When Chris Broad arrived in a rural village in northern Japan, with no language skills or teaching experience, he wondered if he’d made a horrible a mistake. Over ten years, he travelled the forty-seven prefectures, from lush countryside to neon-lit Tokyo, experiencing unforgettable moments including a missile scare, a mortifying experience at a love hotel, and a week with a film star, in an engaging and informative journey through Japan.
Today’s choice was quite a light read, although it had some mixed reviews. Getting a window into Japanese life was enjoyable, and this really appealed to those of our group who hope to go to Japan – or in the case of one reader, have recently been. Reading about Chris’s culture shock and hearing about the cultural differences (from smoking and drinking habits to convenience store food) was interesting and thought provoking. A couple of readers who’d been to Japan found his observations quite accurate, particularly around etiquette and day-to-day life, but some felt that Chris seemed quite cynical which was disappointing.
We felt that the book didn’t quite match the promise of its blurb – particularly the suggestion of travelling across all prefectures. While he does climb Mount Fuji, he doesn’t go into detail, which some readers would have found interesting. (Incidentally this is the second SWFT book choice author who has climbed Mount Fuji, see Olive, Mabel and Me by Andrew Cotter)
We felt the writing style felt more like a series of blog posts or YouTube scripts rather than a memoir or travel journal. This was understandable, given that Chris has a YouTube channel, and it made the book easy to dip in and out. However other readers said it made the book feel quite disjointed. There was a noticeable change in the book when Chris left teaching to focus on his YouTube channel full-time, and several readers felt that the book was less engaging after that point.
Some readers found his humour genuinely funny, while others thought it veered into being a bit crude at times. Similarly, while a few appreciated how relatable Chris’s anxieties about language and culture shock were, others felt that his experiences were very specific to him and didn’t always give a broader sense of what living in Japan was like. One group member recommended another YouTuber in Japan to follow for a different perspective (Paolo from Tokyo).
It did definitely make some of the group think that we wouldn’t want to live permanently in another country!
Overall, we felt that Abroad in Japan was an easy, sometimes amusing read with some interesting cultural insights, and scored it 4/5
Our next meeting is on 15th July at 1pm when we will be discussing The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab
Meet Addie, a young woman in 18th century France who makes a deal with the devil for immortality. The side effect? She is forgotten by everyone she meets. Wandering the world alone, she lives as an unseen muse to artists, with only the devil as her companion. One day in modern-day New York she encounters someone who can remember her…will this change her fate?
Copies are available to borrow from the Education Centre Library at Warwick Hospital.
As always, you are more than welcome to borrow a copy even if you can’t make the meeting – we appreciate thoughts shared by email and in person
Previous book reviews are now up on the Library Blog