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Review
"'Ingenious... With great delicacy, Nothomb updates the age-old divide between East and West in this delectable little book.' O, The Oprah Magazine; 'Nothomb is the latest enfant terrible of French letters... She has an acidic yet passionately romantic view of human nature.' Elle"
Product Description
'Ingenious . . . With great delicacy, Nothomb updates the age-old divide between East and West in this delectable little book.' O, The Oprah Magazine
Amélie, a well-intentioned and eager young westerner, goes to Japan to spend a year working at the Yumimoto Corporation. Returning to the land where she was born is the fulfilment of a dream for Amélie, but once there her working life quickly becomes a comic nightmare of terror and self-abasement. Disturbing, hilarious and totally convincing, Fear and Trembling displays an elegant and shrewd understanding of the intricate ways in which Japanese relationships are made and spoiled.
'A vituperatively funny attack on an alien culture.' Daily Telegraph
'Nothomb is the latest enfant terrible of French letters - she has an acidic yet passionately romantic view of human nature.' Elle
'A scathingly funny novella.' Newsday
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I just loved it! It is very short and easy to read, quick!
Nothomb does not waste time describing the obvious (the reader is definitely not taken by the hand to the point that the imagination is not even required).
I was wondering who really was the victim, or victims, or the torturer(s). It ends abruptely and you almost wonder if you are missing some pages.
I loved to hate its plot and characters. A simple book that really entertained me for my daily train route (from gigling to wanting to punch people). I have already ordered more of Nothomb books... and I cant wait! I was entertained and surprised, the perfect match for fiction book reading.
Nothomb does not waste time describing the obvious (the reader is definitely not taken by the hand to the point that the imagination is not even required).
I was wondering who really was the victim, or victims, or the torturer(s). It ends abruptely and you almost wonder if you are missing some pages.
I loved to hate its plot and characters. A simple book that really entertained me for my daily train route (from gigling to wanting to punch people). I have already ordered more of Nothomb books... and I cant wait! I was entertained and surprised, the perfect match for fiction book reading.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Fear And Trembling is a delightfully humourous novella which is eminently readable, yet also thought-provoking in a multitude of ways. Semi-autobiographical, it is a first-person narrative of the Japanese corporation through Western eyes. The rigidly hierarchical, authoritarian, racist and sexist Japanese corporation which dominates Japanese society is portrayed with penetrating irony and humour and as such constitutes a insightful, if at times simplistic, analysis of Japanese society. But before Western voices smugly talk about "the age-old divide between East and West" (Oprah Magazine) or an "attack on an alien culture" (Daily Telegraph), I think it's worth pondering the universality of this little book. Over the past century, corporations have increasingly come to dominate societies the world over, and as Joel Bakan has lucidly analysed in 'The Corporation', the corporation is an inherently psychopathic entity. We can laugh at the Japanese executive who names his son 'work' in Japanese, but the Japanese are by no means the only wage-slaves. Nor is workplace bullying and sexism confined to Japan. Corporations dominate the lives of people both humane and inhumane, intelligent and stupid, the world over. Amélie's eventual fate as a lavatory cleaner can be seen as a metaphor for the price of non-conformism in any contemporary society. Fear And Trembling is thus also a penetrating indictment of corporate society per se. As for those who talk of Nothomb as "over-rated", this concept implies a consensus about literature which thankfully doesn't exist, moribund academics notwithstanding. For me personally Fear And Trembling is a wonderful book. Highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Fear and trembling" describe the behaviour expected of the Japanese on entering the presence of their Emperor, when he was still regarded as a living god. These extreme emotions were still found to apply when Amélie Nothomb took up a year's contract in 1990 as a translator in the authoritarian, anti-individualistic, inward-looking Japanese corporation of "Yumimoto". The shattering of her illusions was all the more painful since this young Belgian had lived happily in Japan as a child.
