Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Gaijin by Sarah Z. Sleeper. I have always wanted to go to Japan and have taken classes learning the language and about the culture and history. My cousin was even stationed in Okinawa and I questioned him all about it and what it was like. I really thought this was a beautiful book and well written.

I had never heard the term, gaijin, before and it is used in two different ways in this story. By Owen, the mysterious boy that our story is centred around, who feels like a gaijin with his family and not really fitting in with society and family standards, and by the people that Lucy meets that describes the way they feel against the Americans (and any foreigners that live in Okinawa).

Lucy seems to be a cautious, reserved person who loves her studies. She falls hard for Owen – who seems full of life, with a kind heart and a beautiful smile. She imagines her whole life with this young man and you can imagine how devastated she was when he just up and leaves her with no explanation. Lucy struggles with this lack of closure, something that her friends and Mother does not understand. She makes a huge decision to travel as close to Japan and Owen as she could get – Okinawa. She is desperate for answers and closure.

I was not familiar with the history of Okinawa, which we are exposed to in this story. I did look up myself some of the history while reading this story as I had no idea how many American soldiers call this ‘home’ and the struggles the people have had that we are introduced into the novel. Lucy is exposed to rape, sexism, protests and anger against the Americans as she begins her career in journalism. Lucy arrives in Okinawa as a naive, innocent young woman who is determined to find Owen. She quickly grows emotionally, mentally as she is exposed to the culture and politics of Okinawa and the impact that the army has had on these people.

This was an excellent story from start to finish. While I had my suspicions of why Owen left, it was the growth of Lucy that I loved the most. She first left for superficial reasons (finding her lost love) but instead we see this great growth in her character. I loved every moment!

Thank you to NetGalley and Running Wild Press for the opportunity to read this book and provide my honest review.

I was very interested in the premise of this book and was very disappointed in the lack of character development and slow pace. I picked up this book on three separate occasions and each time I was only able to progress a few chapter in as the "love story" on which the book was based was so unbelievable due to no emotional connection between the two main characters.

This book was interesting in showing the history of Okinawa to the rest of Japan but this isn't a history or travel book it's a supposed novel. The book read slowly once you get to the 30% mark and you find out the main character, Lucy is a huge flake which makes the story unbearable.

Lucy Tosch has returned to Northwestern after a year away, a break to recover from the sudden death of her beloved father, when she meets the magnetic and charming Owen Ota, a Japanese student with whom she falls deeply in love, her first real passion. Although Owen is demonstrably affectionate, he avoids intimacy, and after only two months at the university, he flies home.

Entranced by her lost love, Lucy alters her academic path to include a minor in Japanese studies, and as she covers education at the Chicago Sun-Times, she applies for countless jobs in Japan, finally landing one at Okinawa Week, where Owen’s brother, Hisashi, is the sole photographer. She’s sure working with him will provide a path back to Owen and renewing their relationship.

However, Okinawa is nothing like the Japan she expected – it’s hot, humid, crowded, noisy, and filled with people who are openly hostile to Americans. She and her hotel driver are caught in a protest on the way to her first day at the paper, and she realizes that perhaps she should just quietly resign and go home.
“I was miserable and scared and overwhelmed, but I wasn’t a quitter and after all, I was in the country I’d longed for.”
Nor is Hisashi a romantic prospect. After their first sake-soaked dinner, he asks her:

“Would you date a Japanese man?”
“I already have dated a Japanese man.”

Hisashi realizes Lucy is referring to Owen, and he graciously accepts that their relationship will stay firmly in the friend zone. He becomes her travel partner, ally, and on the few occasions she needs a defender, Hisashi is there — and later, his parents, who are fond of Lucy and welcome her to their home with genuine warmth.
Although she decides to stay and honor her commitment to Okinawa, she has a hard time adjusting to what an American calls “Divorce Rock” and spends her first weeks in a depressed, alcohol-infused haze, listening to Leonard Cohen and wondering how she ended upon the other side of the world. Her mother hen and coworker, Amista, repeatedly reminds her about “spouting off,” her American habit of expressing her thoughts automatically, and again Lucy wonders how she’ll adjust to this strange island.
But adjust she does. She reacts calmly when an interview subject expresses his deep hatred of Americans, including her, and she manages to keep her cool when a stranger is arrested for using a camera strapped to his shoe to film upskirt footage as she’s walking to a restaurant. However, when she “spouts off” in court, an observer screams that ultimate insult: “Gaijin!”
Sarah Sleeper has written a wondrous tale of a woman just starting to emerge from her cocoon and spreading her wings halfway across the world. As she grows accustomed to life in Okinawa and travels the country with Hisashi — especially when they visit Aokigahara, the Suicide Forest, which has touched both of them — she broadens her views of the world, of life and death, the meaning of family, coming to terms with one’s identity, finding your true cause, and listening for her father’s encouraging whispers in the winds. Initially a broken young woman grieving her father’s death, her mother’s withdrawal, and the sudden departure of the man she loves, she summons the courage to face her fears, defying all sensible advice, and embracing the truth when it comes her way. In these revelatory moments, Lucy finds herself not on Divorce Rock, but the beautiful subtropical island where she creates a family of her own, filled with friends who love her, and devotes herself to a cause that strikes deep in her heart. Her story is a tale of bravery, recovery, renewal, and life, and readers are privileged to travel alongside her.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this novel but I had a good time reading it. The writing is very fast paced and very description.

