Rating: 
Summary: As Enlightening As It Is Entertaining
Review:
What a wonderful and fascinating look into the Japanese culture as seen through the eyes of a gaijin. American Alex Thorn travels to Japan searching for answers about the death of his son who was an exchange student there. Along the way he elicits the help of Gaby Stanton, a female American expatriate and former teacher at Shizuyama University. In order to navigate the somewhat mysterious and often quirky Japanese society Thorn must first learn about the intricacies of Japanese customs and the chasm that separates Eastern and Western ways of thinking. A thoroughly enlightening journey it turns out to be. Ultimately, the closure Thorn seeks ends up opening a new sense of self-awareness, a new sense of hope and new sense possibilities in moving his life forward.
Author Sara Backer is dead-on the mark as she so wonderfully and cleverly captures the subtle nuances of the Japanese. Herself having spent three years teaching in Japan, Ms Backer is able to add a firsthand flavor to her writing - especially through her female character Gaby Stanton. A fast and delightful read.
Rating: 
Summary: Fits all my criteria for a great read
Review: A great read for me has characters who you can care about - who may be wounded but don't surrender their lives because of this. Secondly, a great read has humnor and originality. Third, a great read teaches me something. This novel achieves all of these criteria.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: A wonderful, original novel about American and Japanese cultural differences and what it feels like to be a foreigner living in Japan.Not only was the story fresh and original, but the characters were realistic and not one-dimensional. I hope the author intends on writing more books. She is a gifted storyteller.
Rating:
Summary: Right on the mark
Review: After reading this book, and the reviews that others have mentioned here, I felt I must put my own opinion down. As a gaijin who spent 5 years in Japan, I can relate with almost all of the experiences of Gaby Stanton. This book hit it all right on the mark. Men experience a different Japan than women do. I understand completely how Gaby felt that her "outsider" status with the rest of her life made living with her disease somehow easier. The one thing the author didn't portray very well was the truely second class status women have in Japan. Perhaps because it would then seem over the top to those that haven't experienced it. This book is Japan - as it is now, in the eyes of a long time female outsider looking at it. It really tells it like it is - and manages to tell a good story while doing it.
Rating:
Summary: Right on the mark
Review: After reading this book, and the reviews that others have mentioned here, I felt I must put my own opinion down. As a gaijin who spent 5 years in Japan, I can relate with almost all of the experiences of Gaby Stanton. This book hit it all right on the mark. Men experience a different Japan than women do. I understand completely how Gaby felt that her "outsider" status with the rest of her life made living with her disease somehow easier. The one thing the author didn't portray very well was the truely second class status women have in Japan. Perhaps because it would then seem over the top to those that haven't experienced it. This book is Japan - as it is now, in the eyes of a long time female outsider looking at it. It really tells it like it is - and manages to tell a good story while doing it.
Rating:
Summary: A fresh view of Japan and a fun read too.
Review: Although I've never been to Japan, this book took me there. It made me feel what it would be like to live in a culture that is truly "inscrutable" to the average American. The characters are likable, interesting and well-developed. The plot moves along swiftly with surprises at just the right places. It reminds me a little of some of Barbara Kingsolver's books. Both authors write in a fresh way about believable people whose lives manage to work out okay...not happily ever after, just okay. This was a very satisfying read. I was short on sleep several nights because I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to see what Ms Backer writes next!
Rating:
Summary: CULTURE, CULTURE, CULTURE!!
