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A quick rec and a (sort of) anti-rec
Finishing out the week's theme of "Outsiders in Japan," I thought I'd close with a quick rec of American Fuji by Sara Backer. To be honest, it's been many years since I last read it, so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but it came up in an online conversation recently, and I do recall enjoying it. Main character Gaby loses her job teaching at a Japanese university and winds up working for a company that sells "fantasy funerals" and gets entangled in a murder mystery when she meets an American man who has come to investigate the death of his son, who has died mysteriously while studying in Japan. As I said, I don't remember that much about the book, but I recall it having a pretty good outsiders' view of the country that felt realistic.
On the other end of the spectrum, I recently read Owl and the Japanese Circus by Kristi Charish, an urban fantasy in which the main character Alix (also known as Owl) is an antiquities thief who gets bribed/blackmailed into stealing a supernatural artifact by Mr. Kurosawa, who appears to be a powerful Japanese businessman but is actually an even more powerful red dragon. I read the summary and thought, "Japan! Dragons! Supernatural fantasy! This is totally my jam!"
However...while the story was OK, it was a bit disappointing. I could be wrong, but I got the impression that the author wasn't particularly well-versed in Japanese culture or folklore, and that the Japanese setting was just a surface touch thrown in to add some exotic flavor. Even the name "Kurosawa" sounds like it might have been picked at random because it was a famous Japanese name the author had heard of. (Maybe I wouldn't have minded so much if someone had acknowledged the connection and cracked a joke about how the dragon chose that name because he likes Kurosawa films.) Other than the dragon and his supernatural henchman, there are no major Japanese characters in the story. Alix flies to Japan to meet her best friend--a Russian woman who owns a host bar, and the host who is Alix's love interest is Caucasian. (Well, there's more to him than meets the eye, but to say more would be a spoiler. But he's definitely not Japanese.)
Why set the story in Japan and not really have her interact with any Japanese people, other than a handful of extras and minor characters? Why not make the Russian friend and/or the host Japanese?
Aside from that, the story was OK, although I'm getting tired of the "headstrong, stubborn heroine (or hero) who refuses to accept advice or help from anyone, and thereby ends up putting herself and friends in danger" trope which pretty much fits Alix to a T. I probably won't bother reading the second book.
On the other end of the spectrum, I recently read Owl and the Japanese Circus by Kristi Charish, an urban fantasy in which the main character Alix (also known as Owl) is an antiquities thief who gets bribed/blackmailed into stealing a supernatural artifact by Mr. Kurosawa, who appears to be a powerful Japanese businessman but is actually an even more powerful red dragon. I read the summary and thought, "Japan! Dragons! Supernatural fantasy! This is totally my jam!"
However...while the story was OK, it was a bit disappointing. I could be wrong, but I got the impression that the author wasn't particularly well-versed in Japanese culture or folklore, and that the Japanese setting was just a surface touch thrown in to add some exotic flavor. Even the name "Kurosawa" sounds like it might have been picked at random because it was a famous Japanese name the author had heard of. (Maybe I wouldn't have minded so much if someone had acknowledged the connection and cracked a joke about how the dragon chose that name because he likes Kurosawa films.) Other than the dragon and his supernatural henchman, there are no major Japanese characters in the story. Alix flies to Japan to meet her best friend--a Russian woman who owns a host bar, and the host who is Alix's love interest is Caucasian. (Well, there's more to him than meets the eye, but to say more would be a spoiler. But he's definitely not Japanese.)
Why set the story in Japan and not really have her interact with any Japanese people, other than a handful of extras and minor characters? Why not make the Russian friend and/or the host Japanese?
Aside from that, the story was OK, although I'm getting tired of the "headstrong, stubborn heroine (or hero) who refuses to accept advice or help from anyone, and thereby ends up putting herself and friends in danger" trope which pretty much fits Alix to a T. I probably won't bother reading the second book.