Dave Barry Does Japan
"One of the funniest peole ever to tap tap on a PC."\ PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Not since George Bush's memorable dinner with the Japanese prime minister has the Land of the Rising Sun seen the likes of a goodwill ambassador like Dave Barry. Join him as he belts out oldies in a karaoke bar, marries a geriatric geisha girl, takes his first bath in public, bows to just about everyone, and explores culture shock in all its numerous humorous forms, including: Failing to Learn Japanese in Only Five...
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Barry samples Japan's native cuisine ("things that have eyeballs or suckers or other flagrantly unacceptable organs still attached to them"); experiences the agonies of Kabuki and the ecstasies of karaoke; takes his first (and last) bath in public; and explores culture shock in all its humorous forms. Abridged. Publishers Weekly A first-class all-expenses-paid three-week vacation in Japan, underwritten by his publisher, provides Miami Herald columnist and humorist Barry with material for some tired gags about language problems, kowtowing, eating and other quick-take visitor befuddlements in the land of the rising sun. Dutifully covering the standard tourist attractions, including Hiroshima, Mount Fiji and the pearl factories, he presents himself as a sort of Everyman-in-Japan-for-the-first-time, fueling his jokes with his ignorance of the language, history and culture. Although much of the humor is strained or tasteless, on occasion readers can laugh without embarrassment. Nevertheless this made-to-order book will likely find a made-to-order audience among fans of such previous titles as Dave Barry Slept Here. (Oct.)
\ Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly\ A first-class all-expenses-paid three-week vacation in Japan, underwritten by his publisher, provides Miami Herald columnist and humorist Barry with material for some tired gags about language problems, kowtowing, eating and other quick-take visitor befuddlements in the land of the rising sun. Dutifully covering the standard tourist attractions, including Hiroshima, Mount Fiji and the pearl factories, he presents himself as a sort of Everyman-in-Japan-for-the-first-time, fueling his jokes with his ignorance of the language, history and culture. Although much of the humor is strained or tasteless, on occasion readers can laugh without embarrassment. Nevertheless this made-to-order book will likely find a made-to-order audience among fans of such previous titles as Dave Barry Slept Here. Oct.\ \ \ \ \ Robert J. CollinsThe majority of "Dave Barry Does Japan" is on target...."My most important finding," he tells us, "does not involve the difference between us and Japan; it involves the similarities. Because despite the gulf, physical and cultural, between the United States and Japan, both societies are, in the end, made up of people, and people everywhere -- when you strip away their superficial differences -- are crazy." -- New York Times\ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsBarry (Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need, 1991, etc.), syndicated humorist and author of a lot of funny books (most with his name in the title—as if there's a lot of shoddy imitation), does it again. This time he does it to the Land of the Rising Sun. The current offering beats making the trip. As Barry notes, "flying from the United States to Japan takes approximately as long as law school." And the book is cheaper. This volume is full of insight into ethnic differences (it would be simpler, for example, "to get the entire population of Tokyo to wear matching outfits than to get any two randomly selected Americans to agree on pizza toppings") and technical similarities ("Japanese telephones work pretty much like ours, except that the person on the other end doesn't understand you"). The always cosmopolitan author, with spouse and ten-year-old son, goes to a mannerly baseball game, sits through a bit of Kabuki, attends a puzzling comedy club, gapes at sumo wrestlers, nearly views Mt. Fuji, worries about the eel shortage, sings karaoke with the worst of them, experiences almost terminal tranquility at a traditional inn, and takes a traditional bath with his traditional yakuta tied wrong. Don't confuse the first-class clowning with contemporary Japan-bashing. Barry sees things quite clearly. And, inspired by a visit to Hiroshima, there's a new, thoughtful touch of maturity. Throughout, though, Barry seeks to avoid the very real dangers of mutual understanding between nations. He succeeds admirably, with his accustomed slapstick ease. A droll, light companion to all those heavy texts that offer dreary, detailed analyses of Nippon and its people; and if your yakuta istied wrong, the hell with it. (Line drawings by Barry throughout.)\ \
