat - one of the cop voices when the guy is brought in for questioning sounds exactly like George Bush!

It's proving a long read, anything but linear, but I'm glad I started it. He manages to meld the crime (noir) and surreal aspects perfectly.

I had read about The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and thanks for mentioning the library because for some reason it totally slipped my mind that that was an option. However, I just looked it up in the New York Public Library system and every single copy is out! All 27 copies. I had no idea it was that popular. Thanks for all the suggestions. The only reason I am planning to read Benedict is because I have the book and had read a chapter or two for a class so I figured I should read the rest.

I thought 'Japanland' by Karin Muller was quite interesting.