Our main character Lucy arrives in Okinawa during a time of very high tension and stress as a young girl from Tokyo has accused an American soldier of rape which has led to protests and a very anti american sentiment throughout this novel.

We follow Lucy as she struggles with finding her way in this very different lifestyle and country to one she is used to and also trying to find a man she believes she is in love with. Right at the beginning of the novel we do find out where this man has disappeared to and the reasons behind it so we ended up with no mystery at all which I found a little disappointing. I believe the author could have planned out the mystery some more and actually had our main character actively out searching for these answers as the synopsis suggested.

One thing that I found a little uncomfortable was how obsessed lucy became over Owen, a man she barely knew and when he left town obsessed obsessed and depressed she was over it then up and flew to the other side of the world to have this wonderful reunion where they live happily ever after.

All in all I did have a pleasant reading experience with this book. It was very fast paced and I read it in one day. I am not an own voices reviewer so please look for those reviews regarding the portrayal of Okinawa and the cultural differences

Lucy wanted to find a job at Japan. Then she got a job at Okinawa where Owen's brother work. She wanted to work there to find Owen, her 'lover' who left with no explanation. It was exhausting reading this story. From the start lot of things happening in a short time. Lucy was exposed to rape, sexual assault, sexism and racism against American. Goshh It's pretty scary to read this!
When I found out why Owen did that, I was like what the hell did I just read? I'm pissed off!! But this make me wanted to finish this book ASAP!

Japan is a beautiful place and I love their culture. I wanted to visit Japan one fine day.

Thank you Netgalley, publisher and author for Gaijin ARC!

To be honest, based on the blurb of Gaijin, I was expecting a simple love story. What I got instead was a book filled with depth and beauty. That includes the story of Lucy and Owen, the descriptions of Japan, and a quest to find the truth.

However, as I already mentioned, this book has dark elements. As much as I was intrigued by haiku and tea ceremonies, I also learned how difficult it is to be a foreigner in certain parts of Japan and the contempt toward the American army. This delve into Japanese culture also showed me how certain traditions can ensure that areas of the population are not accepted, and how sexism is still rife. However, these themes were all touched upon in a respectful way, bringing no disrespect to Japan and its people.

Gaijin is the perfect balance between telling an intriguing story but staying true to real-life situations.

I really liked the angle of this novel, focusing on Okinawa as less an island paradise and more a place fraught with real social problems. The story itself was also intriguing and the writing expressive without being overbearing. Great book for anyone interested in Japan too.

Thank you for allowing me to preview this book. While it started out really strong and had my attention the story petered out after Lucy arrived in Okinawa and I lost interest. Best wishes.

2.5 stars

Gaijin means “foreigner” in Japanese. It carries with it the connotation of someone unwanted, unwelcome. The protagonist of this novel, Lucy, finds herself feeling very much unwelcome when she moves to Okinawa, Japan for a journalist position. While she tells everyone she has always been interested in Japanese culture, she is actually on the hunt for her former boyfriend, Owen, who disappeared from her life one month after they met. Having learned that Owen recently attempted suicide, she accepts a position at the same newspaper where his older brother works. Shortly after her arrival, a Japanese girl is raped by an American soldier. Anti-American protests break out, and Lucy begins to realize that she is far from welcome in her new home.

Throughout this novel, Sleeper also explores colourism in Japan, a concept about which I had never previously read. Other themes weaved through are grief, suicide, homophobia, and sexual violence.

While this book has great bones, it fell flat for me. The story had the potential to be compelling, but it dragged in many parts. There were some great passages, but this book lacked solid character development and introspection. I found that the characters needed some work to feel more like real people.