In the semi-autobiographical book based heavily on her experiences, Amelie describes her humiliating descent through a series of tasks, ending up spending months as the lavatory attendant on the forty-fourth floor. The decision to endure this fate rather than resign is her only form of retaliation, since her ludicrous demotion reflects badly on her boss. The only way the other staff can show sympathy, if not solidarity, is by boycotting the loos in her charge.
I was torn between frustration through not knowing how much of this parody is true or just very exaggerated and unsubtle, irritation over Amélie who is clearly a pain in the neck at times and brings some of her troubles upon herself, and a sense of unease over the very negative, one-sided portrayal of the Japanese. Amélie chooses not to mention her life outside work at all, which gave the story a very narrow, claustrophobic quality, which in artistic terms could be thought quite effective.
Nothomb, who is on her own admission quite eccentric and clearly enjoys attention, has become something of a cult novelist with some, but is considered by others to be overrated. I tend to agree with the latter view. In her crude and unhelpful treatment of cultural differences, revenge and self-promotion seem to be the main objectives.
In the semi-autobiographical book based heavily on her experiences, Amelie describes her humiliating descent through a series of tasks, ending up spending months as the lavatory attendant on the forty-fourth floor. The decision to endure this fate rather than resign is her only form of retaliation, since her ludicrous demotion reflects badly on her boss. The only way the other staff can show sympathy, if not solidarity, is by boycotting the loos in her charge.
I was torn between frustration through not knowing how much of this parody is true or just very exaggerated and unsubtle, irritation over Amélie who is clearly a pain in the neck at times and brings some of her troubles upon herself, and a sense of unease over the very negative, one-sided portrayal of the Japanese. Amélie chooses not to mention her life outside work at all, which gave the story a very narrow, claustrophobic quality, which in artistic terms could be thought quite effective.
Nothomb, who is on her own admission quite eccentric and clearly enjoys attention, has become something of a cult novelist with some, but is considered by others to be overrated. I tend to agree with the latter view. In her crude and unhelpful treatment of cultural differences, revenge and self-promotion seem to be the main objectives.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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Interesting read, written in a very simple and at times childish language, exploring tiny bits of Japanese culture and comparing it, very mildly, with Western culture. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ms. Mehrnoosh Sadrzadeh
Welcome to the real world!
Once upon a time, a year after the start of the 1989 Japanese recession, a new employee came to work at the Yumimoto company in Tokyo. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Omnes
'All forms of beauty are poignant. Japanese beauty particularly so'
Amelie Nothomb has a real passion for Japan and the Japanese. Her story of working in Japan is peppered with one failure after another. She just never seems to get it right. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Hazel Danielle Benson
Fear and Trembling
I loved this book. Very witty and almost semi-tragic at times. I have been to Japan, but didn't even skirt the surface of the culture not speaking Japanese or being there for any... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Rachel EM Firth
Brilliant!
A humorous yet sensitive observation of cultural differences, conveyed in a charming style of narrative. Read more
Published 22 months ago by W
Don't speak too ill of yourself, people will believe you.
A strange little book (132pp), this had me reading compulsively to see where on earth it was going to take me. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Eileen Shaw
My career was in the toilet
Literally, in the bathrooms on the forty-fourth floor of the Yumimoto Corporation. This is some comedown given the narrator's early ambition. Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2009 by Sphex
light but profound
This short book manages to be both hilarious and painful and both light and profound - written with a delicate touch but serious in its exploration of ideas.
Published on 30 July 2009 by William Jordan
There is not much to this book, but what there is is excellent! A gem!
A mere 132 pages; a simple story without embellishment - of a Westerner trapped in a Japanese corporation - but the impact is huge. Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2008 by stevieby
A little gem of a book
Once started (for me at 11.00pm!) this book is unputdownable! It was well after midnight before I was able to tear myself away from this interesting, quirky and unusual story. Read more
Published on 15 May 2006 by A. Crane
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