Rating: 
Summary: American Arrogance
Review: The book is written by a woman who is 100% certain that American women and families have better lives than Japanese. She ignores what is good about Japanese society, mostly because she just isn't very interested. She approaches her subject, believing in advance that what she wants to communicate is that Japanese women are down-trodden. As someone who has lived in Japan, this book made me embrassed to be an American. But fortuantely I remember we are not all insufferable xenophobes like this author. Read the book if you like, but beware it is written from a single, very closed-minded perspective.
Rating: 
Summary: Window into another lifestyle
Review: This book provides glimpses of the lifestyle of an average Japanese housewife. Written by a journalist rather than an anthropologist, the author explores the life and important events of Mariko over the course of a year. Through the author's interviews, we learn the history of the family and the views of Mariko, her husband and children on such topics as family life, parenting, and work. As a journalist, Bumiller is quite interested in Japanese opinions and attitudes about current events, so Mariko and her family explain some of their complex feelings about the U.S. We visit the children's schools and work places, and see where they go on vacation. Along the way, Bumiller also interviews prominent Japanese who are in some way connected to aspects of Mariko's life, such as politicians, the head of the mob, and a talk show host. By the end of the book, readers are familiar with many details of average Japanese family life, something that would be unattainable unless one were to either grow up in Japan or live for long enough in Japan to develop close friendships with locals. But even Bumiller points out that she has only scratched the surface, and there is much about Mariko's life that we can never comprehend just by reading a book.
Rating:
Summary: Window into another lifestyle
Review: This book provides glimpses of the lifestyle of an average Japanese housewife. Written by a journalist rather than an anthropologist, the author explores the life and important events of Mariko over the course of a year. Through the author's interviews, we learn the history of the family and the views of Mariko, her husband and children on such topics as family life, parenting, and work. As a journalist, Bumiller is quite interested in Japanese opinions and attitudes about current events, so Mariko and her family explain some of their complex feelings about the U.S. We visit the children's schools and work places, and see where they go on vacation. Along the way, Bumiller also interviews prominent Japanese who are in some way connected to aspects of Mariko's life, such as politicians, the head of the mob, and a talk show host. By the end of the book, readers are familiar with many details of average Japanese family life, something that would be unattainable unless one were to either grow up in Japan or live for long enough in Japan to develop close friendships with locals. But even Bumiller points out that she has only scratched the surface, and there is much about Mariko's life that we can never comprehend just by reading a book.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful look at Japanese family life and interaction
Review: This book takes a personal look at Mariko, who is a wife, mother, and daughter in modern-day Japan. This book cuts through typical Japan-bashing rhetoric, and provides an intimate look at Japanese family life during a time when familial roles are being challenged and re-defined almost daily. This behind-the-scenes view of family life is one that few non-Japanese get to experience.
I particularly enjoyed how the book illustrated the rhythm of Mariko's daily life over a year's time. The book shows how Japanese women have much more freedom of expression and independence than men which is quite contrary to what most westerners believe.
Rating:
Summary: A great book for those interested in Japanese culture
Review: True, this book is written from a Western perspective, but as most of the readers are coming from that same perspective, this did not bother me. This book examines the life of Mariko and her
family and gets beyond the surface to examine work, love, gender roles, growing up, school, traditions, and more in modern-day Japan. It is fascinating and will make you want to know more about Japan and Japanese culture.
Rating:
Summary: One Woman & Japanese Society
Review: via mariko, a japanese woman, the author, liz bumiller, provides insight into japanese society: family and intimate relationships, economy and work, government and politics, healthcare and medicine, education, and religion. not a bad read, if you want to know about the personal troubles of a japanese woman and how these minor troubles relate to the major social issues of japan.
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