I did learn a lot, however, about Okinawa and its relationship to Japan. I would recommend it for that reason to anyone who is looking to learn about a region of Japan that is not often mentioned in Japanese literature (or literature set in Japan, which tends to focus on WWII).

Thank you to Netgalley and Running Wild Press for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The prologue of this novel opens with a promising lure which is backed up by the first few chapters. The writing is crisp and fast paced and the initial setting up of the story grabbed my interest. Unfortunately, this wasn’t sustained and a small portion of the blame can be attributed to the blurb not matching the story, to the point of leaving me wondering what book I was actually reading.

I’ll address the location first, where the blurb states that the character embarks on a three-month quest across Japan. In actuality, she moves to Okinawa, which is a Japanese prefecture comprising more than 150 islands in the East China Sea between Taiwan and Japan’s mainland. This distinction matters because Okinawa is not just another part of Japan and the cultural experience is vastly different. Indeed, upon her arrival in Okinawa, tensions are at boiling point between local Okinawans and the Americans who live there on the military bases. A teenager from Tokyo has accused an American serviceman of rape and this has in turn activated protests about the ongoing American military presence on the island. Lucy, the main character, as a journalist working at an Okinawa newspaper (not trekking about Japan as inferred, nor is she a budding journalist straight from university, but rather she was a graduate who had been working as a journalist in Chicago) becomes privy to the case. Lucy’s experiences in Okinawa from the outset are not positive, and she is constantly reminded by those around her that Okinawa offers the most un-Japanese Japanese experience. We, as readers, are then given reason after reason to find this place abhorrent. The anti-Japanese sentiment that seeps through these parts of the story is uncomfortable and almost gave me cause to abandon the novel. As the story continues, it swings from being anti-Japanese to anti-American without ever settling on a stance. In a novel set in a place that is seething with racial discord, I felt like it never really revealed its position, which is to its detriment as there was a lot of potential for digging into these relations and the history of the island, which in all honesty, would have done much to raise my interest levels in the story.

The blurb also states that Lucy’s Japanese ‘lover’ Owen disappears, and this provides the motivation for her relocation to Okinawa. Far from her lover, Owen is a young man Lucy developed an obsessive crush on, with the exchange of an awkward kiss, a Japanese tea ceremony, and a penned Haiku all that actually lay between them. Hardly the basis for an international move. Frankly, I thought it a rather baseless springboard for a plot. The more we learn about Owen, via Lucy insensitively ingratiating herself with his brother, the more bizarre Lucy’s obsession is revealed to be. Her realising that for herself later on offered no real redemption for the plot and the ‘twist’ about Owen fell flat. A plot driven by love is never my favourite, but it’s a whole lot more credible than a plot driven by a made-up one-sided relationship.

But wait, there’s more. Moving on from the misrepresentations in the blurb, it’s in these next two points that my real issues with the book lie. I wasn’t aware that the US had a present-day military presence in Okinawa, but they do and there is a myriad of problems that come from it. In particular, the high rate of sexual assaults perpetrated by American servicemen against local women. Take a quick read of this:

‘She went on to say that eighteen percent of Okinawa’s land was in use by military bases, cordoned off by fences, where U.S. soldiers lived and worked. Anyone associated with U.S. forces can go in and out of the gates freely.
“Okinawans must stay outside the gates. If you look at it this way, you can see that all of Okinawa has essentially been handed to the U.S. military.”
“Handed to them?” I wanted clarification.
She took her time in responding. “Okinawa is an open target for those with evil intent. We are off the radar of many Japanese, who prefer to forget about us. We are off the world radar because we are so small and powerless.”
To my surprise, Hisashi spoke up. “She’s right, Lucy. Okinawa is exploited and ignored.”’

With an issue such as this, which is based on facts (you don’t have to dig deep into the research to uncover a lot on this topic), there was so much potential for this novel to be a real platform for raising awareness and valid discussion, yet this section quoted is at the 88% mark of the book. Everything to do with this issue is mentioned and glossed over in favour of concentrating on Lucy’s, quite frankly, very boring and delayed coming of age. The rape allegation at the beginning of the novel and the ramifications extending through to the court case just seemed to take a sidebar. Instead of being a political and social narrative, the novel seemed determined to drive itself into a very different and much less substantial pigeon hole. Clearly, the author had some interest in this issue as it provides the seeds of the story. I just can’t understand why those seeds weren’t given the chance to fully flourish.

