| Wrong About Japan Contributor(s): Carey, Peter (Author) |
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ISBN: 1400078369 ISBN-13: 9781400078363 Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group OUR PRICE: $15.15 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 2006 Annotation: Previous winner of two Booker Prizes, Peter Carey expands his extraordinary achievement with each new novel -- but now gives us something entirely different. When famously shy Charley Carey becomes obsessed with Japanese manga and anime, Peter is not only delighted for his son, but entranced himself. Thus, with a father sharing his twelve-year-old's exotic comic books, begins a journey that will lead them both to Tokyo, where a strange Japanese boy will become both their guide and judge. The visitors quickly plunge deep into the lanes of Shitimachi -- into the "weird stuff" of modern Japan -- meeting manga artists and anime directors, "visualists" who painstakingly impersonate cartoons, and solitary "otakus" who lead a computerized existence. What emerges from these encounters is a pithy, far-ranging study of history and culture both high and low -- from samurai to salaryman, from kabuki theatre to the post-war robot craze. Peter Carey's observations are provocative, even though his hosts often point out, politely, that he is wrong about Japan. In adventures that are comic, surprising, and ultimately moving, father and son cope with and learn from each other in a place far from home. ""No Real Japan," said Charley. "You've got to promise. No temples. No museums." "From the Hardcover edition. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Travel | Essays & Travelogues - Travel | Asia - Japan |
| Dewey: 915.204 |
| LCCN: 2004048425 |
| Series: Vintage International |
| Physical Information: 0.47" H x 5.26" W x 8.12" (0.50 lbs) 176 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Japanese |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: When Peter Carey offered to take his son to Japan, 12-year-old Charley stipulated no temples or museums. He wanted to see manga, anime, and cool, weird stuff. His father said yes. Out of that bargain comes this enchanting tour of the mansion of Japanese culture, as entered through its garish, brightly lit back door. Guided-and at times judged-by an ineffably strange boy named Takashi, the Careys meet manga artists and anime directors, the meticulous impersonators called "visualists," and solitary, nerdish otaku. Throughout, the Booker Prize-winning novelist makes observations that are intriguing even when-as his hosts keep politely reminding him-they turn out to be wrong. Funny, surprising, distinguished by its wonderfully nuanced portrait of a father and son thousands of miles from home, Wrong About Japan is a delight. |