Review: Although this is a novel, Sara Backer has really captured the "feel" of being in Japan and the bewilderment Alex Thorn (pronounced "Zone"san by the Japanese) a book character encounters when trying to get something done inside Japan. For anyone who has traveled to Japan frequently or has lived there this book provides the reader with a comic look at Japanese culture and provides a good story to go along with it. For the first 1/3 of the book literally every paragraph I either broke a smile or burst into a hardy laugh at the indirect fun poking at Japan by Ms. Backer. This is not to say, that the book is mean spirited at Japanese or Japanese culture, it is not. But her ability to gently point things out that are radically different from our perspective is amazing. Of course the main point she makes is that no matter how well you speak, read, or write Japanese you will NEVER be accepted as an equal. You will ALWAYS be a gaijin (foreigner or outsider, but with the slight nuance of 'not one of us', barbarian). The book takes a political stab at America's lack of universal health coverage through its portrail of the main Character, Gaby Stanton's serious medical problem. She is not able to obtain medical insurance in the U.S. but because she is a legal resident in Japan she is able to get coverage from the Japanese government. This was an interesting dimension to the story, although I don't know how valid it is as I have heard MANY complaints about Japanese health care. The book is especially interesting and funny to those of us that have had at least some exposure to Japanese and Japanese culture. For an uninitiated person that knows nothing about Japan or Japanese culture the story is damn interesting one and will provide some highlights about the East as well as keep your attention while reading a comic mystery story. I recommend the book. Joseph D. Seckelman
Rating:
Summary: CULTURE, CULTURE, CULTURE!!
Review: Although this is a novel, Sara Backer has really captured the "feel" of being in Japan and the bewilderment Alex Thorn (pronounced "Zone"san by the Japanese) a book character encounters when trying to get something done inside Japan. For anyone who has traveled to Japan frequently or has lived there this book provides the reader with a comic look at Japanese culture and provides a good story to go along with it. For the first 1/3 of the book literally every paragraph I either broke a smile or burst into a hardy laugh at the indirect fun poking at Japan by Ms. Backer. This is not to say, that the book is mean spirited at Japanese or Japanese culture, it is not. But her ability to gently point things out that are radically different from our perspective is amazing. Of course the main point she makes is that no matter how well you speak, read, or write Japanese you will NEVER be accepted as an equal. You will ALWAYS be a gaijin (foreigner or outsider, but with the slight nuance of 'not one of us', barbarian). The book takes a political stab at America's lack of universal health coverage through its portrail of the main Character, Gaby Stanton's serious medical problem. She is not able to obtain medical insurance in the U.S. but because she is a legal resident in Japan she is able to get coverage from the Japanese government. This was an interesting dimension to the story, although I don't know how valid it is as I have heard MANY complaints about Japanese health care. The book is especially interesting and funny to those of us that have had at least some exposure to Japanese and Japanese culture. For an uninitiated person that knows nothing about Japan or Japanese culture the story is damn interesting one and will provide some highlights about the East as well as keep your attention while reading a comic mystery story. I recommend the book. Joseph D. Seckelman
Rating: 
Summary: Knowledgeable but frustrating account of Japan
Review: American Fuji is a well written first novel. Sara Backer's writing flows smoothly and the text is engaging enough. She appears to know Japan and its quirks quite well. At times, the book is hilarious without descending into cheap jokes about linguistic mishaps that are so common amongst gaijin writing about Japan. Nevertheless, I was left with a sour taste in my mouth. Most of the Japanese characters (perhaps with the exception of the elderly man who had been saved by a heart transplant that is at the center of the story) are depicted as either hapless or scheming crooks. The foreign men (again, with the exception of the protagonist visiting from the States) for their part are shallow skirt-chasers and beer guzzling party animals. The main antagonist, a Japanese university professor and Buddhist priest, is shown as evil beyond belief. I realize that the experiences of western women living in Japan are often more frustrating than those of their male counterparts, but it seems that Sara Backer has a particular axe to grind. Having said that, American Fuji has much going for it.
Rating:
Summary: Suspense, Romance ¿ and Sushi!
Review: American Fuji is an impressive debut novel that hooked me from page one and didn't let go until I felt like I was standing next to Alex at the top of Mt. Fuji. There are equal doses of humor, romance and suspense layered in this story of two Americans in contemporary Japan. Even though I've never been to Japan, I feel now like I have, thanks to Sara Backer's keen eye and gift for rich description. The characters are nicely drawn and the plot keeps you turning pages. But at the heart of American Fuji is the relationship between Gaby and Alex and this works on every level. I especially applaud the author for having the courage to paint Gaby as such a whole person, complete with personal medical problems. In short, American Fuji is one of the best books I've read in a long time and I look forward to more work from this engaging author.
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