And now we are at my final point of contention, although this last one is honestly the real reason behind my low rating. So, Lucy finds out that Owen, her imaginary lover, after leaving Chicago and returning to Tokyo, took himself to a place called ‘Suicide Forest’, an actual place located on the north-western flank of Japan’s Mount Fuji, and attempted suicide.

‘The rumour, he said, is that the forest is infected with sorrow down to the tree roots and the dirt. Some say the forest itself has taken on the pain of the people left there to die and that it holds their misery captive somehow, so a depressed person finds it easier to kill himself there.’

Similar to her obsession with Owen, she becomes obsessed with visiting the place, so much so, she pushes his brother to take her there. I will freely admit that this is a case of my own personal life experiences shadowing my opinions of a book, but the insensitivity of a person being pressed into a journey to the place where their sibling attempted suicide, like some pilgrimage, is so abhorrent, it beggars belief that anyone would even think of such thing, much less work it into the plot of a book. This entire section of the novel, where they actually hike into Suicide Forest, only to make a grisly discover, was nothing more than gratuitous macabre sensationalism. That this place exists is utterly tragic; it should not be used as a backdrop for entertainment.

I am so disappointed in this book which had the potential to be so much, yet delivered so little.

‘You don't have to think about someone for him to be part of you. A person or memory just sits inside you and you have no choice about it.’

:

Lucy is studying Journalism, when she meets the handsome Owen Ota ,a new student from Japan. Their relationship soon flourishes into something beyond just friends. But when Owen disappears without a word or trace, heartbroken Lucy embarks on a quest to track him down across Japan.
When Lucy lands a job in Okinawa, she is soon faced with the reality that the Japan she thought she knew, was nothing like she had dreamt. She experiences first hand the barriers of being a gaijin, a Japanese slur, a foreigner in a country that is so culturally different. The odds are stacked against her. She soon learns that she can not just speak her mind, that honour and loyalty is as strong in the modern world as it was during the samurai era.
She witnesses the racial protests against the American military, and the sexism women still face.
While following Lucy on her Journey to Okinawa, we clearly see her transformation. Lucy starts off being naive but her experiences in Japan allow her to grow into a young lady that knows her own mind and finds her true calling.
Okinawa to the Aokigahara, the suicide forest of Mt Fuji.
I didn't know much about Okinawa before reading the book, but it made me curious, so I read up about the history of Okinawa and of Aokigahara. There are some loose facts that the author uses to build her story around. There is definitely scope here to delve deeper, especially with the events that transpire in the book and real life. But this would make this particular story completely different. It’s a light but enjoyable read.

Gaijin is a tale that takes us to Okinawa the least Japanese place there is in Japan.

Lucy meets Owen at college in Illinois while studying, The duo are partned up to do a presentation together. For Lucy who is a pathological loner apart from her best friend Rosie, soon finds herself charmed by Owen and Japan. Owen ups and leaves heading back to Tokyo and it sets wheels in motion for Lucy to leave her life behind and head to Japan.
She applies for jobs and gets one working at a newspaper in Okinawa.
A place where thousands of American Military live, protests happen and its not all Lucy thought it would be.

Can Lucy push Owen to the back of her mind, and why is his brother Hisashi defensive when his name is mentioned.

Gaijin is a tale of love, compassion, overcoming fears and finding a path in your life to follow. Going on a journey and making new friends. Lucy follows a path that takes her on a journey and finding herself and being happy.

A highly enjoyable read.

When Lucy first meets Owen Ota at Northwestern University, where she is studying journalism, she soon becomes quite besotted by him. He talks to her of traditional cultures of his home in Japan, the sheer beauty of the country and the gentle people. It isn’t long before she has fallen in love with him and his homeland. They are soon dating but he often refers to her as his friend, which she finds strange and things don’t progress quite like she would have liked, but she is still learning about his ways and traditions. He says he is a gaijin in her country, an unwanted foreigner.
Owen invites her to go to Japan with him but strangely disappears without saying anything to her. Lucy continues at university and adds a new course about Japan. When she sees a position advertised at a newspaper in Japan she applies for the position and is totally surprised that they offer her the job.
Lucy is determined to find out why Owen left her as he did, she is heartbroken. She has to grow up rather quickly in so many ways once she arrives in Japan. It is a cultural shock in every way possible. Determined not to go back home she faces everything head-on and finds a friend in an unexpected place. There are some very beautiful traditions but there are also some huge life expectations. Not everything in Japan is quite the dream country Lucy thought she was going to find.
I loved how Lucy’s character developed and how the environment made her so much stronger.
I wish to thank Anna Sacca of FSB Associates and NetGalley for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

When Owen, the college student Lucy has fallen for, moves back to Japan with little explanation, Lucy decides to move to Okinawa to work as a reporter, and attempt to find him.

