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At Home in Tokyo
 
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At Home in Tokyo (Paperback)

by Gwen, G Robinson (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
Price: £12.95 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Paperback: 408 pages
  • Publisher: authorsonline.co.uk (26 Jan 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0755202643
  • ISBN-13: 978-0755202645
  • Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.7 x 2.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,423,358 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Synopsis
Previous sojourns in Tokyo's luxury hotels had given the Robinsons no inkling of the trials ahead when they arrived there to stay and work for a whole year. The Japanese government had kindly provided a never-before-lived-in, bewilderingly high-tech house, which Gwen set out to make a home. She knew no Japanese; her neighbors knew no English. The house was an automated puzzle. Its domestic machines were activated by inscrutable kanji-labeled controls, whose mastery involved risky experiment. The surrounding neighborhood was a densely packed maze of unmarked paths and alleyways. Once the garden gate had clanged behind her, it was no sure bet Gwen would find her way home again. Purchasing food was like solving a mystery, for the exuberant market displays of exotica demanded fierce intellectual contemplation, as well as rummaging squeezes and prods. Selection seemed always a high-stake gamble, for amongst the possible delights lurked shock and even possible danger. Nevertheless, Gwen can to terms with the difficulties, and before the year was over had delved deeply into the fabric of the social and cultural life of Japan.

The rich personalities and charming eccentricities of her dramatis personae provide colorful and informative reading. She tells it all in this warm affectionate and often hilarious story. This is a true account of coming to feel At Home in Tokyo.


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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars At Home in Tokyo, 26 Sep 2007
By E. H. Jonas (Albuquerque, NM, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Gwen Robinson charmingly tells of her year in Japan where her husband has an academic appointment in Tokyo. So clear and colorful is Gwen in her telling that this reader almost feels that it is herself who is struggling with an unknown language, grocery shopping, meeting new people, discovering small intimate neighborhoods within the big, sometimes intimidating, city, and finally, making friends and being a part of things. One only hopes that one would have the author's intelligence, empathy, good humor, and ability to laugh at herself.

There is considerable information here on modern Japan--the position of women, theater, education, the beauties of the countryside. In the company of Gwen and her family, we are with worldly people and can feel grateful to have their take on things.

This book has made me feel very ready to visit Japan myself.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring, funny,rich, very real, 30 Aug 2007
At Home in Tokyo

A fascinating book that works on many different levels. It is hilarious at times and always engrossing. There are very interesting insights into the effects of continuing benign repression of Japanese women, and many, many shiny nuggets of information about the ordinary and extraordinary grind of living in Tokyo. All these pulled me through the first reading with as few puttings down of the book as possible. But what I find myself dwelling on now, in the afterglow, is the author's gradual transformation from a preoccupation with the things and places of Tokyo to a deep engagement with the people. The underlying story of that transformation is inspiring and it is beautifully depicted.
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