|
I thoroughly enjoyed reading these books.
Alien Rice by Ichiro Kawasaki
This story is written from the perspective of British woman who
marries a Japanese salaryman, and returns to Japan in the 1970s.
At first you wonder how such a union between two people who seem
to have so little in common survive the trials of married life.
As the story progresses, you realise that both Alice and Saburo
need each other. They are both adventurous and brave enough to
try new things. Alice comes from a working class family, and while
working for a Japanese firm she begins to realise her self-worth
and the advantage of simply being a western woman in a Japanese
firm. Saburo is not the typical Japanese man, and he wants to
experience life in London to the fullest. So they fall in love
and get married. At this point, you might expect me to say 'and
they live happily ever after'. Not so soon. Saburo is transfered
back to Japan. A son is born to them. Alice's ideas on parenting
are different than Japanese mothers. Moreover, she wants a life
of her own beyond her roles of wife and mother. For a while, she
is successful in schieving that in Japan. But soon enough, they
realise that Alice would never feel that she belonged there, and
neither would their son. So, they embark upon another adventure.
36 Views of Mount Fuji by Cathy N. Davidson
This is an account of an American visiting professor who teaches
English at a Japanese women's college. She visited and lived in
Japan four different times, and then wrote this book. It is very
thoughtful book. When you live in a foreign country and you don't
speak the language fluently, you almost feel like you are there
as an observer on a fact finding mission, and it takes some time
to feel comfortable, and be a part of life rather than just looking
in from the outside. This feeling of inadequacy is very appropriately
described. Being an American woman, she finds that her students
imitate her and also share their hopes and dreams with her. For
her part, she notes that her stereotypes about Japanese society
are contradicted. She gathers insight into the lives of women
in she comes in touch with. On a refereshing note, she also learns
of the rituals of ordinary life which have a calming effect on
life in a fast moving island nation. Her admiration for this different
outlook on life grows so much that she attempts to create it back
in the States.
36 Japanese Women by Kumiko Fujimuraby Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow and Atsuko Kameda
This is a collection of essays written about Japanese women by
Japanese women. It deals mostly with current women's issues --
marriage, work, changing roles of men and women, role of education,
a woman's place in society and government, sexism and the portrayal
of women in modern culture. These are serious topics, and applicable
to women's lives in all societies. This book is very educational,
but easy to read and informative.
|