Most books are either character driven, or plot driven, but sadly I sort of found this was neither. I still don't feel like I really know Lucy, and nothing really ever happens. The book tries to explore being a foreigner in a different culture and the unsavoury experiences that might invite, but there isn't really a plot. I found it very repetitive, and Lucy kept drawing parallels between her own experiences and those of other characters she came across. I wish the author wouldn't have drawn out those comparisons quite so overtly; it kind of felt like she didn't think the reader could make them on our own and so I felt like often the author would tell rather than show through the story. I also found some of the writing a little awkward and forced - 'My id wanted to smell his lips', for example.

So sadly this one wasn't for me. I think it would've worked better as a short story.

Thank you to Running Wild Press and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available August 6th 2020

Set in modern day Okinawa, Japan, 20 something year old blonde haired wide eyed Lucy is taken for the adventure of her lifetime when she sets off to be a foreign correspondent and uncover the mystery behind her ephemeral love affair with Owen Ota, a rich Japanese exchange student at NorthWestern. When she arrives in Japan, however, Lucy is in for a rude awakening as the people of Okinawa are in the middle of a protest against a US Solider accused of brutally raping a local Okinawan resident. Unwittingly thrust into the middle of racial tensions in her small town, Lucy starts to question her own motives in coming to Japan.

What strikes me the most is Lucy's constant claim to victimhood. She is always "misunderstood" by the Ota family, by her peers at the local newspaper, by the general public. She inherently believes that as an American citizen, she would be welcomed anywhere with open arms and cannot believe it when she isn't.

I did more reading on the history of sexually violent crimes by US military in Okinawa. In the 1950s, when occupation of Okinawa just began, conservative Japanese historians estimates that there were 330 sexual assault incidents per day by US military forces in the Far East. Since 2015, 65 US Marines have been charged with sexual assault crimes, though many more go unreported. 46 of those targeted children. In most of these trials, the US military members are given significant considerations due to their status. In light of these facts, Sleeper's portrayal of the court case seems almost superficial and pallid.

What is disappointing about this book is that Sleeper had a real chance at creating a cohesive work that explores the underside of US military occupation, that creates solidarity between Okinawans and the US. But she instead chooses to focus on the plight and naivety of a single, class and racially privileged white woman.

Gaijin is the story of Lucy, a student at Northwestern who is on a mission to find her ex-boyfriend, Owen. This is a story of unrequited love wrapped up in a story about acceptance of other cultures. The author deals with themes like shame, suicide, sexual assault, and others throughout the narrative. The book feels extremely personal, almost like you are reading Lucy's journal or diary. She is on a mission to find Owen and she will stop at nothing to find him. This journey takes her from the United States to Japan, a country she's read about but never experienced. There is predictable culture shock and Lucy travels alone, but meets up with someone who helps her through at least a portion of her journey.

While it is an interesting book with sweeping descriptions of Japanese landscapes, both urban and rural, this book wasn't for me. I read it through to the end and understood the big points of the narrative, but again it wasn't for me. This is a book that would be great for those that enjoy women's fiction and true contemporary novels that evoke emotions. I wasn't really in the right headspace when I read this and I will give it another go after it is published.

It's a quick read and an emotional book. I did enjoy the plot and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys women's fiction and contemporary, almost non-fiction books!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a galley copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gaijin reads like the diary or personal journal of an American woman who’d fallen in love with a Japanese and went looking for him in Japan when he suddenly disappeared.

I was looking forward to reading about the wonderful culture and places of Japan from an American’s creative point of view. I was disappointed therefore when the first two things to be mentioned were the suicide forest and the rape of a young Japanese girl. I’ve seen a documentary about the suicide forest and it’s real and utterly depressing.

The writing is good but this book is just not for me at the present time.

Thank you NetGalley and The publisher for the review copy. This is my honest opinion.

This was an enjoyable read, light in terms of speed to read it but not in terms of content. It touches upon themes like shame, suicide, sexual assault in an unusually gentle manner. The writer was quite adept at transporting the reader to the sweltering heat of Okinawa and portraying the cultural differences between the US and Japan.
It’s the story of an Illinois teenager who falls in love with a Japanese student and is inspired to move to Japan a few years later to experience the country he has brought to life for her. She finds more than just a culture shock when she arrives.

All in all, it is well written and engaging. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with copy in exchange for an honest review.