- Hardcover: 160 pages
- Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (10 Jan 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0297828991
- ISBN-13: 978-0297828990
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 14 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,136,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
Product Description
Book Description
24 copy dumpbin, header and poster
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Daniel Thayne, a young Englishman, finds himself trapped in Tokyo; working illegally in a ramshackle language school, his passport lost, he is hustled towards marriage with Keiko, his Japanese girlfriend. In MR FOREIGNER Matthew Kneale brilliantly illustrates the profound differences between Western and Eastern cultures. The problems encountered by Daniel when dealing with the Japanese are at the same time both comic and deeply disturbing. Set in a Japan unfamiliar to most of us, this is a marvellous novel from one of our finest contemporary writers.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Keiko Harada was wearing Mickey Mouse socks again. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Keiko Harada was wearing Mickey Mouse socks again. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Here's a book for anybody skipping off to Japan to teach English! Matthew Kneale tells a great story here, as hapless Daniel Thayne lurches from disaster to disaster in his increasingly bizarre relationship with Keiko the thirtysomething Japanese divorcee who wears Mickey Mouse socks. His life at work is no better as he ekes out an existence teaching English in some third rate private academy, always unsure of when and how much he will get paid, and indeed if he will get paid at all.
Matthew Kneale certainly conveys Daniel's sense of alienation in a country where the language is the first stumbling block but is almost nothing compared to the cultural differences which make it impossible to second guess anybody's reaction to anything. The novel draws a lot of its dark humour from our sympathy with Daniel as he struggles to make sense of events around him and becomes increasingly embroiled in his relationship with Keiko and her family.
My only criticism of this novel would be that whilst the reader feels sorry for Daniel as he's in a tricky situation, on turning the last page you feel you know the characters no better than you did on opening the book. Details of dress and language are well observed but the motivation of the characters remains a mystery to us. This extends to Daniel himself.
Having said that it's a good read that will keep you turning the pages wondering what bizarre thing will happen next.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a very disappointing book, especially but not exclusively because English Passengers is an exceptional novel and Mr Foreigner pales dramatically beside it.
It's a quick read, and it soon becomes obvious why. The characters are slight and in some cases far too unfocused to have any sense of credibility. The story is limp and makes ungainly leaps in search of solid footing - which it never actually finds. There are also the usual Japanese stereotypes, and whilst some of the realities and landscapes of Japan are reasonably accurately portrayed, such as some of the observations about language school students, the fact is that so much is left out of the equation as to render the whole thing near impotent in terms of sparking the reader's imagination about Japan and its very particular culture. Other aspects are simply untrue and misleading; the scene on the train amidst and earth tremor is wildly inaccurate of Japanese responses to such things.
Overall, I would recommend avoiding this book. Instead, read English Passengers again. It's a much better spend of anyone's time.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Matthew Kneale's "English Passengers" is a near-perfect novel. "Sweet Thames" has a good plot, good characterization and is only let down by some overstretched coincidences and its weak ending. "Mr Foreigner" (formerly "Whore Banquets") is entirely different: the plot is average, characterization is astonishingly weak, there's a heavy reliance on racial stereotypes and there's no real ending. Whilst I'm sure that anybody who has lived & worked in Japan will be impressed by the detailed descriptions of Tokyo and of Japanese life, these don't really compensate for the imitative "Of Human Bondage" storyline or the flatness of the characters.
Even the central character - Daniel Thayne, an Englishman who has almost accidentally found himself teaching English in Japan and conducting an affair with one of his pupils - is not given any depth. So far as we can tell, he's a shallow and unlikeable character but the book tries - unsuccessfully, in my opinion - to make us sympathize with him. If he's so devoted to photography, why does he not take any pictures during the course of the book? If he can face up to his boss so resolutely, why does he submit so easily to Jake and to his prospective father-in-law? If he's so quick-thinking that he can conceive a plan for blackmail so abruptly and can effect the absurd John-Grishamesque escape from his fiancée's family, how did he manage to get into his situation in the first place?
Matthew Kneale has undoubtedly matured into a very fine novelist. There's no need to read this début novel to complete the set: start with "Sweet Thames" and then settle down to the supreme enjoyment of "English Passengers".
Even the central character - Daniel Thayne, an Englishman who has almost accidentally found himself teaching English in Japan and conducting an affair with one of his pupils - is not given any depth. So far as we can tell, he's a shallow and unlikeable character but the book tries - unsuccessfully, in my opinion - to make us sympathize with him. If he's so devoted to photography, why does he not take any pictures during the course of the book? If he can face up to his boss so resolutely, why does he submit so easily to Jake and to his prospective father-in-law? If he's so quick-thinking that he can conceive a plan for blackmail so abruptly and can effect the absurd John-Grishamesque escape from his fiancée's family, how did he manage to get into his situation in the first place?
Matthew Kneale has undoubtedly matured into a very fine novelist. There's no need to read this début novel to complete the set: start with "Sweet Thames" and then settle down to the supreme enjoyment of "English Passengers".
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
An Englishman in Tokyo
Daniel, teaching English in Japan without a proper visa, loses his passport, and has an affair with Keiko. Read more
Published 4 months ago by ADAM
Forgettable
After lapping up Matthew Kneale's The English Passengers, I immediately grabbed his follow up, Mr Foreigner. It's a much slighter tome, and in many ways, much simpler too. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2009 by mogwins
Unpretentious and keeps your attention
Coming to this book from English Passengers you have to remember that it was written some time ago, when Kneale was still developing his literary style. Read more
Published on 4 April 2004 by R. G. Mabbitt
Almost there
Like most, you'll come to Mr Foreigner on the back of the author's sublime and truly excellent "English Passengers". Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2003 by mfl
Luckily he's got "English Passengers" to pay his mortgage
Hmm. I bought this on the strength of English Passengers (and, to a lesser extent, Sweet Thames) and was very disappointed. Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2003 by Simon Cox
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
