American Fuji

Excellent, funny, intrguing, and soulful. This book will hook you on page one. An unusual heroine, a funny plot, a strange situation, a tense mystery....what's not to love? In fact, I have not picked up a piece of mainstream fiction I've enjoyed this much since CHOCOLAT and WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. In Japan, the role of the gaigin is a catch-all, doing the jobs no one else wishes to fill ("dishonorable" positions). However, I was really flabbergasted by the treatment they receive, which in America would assuredly be labeled as the worst racist behavior (pointing them out, yelling "foreigner!" foreigner!", being rude to them, purposely confusing them, treating them as second-class citizens). "Expecting the unexpected" forms the theme of AF. I think this is how life is in Japan for foreigners only--Gaby makes it clear that after about 3 years, one learns to read through the silences and fill in the gaps. A stranger will find much that is "unexpected" when they don't understand the subtle nuances of Japanese communications. I loved the "romance," if you want to call it that, in this story because it was such an unusual one. Let's face it: how many times will you EVER read of a romance in which a man falls for a woman who is terribly ill? This made the love even more touching and realistic to me. Gaby and Alex are both outsiders. Gaby at first feels like she doesn't want to "play the obligation game" for someone who doesn't even realize he's in it. She feels a bit like an "insider" looking at the foolish "outsider," but slowly they are united through their outsider feelings. His loss of his son, I think, affects her. She understands mourning, in a way. And his need of her is likewise affecting. I was a bit surprised that the "conspiracy" was different from what I expected, but again, it went with the quirky feel of the book. I loved the ending, with the long, slow climb up Mount Fuji. It was really deeply visual, and I felt Alex's conclusions changing as he rose. Sara Backer is, clearly, a masterful writer. I trust her vision, her craft, and her voice, and as a reader I trust her to lead me somewhere magnificent.